Back in April, the Flyers beat out several NHL teams to sign Baie-Comeau Drakkar right winger Petr Straka. Originally a second-round pick (55th overall) by Columbus in the 2010 NHL Draft, Straka became a free agent last summer when the Blue Jackets did not offer him an entry-level contract. Over the last year, Straka has re-emerged as an NHL prospect, and the Flyers had to outbid other suitors to land him.
As with the majority of the better Czech junior prospects to come along in the 2000s, Straka left home to play junior hockey in Canada rather than play in the declining domestic junior and senior (Extraliga) levels. He landed with the Rimouski Oceanic.
Straka had a very promising offensive season in his Draft year, when he was runner-up in the QMJHL Rookie of the Year race after a 28-goal, 64-point season in 62 games for Rimouski. Gifted offensively, with good speed and a well above-average shot, Straka's primary weaknesses were in his defensive play. Critical scouts labeled him as too much of a one-dimensional talent, a bit soft and too much of a perimeter player. Others saw his speed and hands and reasoned that the other aspects of the game could be taught over time.
Straka's development stagnated -- perhaps even regressed -- for the next two years while his defensive game remained average-at-best. Part of it was injury related. Part of it was that he just didn't play very well. He saw his ice time reduced.
In his second major junior season, the Czech forward saw his production decline to 10 goals and 25 points in 41 games. At the 2010-11 World Junior Championships, Straka had just one goal and three points in six games.
The 2011-12 season was supposed to be a bounceback year for a now-healthy Straka. Instead, it turned out to be another disappointing year. Rimouski changed head coaches from Clement Jodoin to Serge Beausoleil, and Straka was unable to gain Beausoleil's confidence. He was sixth on the team in scoring with 18 goals and 37 points in 55 games. At the 2012 World Junior Championships -- his final year of WJC eligibility -- Straka had just one point (an assist) in six games.
Straka closed out the year strong for the Oceanic, and had a very good 2012 playoff run (10 goals, 22 points in 21 games) as the team reached the finals. Nevertheless, the weight of his strong playoff wasn't enough for Columbus to offer their former second rounder a contract before his rights expired.
The St. Louis Blues invited Straka to attend their September training camp as a non-roster player, trying out for an entry-level contract. Unfortunately for Straka, he never got that chance. The lockout wiped out all NHL training camps and the first half of the season, so Straka remained a free agent.
The player, who had worked out hard over the summer to get in shape for his tryout with the Blues, decided to return to the QMJHL for an overage season. He transferred teams, joining the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
Now packing 195 well-knit pounds on his 6-foot frame and already having the benefit of three full QMJHL seasons under his belt, Straka was a man amongst boys. He dominated accordingly.
During the 2012-13 regular season, Straka led his team in scoring and ranked eighth in the high-scoring Quebec league in goals (41) and 17th in points (82 in 55 games) despite missing 13 games. He was even more dominant in the playoffs, leading Drakkar to the finals with 11 goals and 25 points in 19 games. It should be noted that 18 of his postseason points (eight goals, 10 assists) came in his first eight games.
Signed to an entry-level contract by the Flyers, Straka attended the team's development camp earlier this month. Although there were no scrimmages played this year and there were just three days of of-ice instruction, Straka's shooting skills were immediately apparent to observers.
Already, there is a hype train gaining steam about Straka's potential to become an offensive impact player in the NHL. I think people would be well-served to dial down that enthusiasm for awhile.
For one thing, Straka is going to need to time in the American Hockey League, perhaps as much as a full season, to continue to work on his game. There aren't many players who stick in the NHL on the basis of their scoring ability alone. To make it to the NHL and stay there, Straka is going to have to score consistently while continuing to improve his all-around. He currently projects as the type of player who will either need to score enough to be a top-six forward in the NHL or who be better suited to the AHL or European play. Some of these players make it, but the majority do not.
I am especially leery of reading too much into anything that an overage junior player does in final season before turning pro. That's especially when it far exceeds anything he did before turning 20 years of age.
The ultimate example from Flyers history is Len Barrie, who had a monstrous overage season for Kamloops in 1989-90 (85 goals, 100 assists, 185 points in 70 games) and was signed to a contract by Philadelphia. After a lot of initial excitement over the Flyers' new signing and people questioning why Edmonton (who originally drafted Barrie) failed to get him under contract, Barrie wound up being a marginal NHL player at best.
Over the years, I have also learned not to buy into the summertime or September hype that can briefly arise around a previously little-known prospect.
Here's another example from Flyers history: Thirteen years ago, the Flyers had a young Czech sniper in their farm system by the name of Vaclav Pletka. A standout goal scorer at the 1999 World Junior Championships and the Czech Extraliga, Pletka was drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round of the 1999 NHL Draft. He came over to North America to join the Flyers' organization in the fall of 2000.
At his first training camp, the 21-year-old Pletka briefly created a buzz because of his finishing ability. Watching him practice firsthand, it was immediately clear that he had NHL-caliber hands. He was deadly when he had daylight from the blueline in, and was able to either top-shelf the puck or find the net on the backhand. There were newspaper and internet articles (including
one by yours truly) written about how the Flyers might just have found a hidden gem.
For a variety of reasons, the bloom soon fell off the rose for Pletka, despite the fact that he scored 20 goals in both his first and second AHL seasons and suited up in one NHL game for the Flyers in his second year.
For one thing, it was soon very clear that Pletka was a completely one dimensional player -- and 20 goals wasn't nearly enough to make up for the deficiencies in his defensive and physical games. For another, unlike fellow Czech Tomas Divisek, Pletka quickly developed a sour attitude about playing on the farm team instead of the NHL. The Flyers ended up sending him home before the end of the 2001-02 season. He's played in Europe ever since.
I am NOT saying that Petr Straka is doomed to be the next Len Barrie or Vaclav Pletka. He has some undeniable NHL-worthy skills and seems to have the right attitude and ambition to improve. Hopefully, he hits the ground running in training camp, dazzles in the AHL and then makes it impossible for the Flyers to keep him out of their NHL lineup. Perhaps he goes on to have a long and successful NHL career.
What I am saying is that over-hyping a player like Straka based on an excellent overage junior season and some an impressive shooting displays at a summer hockey camp is setting yourself up for disappointment. Straka has gotten himself back onto the NHL prospect radar screen, and he's earned the opportunity the Flyers are giving him. But there is still a long way for him to go before anyone starts penciling him into their NHL lineup.
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Former Flyers forward Ian Laperriere, now the organization's Director of Player Development, will be participating in the Ironman Mont-Tremblant: North American Championship on August 18. Apart from competing in the triatholon, Lappy is raising funds for a variety of charitable causes: the IRONMAN Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation and Go4theGoal Foundation- Tunes4Teens. Laperriere has set a $10,000 fundraising goal. For more information or to make a donation,
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