No really. Who is Miroslav Svoboda? I know he played two games for the Czech Republic at the 2015 WJCs and he played well posting a 1.51 GAA and a .942 SV% but apart from that there isn’t a whole lot online detailing who this kid is but let’s try and paint a picture with what we do have.
I contacted my good friend and BLH draft guru from DraftGeek.ca, Brennen York, for some info on Svoboda and he told me this:
He has pretty good size (stands about 6’5 on ice) with pretty good lateral movement. Conditioning is an issue. Doesn’t track the puck as well as he should but is steady and finds rebounds. Wouldn’t say he’s an aggressive goalie as he seems quite calm in the crease. Good glove hand.
The big Czech hails from Vsetin in the Czech Republic. Home of such players as Vaclav Varada… Yup, you know him? Played for Buffalo and Ottawa. No… We’re not off to a good start.
Well the big 6’3″ netminder has played the majority of his junior for HC Trinec. A lot of players have gone through HC Trinec’s system such as Jiri Hudler (CGY) and Dmitrij Jaskin (STL) but those are the only notables… Woof! Did they find this guy in a cave or something? Was Jordan Papirny not good enough for a 7th rounder? Could the Oilers done everyone a favor and picked a player someone has scouted before?
As mentioned above, Svoboda did play sparingly at the World Juniors last year. His big highlight being when he stopped St.Louis prospect Ivan Barbashev on a penalty shot in a 4-1 win over the Russians on New Year’s Eve. You can see that highlight in the clip below at around the 2:45 mark.
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for his fella to make his mark in North America. The way I feel about how the Oilers are drafting goalies is that they’re throwing wet noodles against the wall and seeing what sticks. The only good keeper in their system was drafted by the dreaded Calgary Lames.
If Miroslav Svoboda actually comes good and becomes a regular for the Edmonton Oilers, I’ll wear a Flames jersey for the same amount of days as his jersey number.
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