2020 NHL Draft prospect profile: Jan Mysak scouting report

Czech prospect Jan Mysak has been consistently ranked in the top-40 of the 2020 NHL Draft. What does he bring to the table?

2020 NHL draft prospect Jan Mysak, born June 24, 2002, in Litvinov, Czech Republic, was a left-winger for HC Litvinov of the Czech League, but moved to Canada and played for the Hamilton Bulldogs halfway through this past season. He is a 5’10” and 175 pound left-handed forward. I currently have Mysak ranked 17th overall.

Experts Craig Button and Bob McKenzie have Mysak ranked 34th. Elite Prospects has Mysak as their 29th best prospect, Future Considerations has him at 16th, ISS Hockey has him at 25th, and McKeen’s Hockey has him at 27th.

Mysak initially broke out in the 2017-18 season, when he was just 15-years-old playing in the Czech U20 league. Granted, he started in the U18’s and absolutely lit it up with 30 goals and 23 assists for 53 points in just 36 games, which earned the promotion. He went on to record 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 6 games with the U20 squad.

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In 2018-19, Mysak started with the U19 HC Litvinov squad, following his strong numbers from the year before. He broke out with the U19’s, posting 13 goals and 8 assists for 21 points in 9 games played. That’s when something incredible happened. Mysak was promoted to the Czech men’s league at the age of 16. He put up a respectable 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 31 games at the highest Czech level.

In 2019-20, Mysak started the year off with the Czech men’s league, drawing into 26 games with 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points. That’s when the 17-year-old Mysak made a brave choice; he went overseas to North America, joining the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL. In a limited 22 games, Mysak recorded 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points.

Per Pick224, in those 22 OHL games, 20 of his 25 points were primary. He didn’t rely much on the powerplay either, as shown in the fact that just 5 of his 20 primary points came on the man-advantage, and just 8 of his total points came on the powerplay. Mysak, quite simply, was a strong even-strength option offensively, which is a very good sign.

But enough with the numbers. Was his ability to produce points through just about every level an indication of a strong play style based on the eye test? Or has his game been reliant on luck or a style that may not transition smoothly at the next level?

Film Session

First, let’s start with Mysak’s skating ability. I watched games where he played on a large ice surface in the Czech men’s league as well as games on a small ice surface in the OHL. There was a clear difference, to me, in his skating ability going from a big to a small ice surface.

Before I get into his skating, I wanted to point out a quote from Ben Kerr from Last Word on Hockey, regarding Mysak and his skating:

“Mysak’s overall stride and skating style is unorthodox. In fact, his stride and first few steps are a bit herky-jerky. This can be a problem with his first few steps. However, once he gets moving he shows decent acceleration and above-average top-end speed.”

Ben Kerr is a very good scout and had every reason to say Mysak may not be a great skater. However, I have to disagree with him here, though with some understanding. In the Czech league, Mysak was able to have more space around him, and with that he had the confidence to move his feet. When he takes off, he has blazing speed and can win races with consistency.

When he came over to Canada, the lack of room from the smaller ice seemed to affect his confidence and he wasn’t pushing himself as much as he should. My concern with Mysak is that the smaller surface impacted his confidence, and with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting CHL seasons, Mysak is heading back to the Czech Republic to play there next season. He needed to adjust to North American ice and regain the confidence in his skating to really show just how fast he is.

The next thing I want to address with Kerr’s comment is Mysak’s “unorthodox” first few strides. I believe Mysak does need to work on his acceleration, and it showed when he made the move to Canada. He relied more so on longer races rather than short bursts of speed to impress with his skating in the Czech leagues. Switching to Canada, he seemed to over-exaggerate his strides to make up for the fact that he doesn’t have the same ability to go on these short bursts of speed.

The over-exaggerated first few steps certainly threw me off too, because watching his skating ability in Europe, he had a technically sound stride. He has good knee and ankle bend, and he keeps his toes pointed straight on his front foot to fully lengthen his strides. However, he does lean forward a bit when he skates full speed, which takes away some balance and makes his stride look a bit off when it isn’t really that bad.

