SCoC Draft Profiles: Could Lukas Dostal fall to Boston?

Analysis:

In a weak goaltending class, quality shines just that much brighter. Dostal was looking like a pretty solid 3rd round pick...

...And then his world juniors happened, and so did his entire draft season. Now, it’s a matter of “will he fall to the Bruins?” because this guy is good.

Dostal is a Czech goaltender with an absolutely stone cold demeanor. This demeanor has made him a nightmare for any team not directly affiliated with Kometa Brno. This includes the Czech National team, where at the U-18 IIHF Worlds, he was part of an incredible 2-1 upset win over Canada where he made over 33 stops.

Dostal’s positioning is usually his greatest draw from scouts, as he seems almost video game-like in his ability to track the puck and react to it with the same iron will to save it. He’s also noted for his ability to find pucks in crowds and an ability to force shooting players to make the first move before he does.

He’s done so well for himself that it almost became a bit of an issue for him as he was bounced from one end of Kometa’s system to the other, doing well, but not sticking around long enough to make anything consistent out of it until he was loaned to the Czech 2nd league team SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč where in a mere 20 games he became their best goaltender by a wild margin with a .921 SV%, a pair of shutouts, and seven 35+ save nights.

Now if you know all that, you have to wonder what does he need to work on?

Well, like many players in the 2nd round, it comes down to the fact they’re not done growing, and Dostal is 6’1, 165 lbs, which makes him one of the smaller goaltenders in the draft right now. He could stand to put a little muscle on so that he’s not getting shoved all over creation in net-front battles. Which is really his biggest issue as anything else is just experience; he’s a mere 17 years old and while he’s been bounced from place to place, he’s still showing some incredible skills, especially at the world junior levels. It’s going to be time that works out in his favor for this since...well...he’s likely to be playing big boy hockey with big boy players in the Czech Extraliga once he hits 18 at least once or twice before next season is over. That consistency will be valuable experience and valuable growth that can be his next year.

Dostal, projected for the 2nd or 3rd round, might come off the board before Boston has a chance to make the selection, but given his pedigree, he’d be a very attractive pick.

Player Rankings:

Ranked #1 by NHL Central Scouting (among EU Goalies)