The Petes' Czech import will be of interest to teams looking for a scoring power forward later this month.
With this year's NHL draft now under 20 days away, the focus on the prospects is getting larger and larger as teams finalize their lists and NHL fans keen in on this year's crop of players.
Today's draft profile is on Adam Novotny, a big and physical power forward whose profile is one teams adore come draft season.
The Czech-born import pick had a big rookie year with the Peterborough Petes, scoring 65 (34+31) points in 58 games.
Adam Novotny should be one of the first power forward types to hear his name called in Buffalo later this June. (Photo: Robert Lefebvre/OHL Images)The big pros to Novotny's game is how physical and centre-driven it is. While a lot of players in junior can defer to the perimeter, taking advantage of the time and space out wide, Novotny loves the home plate area of the ice, routinely getting himself and the puck into the dangerous areas.
When he's there, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound winger loves to shoot, and shoot a lot. His mix of physical contact skills, motor, and soft skill allow him to get plenty of shots off in tight, leading to a ton of chances in tight.
Those contact skills also help Novotny on the forecheck, where he can wreak havoc on opposing defenders with hard hits and good positioning to force turnovers and, once again, push play to the slot.
This package is what helped him become a 34-goal scorer in the OHL, and what will help him go likely in the top 15-20 range at a minimum at the KeyBank Centre in Buffalo later this June.
Even at the World Juniors, where Novotny only put up three assists in seven games this season with his native Czechia, he still led the tournament in shots and was snakebitten throughout, receiving countless opportunities in tight.
While, in an ideal world, these chances get finished, it's a skill in itself to be available in the right spots to be able to generate the volume of chances he does.
The downsides to Novotny's game come from the all-around play as a forward. While he's exceptional at the traiditional power forward things (great shot, good forechecker, gets in tight), he lacks that next dimension to his game that can take him from being a solid, useful NHL winger to a true star.
Novotny isn't an exceptional passer or playmaker, with his shot-first mentality at times tunnel visioning him into just shooting it at the net. Meanwhile, there are a few consistency and defensive issues that he'll need to clean up as he transitions to the pro game.
But, the highly coveted size and motor package he provides, combined with the clear ability to generate chances for himself and score means Novotny will be in contention for the lottery picks, and will look to be an impactful NHL player in the coming years.
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