Another thing that makes his stride look a bit strange is his back foot. When he pushes off his back foot, he doesn’t push straight back. He pushes almost off to the side, which shortens his stride and makes it seem a bit choppy at times. He certainly could stand to adjust that.

Mysak is an explosive skater, especially in his crossovers. Being able to generate that power is important, and as he gets a stronger lower body, his short area quickness will improve. At this point in his development, however, his edges are good enough in terms of generating power.

To stick with his edgework, Mysak has not only powerful but smooth edges. He can complete sharp turns without losing much, if any, speed. He can stop sharp on the puck if needed and follow the play well with his stops and starts. He can also seamlessly change from skating forwards to backwards without losing speed or momentum.

Mysak does get knocked around quite a bit, so once again, bulking up will certainly help. Overall, I believe the biggest issue with Mysak’s skating is the seemingly lack of confidence on smaller ice surfaces. Otherwise, he is a very fast skater with some small adjustments to make to advance to the NHL level.

Defense

I love Mysak’s defensive capabilities, personally. Ben Kerr and I have the same feeling about his defensive game as well.

Ben Kerr stated, “Mysak is well advanced defensively for his age. He uses an active stick, his ability to read the play, and his anticipation to break things up in the offensive zone… Mysak is strong positionally, keeping himself in position to limit scoring chances, helping effectively with backpressure and supporting the defence down low. He is not a physical player, instead defending using his smarts and ability to create turnovers.”

In the Czech leagues, it was very apparent that Mysak was not physical and relied on his smarts. That came in his forechecking, as he generally stayed back and kept the play in front of him, using an active stick to cover any possible up-ice passes.

In the defensive zone itself, Mysak primarily focused on his body positioning and staying responsible with his man. He was very rarely caught puck watching or puck chasing, playing smart and conservative. However, there were times where he was maybe a bit too conservative when he shouldn’t have been, like the below clip.

Mysak keeps his head on a swivel and doesn’t allow the guy he is covering to get too far away in the defensive zone. At his age, with his responsibility, it’s clear he’s further along in his 200-foot game than some 20-year-olds.

When his team gets possession of the puck, he tends to stay in a spot that makes for an easy outlet pass. Even in the Czech men’s leagues, his mindset to stay back in support allowed him to play a somewhat important role in zone exits.

Then Mysak made the switch to the OHL. With the ice being smaller, he gained a new found confidence in his defensive game. He was pressuring the puck carrier more often rather than backing away. Reads became a lot easier for him, as he had less ground to cover in order to intercept passes. He utilized his stick checking even more, and he’s effective at knocking the puck off the opposition’s sticks.

Quite simply, getting the opportunity to play against men on a large ice surface made him so much better in the defensive zone, to the point where smaller ice surfaces against his own age group isn’t a challenge. This tells me that his defensive game will likely transition without many hiccups at the next level.

Lower-body strength will hold him back on defense, as expected, but he didn’t get dragged down too much because of it. Another down-side, which I touched on, was the lack of short area quickness. He needs more time to play in smaller ice surfaces before we can jump to conclusions on this aspect of his game.

Offense

Right off the bat, I have my concerns with Mysak’s offensive abilities. Now, after watching more film and seeing him in different situations, I’ve eased up on that sentiment. Granted, you’ll see why I was not exactly fond of his decision-making with the puck with the three clips below.

Mysak very clearly tries to think ahead, but he either rushes himself when it comes to passing the puck, or he waits too long to pass the puck, making it easy for the opposition to stop the play.

Despite his passing ability being questionable, Mysak is a very smart player. He’s got a nose for the high-danger areas. His positioning without the puck in the Czech leagues showed through well. The move to the OHL didn’t lead to any stylistic changes offensively either. For a visual, here’s Pick224’s heat map for Mysak in the OHL.

