The Calgary Flames have selected RW Martin Pospisil from the Sioux City Musketeers with the 105th pick.
Finally, they drafted! With the 105th pick at this year’s NHL Draft and the first pick for the Calgary Flames, they selected C/RW Martin Pospisil. Pospisil played for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL last season where he had eight goals and 37 points in 49 games.
He also had a whopping 253 PIM.
Per Jonathan Bamboulie:
"The most dangerous player in the draft, the 6-2 Slovakian is a vicious hitter who racked up 253 penalty minutes in 49 games in the USHL. He can play, too. In another era, he would have been a first-round pick."
Pospisil is committed to St. Lawrence University of the NCAA next year. Let’s learn more about him.
Who is Martin Pospisil?
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Name: Martin Pospisil
Birthplace: Zvolen, Slovakia
Position: C/RW
Shoots: Left
Birthdate: 1999-11-19
Height: 6’2” / 187 cm
Weight: 78 kg / 172 lbs
Team: Sioux City Musketeers
League: USHL
Stats from 2017-2018
Stats with Sioux City, regular season (from eliteprospects.com):
| GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| 49 | 8 | 29 | 37 | 253 |
Former Drafts
2017
- Round 1, #16 overall: Sioux City Musketeers, USHL Entry Draft
Rankings for 2018 NHL Entry Draft
- #111 by Hockey Prospect
- #131 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
- #154 by Future Considerations
Scouting Report
Pospisil's report, via @FCHockey:
— Aaron Vickers (@AAVickers) June 23, 2018
A lanky forward, he is a fun player to watch due to his unpredictability. Anything can happen when the Slovak is on the ice. Plays with emotion and passion and compete. He is an interesting prospect, and he’s somewhat flying under the radar.
On Pospisil, via @FCHockey USHL scout @J_VanBesien: “Intense energy, efficient in all areas of the rink, urgent towards the puck and opposition, adequate and intriguing skill set, fun to watch and plays with a great deal of passion.” #NHLDraft https://t.co/spKBBS5KDQ
— Aaron Vickers (@AAVickers) June 23, 2018
Pros and cons
For a player of Pospisil’s calibre and where he was ranked in the draft, it’s hard to know where he’ll end up. Like in the FC report, he brings emotion and passion to every game. I think it’s quite obvious with his 253 minutes he racked up.
While he can bring passion to the game, the concern with Pospisil is how vicious his hits can be, which is why he’s racked up so many PIM, and it’s why he was ejected from 14 games this season. It’s hard to know for sure why the Calgary Flames chose to go with him, but as Ryan Pike said, his former coach is now a scout with the Flames and maybe he saw something in him that others didn’t see.
Next: Recapping the 2018 NHL Draft weekend
It’s hard to ignore how dangerous of a player he can be, and at just 17 years old too. Maybe with time and age, he’ll get better, but for right now, his style of play is weeding out.