2025 NHL Draft Profile: Michal Svrcek

By now, I've written enough profiles on smaller players that I've outlined all the hurdles they have to deal with to be considered legitimate NHL prospects. There's a certain balance of questions, like just how small are they and do they have a set of skills that helps them compete at an NHL level in spite of their below average size? The kinds of traits I usually look for the most include being a high-end skater, having a high level of effort and energy to fight through checks, and a broad set of supporting skills that can help them have an impact on the ice even if they aren't putting up points.

The thing is, usually when I talk about this kind of stuff it's with a player that's 5'9" or even shorter. But what if the player is 5'10"? You wouldn't think that one inch in height would make a big difference, but it does. Case in point...

Players to play in at least one NHL game in the last 10 years:

• 5'9" or shorter = 94
• 5'10" only = 130

Players to play 82 games or more in the last 10 years:

• 5'9" or shorter = 48
• 5'10" only = 62

Now, this trend is also true when you then look at players who are 5'11", 6'0", and so on. And it is true that 5'10" players are still considered undersized by default, and they still make up a relatively small percentage of the league's regular guys, but it's not as much of an outlandish feat as the 5'9" and under players.

I have kept that in mind all year while following Michal Svrcek.

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): SHL
• Height: 5'10"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: January 26th, 2007

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• Bob McKenzie: Not ranked
• Corey Pronman: 114th
• Will Scouch: 12th
• Elite Prospects: 120th
• Scott Wheeler: 70th
• Dobber Prospects: Not ranked
• FC Hockey: 95th
• McKeen's Hockey: 80th
• HockeyProspect.com: Not ranked

If you somehow managed to solve my vague riddle in the introduction and guessed that Svrcek is 5'10", you win a cookie! He's a good weight at 176 though, and it's pretty likely he'll add on more weight as he gets older and more physically mature.

Svrcek came up through Slovakia's junior system until he was 15 years old, at which point he moved to Sweden's system with Brynäs. When he was 15, he had the second most goals for players his age and was among the points leaders. Not in the very top tier, but one of the better producers. Then last year, when he was 16 years old, he was again one of the better producers before being bumped up to Sweden's top junior league – the J20 Nationell. He was also the top Slovakian forward in international play, with 10 goals and 19 points in 14 games.

This year was more of the same. Svrcek returned to the J20 Nationell for Brynäs and formed a dynamic duo with Gustav Hillström. He had 14 goals and 30 points in 30 games in junior, which was only fourth on the team for total points but was the highest point per game rate. He also led the junior team in the playoffs with 4 points in 3 games. While with the junior team, he was a top-line winger that played in all situations. He didn't play as many games in part because he played in 17 games for the men's team in Sweden's top pro league, the SHL, where he had 3 points. He was also considered important enough to pull from the J20 playoff run for their SHL playoffs. He got into 10 playoff games at the pro level. He had 2 points, playing 6-9 minutes per game on their fourth line.

On the international stage, he played for Slovakia at the Hlinka Gretzky tournament, where he had 3 goals (team lead) and 4 points in 4 games. He also played at the World U18 Championship, where he was an assistant captain and had 4 points in 7 games. He played a top line role for them as well, and was on their top power play.

THE GOOD: HIGH ENERGY, SPEEDY, RELENTLESS FORECHECKING, PLAYMAKING

The biggest strength for Svrcek is just how good he is at everything. There are not many areas where he has a major weakness, while he's above average in many areas. There aren't any that I am confident in calling elite, either now or in terms of future projection, but there are some that I think are close.

Svrcek's biggest specific strength is his mobility and pace. He is a borderline elite skater in my eyes. He is explosive, his top speed is very fast, and he is very agile and elusive. Not just that, but he plays with so much energy and pace, and with a willingness to grind. In the past, I've lamented prospects like Dmitri Ovchinnikov who were great skaters and plenty fast, but didn't seem to know how to use it. That isn't a problem with Svrcek. He uses it whenever he can – he forechecks hard, chases after loose pucks, pushes the play up the ice aggressively, darts along the boards on the cycle, and so on. His "motor" reminds me a bit of Cowan, except I'd say that Svrcek is faster and more explosive. I've come to think of him as a speedy grinder.

Svrcek's off-puck intelligence and positioning are also excellent. He shows good situational awareness at both ends of the ice, but especially offensively with smart and effective off-puck routes. He knows how to find open ice in the offensive zone and how to time his route so he gets there at the right time. With his explosiveness, he's always quick to pounce on loose pucks and rarely gets beaten on retrievals even with a significant head start. This intelligence extends to his defensive engagement, where he is quick to close on puck carriers to harass and slow them down. He has an active stick at all times, and is regarded as reliable defensively from scouts I've seen. I would say his defensive play is more average right now, and doesn't project to be a major strength of his, but he will not be a liability. The best part of his defensive game is that, with his bulldog intensity he can be a machine at generating turnovers.

Here are some examples of how relentless he is at fighting through checks. Most of these highlights are from his SHL games, for reference.

Svrcek's next best skill is either his shooting or his playmaking, but I think the latter projects better. Scouts like Will Scouch laud him as a fantastic playmaker with great vision, saying in his most recent ranking: "Between my sampled games in J20 and the SHL, 50% of his team’s offense came off his stick through shots or passes". In junior, he is able to control so much of the game with the puck on his stick. He has the vision and skill to be able to pull off a spin-o-rama pass from the boards and hit his teammate at the side of the net, tape to tape. He can create passing opportunities thanks to his speed and elusiveness, and can hit the passing lanes more often than not.