As seen, he drove and got in tight for a large majority of his shots. However, he doesn’t shoot a whole lot. Mysak fired just 67 shots on net, per Pick224, over his 22 game span in Canada. While this isn’t that big of an indicator of any specific thing, it does show that he isn’t a trigger man either. He isn’t the one that’s going to lead his line by firing pucks at the net.

Because his passing remained shaky even after the move to Canada, and he isn’t firing the puck a whole lot, there is a cause for concern. Will his passing improve enough to pose a threat? Will he gain more confidence on a smaller ice surface and shoot more? If neither of those things happen, it makes it hard to believe if he’ll be capable and effective in the offensive zone at the next level.

However, similar to my Dawson Mercer evaluation, I wanted to make sure I didn’t view a handful of poor games. That said, here’s what Ben Kerr said about Mysak’s passing abilities.

“Mysak can play the role of a playmaker as well. He has excellent vision and his quick hands can change positions for the puck and create passing lanes. Mysak has the skill to get the puck through those tight lanes and on a teammate’s stick.”

Again, maybe I got dealt a few games where Mysak simply didn’t play well. However, the fact that it happened as consistently as it did for my viewings still makes me question Mysak’s passing ability. It is a concern for me, and it could take some time for him to refine it and get it to the level it has to be at for the NHL level.

Kerr also brought up Mysak’s stickhandling in the tidbit above. I agree that Mysak has good hands, as he’s able to pull off a quick deke to get by an attacking player if needed. However, he doesn’t put himself in a lot of situations where he has to use his hands. He plays a smarter, safer game in the offensive zone.

The big thing is his puck control. While he doesn’t have the best lower-body strength, he does a nice job protecting the puck. He can weave through traffic and not skip a beat. That puck control alone is a strong attribute, and all he needs is to try and take a few more risks and be more confident in his hands to fully take advantage of his puck control skill.

As for Mysak’s shot itself, though he didn’t utilize it often, it’s dangerous. Here’s what Kerr had to say about Mysak’s shooting:

“Mysak has an excellent wrist shot and a very quick release. It is deadly accurate and he generates a ton of power. He is also strong with his snapshot and one-timer. Mysak is a pure sniper.”

Mysak has a large arsenal of shots. He can race in tight to the net, which is his style, and use deception. He can rip it up high and over the shoulder, or he can make a quick move and slip the puck five-hole past the goalie.

Mysak has excellent vision and accuracy with his shooting. He can find the smallest of holes and fire the puck through with consistency and ease. This way of shooting does not work unless it also features power behind it. That’s what makes Mysak so dangerous.

Despite having a powerful and accurate shot, Mysak strongly relies on his skating to get him scoring chances. Even though he doesn’t utilize his speed in the OHL like he did in Europe, when he did get into space, he more often than not got in on a breakaway. His speed and shooting ability is great, but again, I want to see him be a little more of a risk taker in the offensive zone, while also improving his consistency with his playmaking.

Potential

Mysak is a curious case. I worry about the poor utilization of his strong skating on a small ice surface. I really wanted to see him get more time in those smaller rinks. However, with COVID-19 mucking things up, he is travelling back to Europe for next season.

Until Mysak gets time on a smaller ice surface and shows more confidence in his skating there, I won’t know how to truly evaluate this area of his game. In all, his confidence in his game was lacking at times, despite having a strong motor to not give up on plays.

His passing was not great in my viewings, leading me to believe it’s an inconsistency in his game. His shooting is excellent, and the way he pairs it with his skating is great, but again, his lack of confidence in his skating at the OHL level hindered him a little bit, thus making his shooting a slight concern.

However, his defensive game is well beyond his years and he possesses an overall high hockey IQ in all three zones. If he’s able to layer his offensive game and, again, gain more confidence, Mysak could become a solid producer at the next level. One could argue he could be a 1st liner if he does this.

Personally, I feel comfortable saying that, as it currently stands, Mysak’s potential is likely somewhere in the middle six, leaning more towards the second line. But there’s also a chance his game does not translate well at all, and he never pans out. His defensive abilities could be his saving grace, but his offensive game and lack of confidence could drag him down.