NASHVILLE – A year ago at this time, the preparations for the draft, which was forever written in the history of Slovak hockey, were at their peak. Our young guns were preparing for the biggest event of their hockey careers so far, and all the fans were impatiently waiting to see how it would turn out.
The draft, as we all know, turned out extremely well in the end. Juraj Slafkovský was headed to Montreal from the first place overall, and New Jersey chose Šimon Nemec from the second place. This pair was completed in the first round by Filip Mešár, in the second round the scouts chose Adam Sýkora, and in the end, Servác Petrovský and Adam Žlnka also came.
Even if we don’t have prospects for the first two spots at the upcoming draft in Nashville, we can expect the strongest selection of young Slovaks in recent years.
The classic part before the actual selection is the NHL Scouting Combine – an event where invited players undergo interviews, medical examinations and fitness tests. During four days, representatives of all NHL clubs will monitor the actions of young prospects, with the aim of attracting the best.
Last year, four of our hockey players took part in this event, namely three first-round selections Juraj Slafkovský, Šimon Nemec, Filip Mešár and Servác Petrovský, who was taken by the Minnesota Wild in the sixth round.
This year can bring back big moments
Already 4.6. this year’s Scouting Combine begins, and as many as six Slovaks received an invitation to it – goalkeeper Adam Gajan, defender Maxim Štrbák, and forwards Alex Čiernik, Dalibor Dvorský, Samuel Honzek and Martin Mišiak.
Such a number of players from the Tatras at the pre-draft training camp has not been seen for 15 years. This is also one of the signs that Slovak hockey is progressing and a really bright future awaits us.
If the pre-draft rankings were to be filled, this year little Slovakia can expect up to 11 selected players. With this entry, we would imitate the historical moments that we experienced at the beginning of the millennium, when clubs regularly selected at least ten players to the NHL every year.
Slovaks who participated in the NHL Scouting Combine in the last 8 years:
| Year | Players |
| 2023 | Alex Čiernik, Dalibor Dvorský, Samuel Honzek, Martin Mišiak, Adam Gajan, Maxim Štrbák |
| 2022 | Juraj Slafkovský, Šimon Nemec, Filip Mešár, Servác Petrovský |
| 2021, 2020 | the event did not take place due to the pandemic |
| 2019 | nobody |
| 2018 | Martin Fehérváry, Miloš Roman |
| 2017 | Adam Ružička |
| 2016 | nobody |
- Author: © Zoznam/Martin Turčin
- Source: Sports shoes
2023-06-01 09:02:29
#waited #long #years #Slovaks #reason #smile #widely
