When the Montreal Canadiens traded Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche it came as both an unsurprising event as well as a disappointment. Lehkonen was loved by Canadiens fans and coaches alike. He is a coach’s dream as he will willingly puts himself in any situation you ask him, plays a very solid defensive game and can chip in offensively.
Given however where the Canadiens are headed and Lehkonen being at his highest value, it made sense to trade the Finnish winger and in return the Canadiens got themselves another solid prospect in Justin Barron.
As debates are very open as to who the Canadiens should draft after Shane Wright, there are some very interesting picks available and one of them is a young Slovakian winger by the name of Adam Sýkora.
Sýkora is actually the youngest player available in the draft as he was born on September 7th, 2004 which is just a week before the cutoff date for players to be eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft. Had he been born a week later, he would be the oldest player available in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The 17 year old won’t wow you with moves reminiscent of Pavel Bure, but he is possibly one of the best defensive forwards in the draft. Will Scouch, a prominent prospects analyst, echoes the same sentiment.
SCOUCHING #9 – Adam Sýkora - HK Nitra
— McKeen's Hockey (@mckeenshockey) May 21, 2022
8 days from being eligible for the 2023 draft and playing pro in Slovakia
"Sýkora is arguably one of the best raw defensive forwards playing pro hockey eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft" - @Scouching #2022NHLDrafthttps://t.co/f4SD48qICy pic.twitter.com/aLeTw8Ju6e
Sýkora will stand out to those who seek the little things in a player’s effort both with and without the puck. This is a borderline elite defender who will protect the puck like no other and feed fantastic first passes in order to get that puck out of his team’s zone.
A lot like Lehkonen, Sýkora will chase the puck more often than not and isn’t afraid to use his speed to create chances rather than leave the puck to a teammate.
Another fun Adam Sýkora clip. Watch him cradle the puck through the attacker's legs when the attacker extends his stick blade out towards the puck. Great way to open up space for himself. #2022NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/s7BFqUOM9e
— Josh Tessler 🇺🇦 (@JoshTessler_) February 28, 2022
This zone exit pass from Adam Sýkora is nice!
— Josh Tessler 🇺🇦 (@JoshTessler_) February 27, 2022
Passes underneath the attacker's stick (through the triangle) to his teammate who is skating into the neutral zone. #2022NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/1h42f9onNz
The only huge hole in Sýkora’s game other than his lack of points on the scoresheet is that he plays a very crouched game. In the clips above you can clearly see that he tends to crouch in order to shell himself from others and uses his speed to an advantage. While it may work on international ice, Sýkora stands on a 5’10” 172 pound frame and this can catch up to you on an NHL ice.
Just ask Samuel Girard of the Colorado Avalanche who’s crouching style and undersize got him pummelled by Ivan Barbashev and subsequently took him out of the series against the St. Louis Blues.
The Barbashev hit ⤵️#StanleyCup | #stlblues | #GoAvsGo https://t.co/geuZihwq7z pic.twitter.com/UDvHbvYUhX
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 22, 2022
With proper development and maybe a bit of patience, Adam Sýkora has all the tools to elevate him in the same realm as Lehkonen or Blake Coleman. His shot blocking ability as well as his fearless approach towards working the boards gives him a very serious chance of becoming an NHL player. Various scouting lists has him ranked in the mid to late second round.
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