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If Montreal is looking for a solid two-way centre in this year’s draft, then Dalibor Dvorsky will fit that niche nicely. Dvorsky has a pro-size body, with good offensive skills. To start the 2022-23 season, he was expected to be a top-five selection. Although he has dropped in several draft rankings, he is still expected to be a player selected in the top half of this year’s draft. Other top-rated middlemen like Will Smith and Leo Carlsson may have more offensive ability, but may not be available when the Habs select fifth overall. Dvorsky is more of a 200-foot player than both of them.

Bio

Centre
Shoots: Left
DOB: June 15, 2005
Height: 6′ 1″
Weight: 201 lbs

Rankings

Elite Prospects: 17
Future Considerations: 11
Daily Faceoff: 15
The Hockey News: 11
TSN (Bob McKenzie): 9
TSN (Craig Button): 9
NHL Central Scouting (European): 3
Sportsnet: 11
Recruit Scouting: 8
Dobber Prospects: 17
Draft Prospects Hockey: 10
Smaht Scouting: 19

Statistics

Scouting Report

Dalibor has excellent hockey sense, and great passing ability, which are two elements of his game that make him a better centre than a winger. He does not have great straight-ahead speed or acceleration, but his stride is good. To me, that indicates his skating is still underdeveloped. With some work focussed on improving that, he could become at least an average skater at the NHL level. When he possesses the puck, he uses a good change of pace and great edge work to add some deception to his puck-carrying game. He also has very good shooting skills, with a solid one-timer and a quick wrist shot. Given his current size and skills, it’s easy to compare his game to Habs Kirby Dach, Sean Monahan, or former Hab Philip Danault.

At both the World Juniors and Under-18 tournaments this season, Dvorsky provided offence and was also given an important defensive role. He has good energy, positioning, and anticipation of the play which to utilize in the defensive and neutral zones. During the 2021 Hlinka-Gretzky tournament, Dvorsky was given more offensive responsibility, and responded with the highest number of goals in that tournament, with the second-highest number of points behind only Matvei Michkov. His leadership skills are evidenced by the number of times he has been an assistant captain during these tournaments. As a Slovak, Dvorsky already has ties to Habs players like Juraj Slavkovsky and Filip Mesar, having played with both of them at various times in his young hockey career. It’s feasible that should Montreal draft Dvorsky, then in a few years’ time the three players could form the Canadiens’ first-ever all-Slovakian forward line!

Timeline

As mentioned, Dvorsky’s defensive game is already strong. That will help him get into an NHL situation sooner since he’ll be able to adapt to a fourth or third line role without much adjustment. Given his total hockey package, I expect him to require two more years of seasoning before being ready to step into an NHL lineup.