In the last draft, the Canadians used their two first-round picks on hockey players from Slovakia: Juraj Slafkovsky (1st) and Filip Mesar (26th).
The Montreal organization, which once once more has two first-round selections this year, might it once more turn to a hopeful from this country of the Old Continent, next June? For several months, a young Slovak center player by the name of Dalibor Dvorsky has been attracting attention among the brotherhood of experts linked to amateur recruitment.
See the full interview of the young man with TVA Sports in the main video.
In recent weeks, the 17-year-old skater has split his time between the junior and senior teams of AIK Stockholm (Swedish second division). He is, he says, a “good friend” of Mesar, to whom he “talks regularly”.
This season, with the AIK first team, Dvorsky has totaled 14 points, including six goals, in 36 games. It’s honestly a good harvest, considering the type of opposition ( once morest men) he faced.
And within the J20 Nationell, the young man was simply too strong for the competition. His record of 21 points in 10 short games speaks for itself, his average of 2.10 points per game being the best of the entire league.
Dvorsky is also known for taking second place among the top scorers in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in 2021, just behind a certain … Matvei Michkov.
And the statistics you have just read are not the result of chance. The big left-handed attacker has several very interesting assets which, when used in the right way, make him dangerous.
But despite all this, certain aspects of the game of the teenager generate, as of today, several questions and place it at the center of many debates as to its true potential.
Very good qualities
Dalibor Dvorsky isn’t the kind of player to knock fans out of their seats with a cookie-cutter climb.
Oh, he does sometimes and he’s more than capable of it, but that’s just not his trademark.
“I like to compare my style of play to that of John Tavares or Anze Kopitar. Not the greatest skaters, but smart guys who make good decisions and deliver consistent, soothing performance in all three zones.”
From a strictly offensive perspective, the Slovak stands out above all for the quality of his throw (wrist or hit).
“I think I have an excellent shot,” he agrees. When I see an opening, I don’t hesitate to use it. I’m also a guy who enjoys making his teammates better.
Dvorsky loves to settle at the level of the right circle, in enemy territory. You might almost say that this place is his office. It is also through this space that he causes the most damage, whether as a shooter or distributor.
Physically, the center player is also very strong on the puck and protects it well. Let’s say he is well served by his 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds. He is also very good on the penalty kill.
Two important improvements to be made
But Dvorsky, like any hockey player, is not perfect.
One of its main challenges in the coming months will be to improve its acceleration capacity, which is quite modest.
He also has a tendency to disappear and play the passenger during certain matches, just as he can, the next day, display the performance of a star. His tendency to play peripherally a little too often certainly has something to do with this reality.
Almost everywhere, everyone has their opinion of Dvorsky. Some people are convinced that he will develop as a top 6 pivot, while others have gone so far as to draw comparisons between the young man’s game and … that of former CH Jacob De La Rose.
All this makes him very intriguing and seems to have contributed to making him lose his feathers in the various charts in recent weeks.
Photo credit: Photo Dale Preston/Getty Images/AFP
He is still asked an open question, when the time comes to address his shortcomings.
“What would you like to work on as a priority, in view of next year?”
Our interlocutor offers an interesting answer.
“I think I need to improve all aspects of my game, honestly! Every day, I try to be better than the day before, at all levels.
This will certainly please the various teams of the National League.
“I don’t look at the rankings”
Dalibor Dvorsky, as we said above, was born in Slovakia. But he has lived in Sweden since the age of nine.
“My parents wanted to experience a new life. Today, in general, I always have one of my two parents by my side, while the other is in Slovakia. Currently, my mother is with me. Living alone would be difficult from a culinary point of view. I’m not a great cook, let’s say!
The striker made his hockey debut at the age of three and says he is, still today, animated by the same love, the same passion for his sport as at the time.
“My father and my mother told me that they had made me try a lot of sports, but that I had really fallen in love with hockey. I never wanted to get off the ice! This is still the case now.”
It is moreover on this unfailing love for hockey that he concentrates and not on the lists of experts for the next draft, nor even on the auction itself.
“I don’t look at the rankings, to be honest. I’m not the type of person to give a lot of importance to this kind of stuff. I approach each day as a new opportunity to prove myself and I put all my energies into the successes of my current team. We’ll see what happens the day I get drafted.”
According to the estimates of the author of these lines, Dalibor Dvorsky should be selected between ranks eight and 15, at the next auction.
Will the CH add another Slovak to its bank of hopes in June?
The answer will come soon enough.
Dalibor Dvorsky
AIK Stockholm (Swedish second division)
Centre
6 feet 1 inch, 201 pounds
2022-2023 season (38 games): 6 goals, 8 assists – 14 points