I just love Svrcek's decision making with the puck. Historically, he's been a better goal scorer than an assist guy. But in the SHL especially, his playmaking came through better. He isn't a Domi-level guy who will sell out for passes at all, but he will have a great shooting opportunity and if he sees a wide open teammate who has a gaping net because the goalie and defensemen are all looking at him with the puck, he will absolutely make that extra pass for the better scoring chance. He can see that and make that split second decision in the moment.

Svrcek's puck handling and protection skills are also quite good when he handles the puck, whether it's along the boards on the cycle or at speed. He is very strong on his feet, with good balance and a bulldog mentality to keep his feet moving and fighting through checks even from bigger opponents. He has a good sense for creating leverage and space by leaning against defenders to keep the puck out of reach. He likes making spinning cutback moves with the puck, especially to get the puck off the boards and cut into the middle of the ice with it. His ability to protect the puck also comes when he explodes with his speed to create breakaway chances so he can prevent defensemen from slowing him down or knocking it away before he gets clear of their reach.

Then there's his shot. Svrcek has an above average shot already, in my opinion, even though I've seen some scouts say it needs work. It's not and will never be an elite weapon, but he has a quick and accurate release that can absolutely beat goalies from close and medium distance. He rarely tries to shoot from farther than that, and typically makes very good decisions of when to shoot, when to pass, and when to keep and carry it some more. He doesn't have a lot of deceptive qualities to his shot, not a lot of tricks like Matthews, he relies mostly on the speed and suddenness of his shot coming unexpectedly, in the middle of his puck handling. I've seen him score some goals you'd think the goalie should have, but you watch them again and notice they've barely started reacting to the shot before it's past them.

Aside from that, Svrcek also scores goals not just through snipes, but from having to getting the puck in dangerous areas of the ice. Some of that comes from his rush or breakaway opportunities he can create with his speed. If he makes a pass on a rush, he'll head right to the net to either receive a last second pass or be ready to pounce on a rebound. Some of that comes from him getting to the front of the net and being surprisingly good at deflecting point shots – surprising in the sense that you don't often see smaller players go for those kinds of goals because it's harder for them to battle in front of the net. He's a versatile goal scorer – he can snipe it, he can score off the rush, he can score around the net with rebounds and deflections, the lot.

THE FLAWS: SHOT, SCORING, SIZE

The big problem with Svrcek is that while he's good to very good at a lot of things, he isn't really elite at any of them. While 5'10" players may have a better shot than 5'9" or shorter, they're still considered undersized. To make it, you have to have a really elite skill, or your general skills need to be at a very high level to make up for not having even average size. Any development plan an NHL team has for him should absolutely prioritize getting as many of his current strengths into elite territory, or as close as possible.

So there are two ways to go about this. The first is for Svrcek to find a way to make his smaller height not matter in a physical sense. I think he's already further along this path than most his size (or smaller) – he has a mix of skating, pure effort, instincts, hockey sense, and what strength he has to elude, withstand or fight through bigger defenders along the boards and in front of the net. But that needs to be better,

Svrcek's best singular skill is his skating for sure, but as I mentioned it isn't quite elite. I'm not a skating mechanics guy at all, but I do think he could work on especially improving his agility and top speed. His agility can help him a lot in close spaces, so it's harder for defensemen to square up on him on checks. That way, he can slip through them more often and still be able to fight through to open ice. The top speed is to help him pull away on the rush more.

The other thing Svrcek needs to do is just get stronger. He's currently listed as 176 lbs, but he is not nearly as toned or muscular as veteran NHLers are. Among those NHLers to play at least 100 games in the last 10 years who are listed as 5'10", the average weight is 185 lbs. Guys like Max Domi, Kirill Kaprizov, Travis Konecny, Connor Dewar and Toronto legend Andreas Johnsson are all over 190 or even 200 lbs. Honestly, adding more muscle will help him achieve that improved top speed but it will help in other important areas too. It will help him add more velocity to his shot without sacrificing the speed of his release. More importantly, it will help him in those close quarters battles when he can't skate his way around everything.

When it comes to his general skills and how they can be improved, I'll start with his playmaking. While he has shown he can make more dynamic and creative passes, he tends to settle for safer plays more often. The same can be said for his puck handling, where he tends to play more of a straight line kind of attacking style with his speed. In both cases, he shows that he can absolutely succeed at higher risk, higher reward plays. If his offense is going to project to the pros, he needs to start pushing for that more so he can get the puck to more dangerous areas of the ice more often – whether he passes it, or carries it there himself. Defensively, he can struggle with his positioning in his own end at times. If he works on that, and stays fully committed to making defensive plays, he can build on his 'takeaway artist' reputation into more of a well rounded defensive forward even if he's never going to be an elite one.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

I like Svrcek, a lot. I like him as much as Zharovsky or Lee, if I'm honest, but for different reasons. Those two have tons of skill and potential but need to round out their games. The hope with them is they can become top six forwards who can drive and generate offense. Svrcek, on the other hand, already has the rounded out game and he needs to develop his skill and strength. The hope I have for him is that he can be a middle six supporting winger, who does a lot of little things well to make life easier for his linemates.

Svrcek's rankings definitely align with a third round pick. He was not ranked at all by Bob McKenzie or Corey Pronman, and NHL Central Scouting has him ranked as the 46th best European skater. There's a chance he could wind up being a fifth round pick, if I'm honest. Smaller players are usually the ones to fall in the draft, and even if he isn't really all that small, his profile is a bit of an unusual one. I'd be more than happy to take him with a third round pick, but if there are others I like a bit more I'd be tempted to see if he does fall to the later rounds.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!