The Czechs have a promising year ahead of themselves. They have many talented players who are aiming to get on the draft board in June. A lot of them have made a move to different countries and leagues, mostly in North America, but a few of them stayed home. One of those cases is Martin Švec.
Martin Švec
Position: LHD
Height/Weight: 5’10’’/174 lbs
Birthday: October 5th, 2006
Place of Birth: Praha, Czechia
Club Team: HC Dynamo Pardubice B (Czechia 2)
A 5’10” mobile defenseman, Švec decided to stay for at least one more year in Pardubice, Czechia. He had a massive 2023/24 season, having stepped up to an important role on his U20 team, and he was one of the best offensive defensemen in the league.
Martin Švec moves well. He changes angles at a slow speed quickly, and he can fake passes as well. He lacks a high-end top speed and acceleration, which limits him on various occasions. Švec gets a lot of power play time and that’s where he is picking up most of his assists, but his passing ability is strong every time. He should work on his shooting, and I’m sure he will, but it’s far from terrible. He doesn’t possess the strongest shot and quickest release that I’ve seen, but he has a special feel for the right timing and especially hiding those shots around opponents. I’d love to see play him with more confidence, mostly while holding the puck. He has so much potential in making plays but he rarely makes them. He looks like he bulked up a bit during the summer, which is always welcomed.
Švec is one of the oldest players coming to the 2025 draft, having been born in October, which may or may not impact his draft stock. With these young players, though, you should be counting months. What could slightly slow him down in terms of development is the league he’s going to play in for the majority of the season. The second tier in Czechia is no where near the Allsvenskan in Sweden, where a lot of top talents excel and are making great steps in their path of becoming an NHL player one day. Maxa Liga – the second tier in Czechia – is more about tough battles, lacking as many beautiful offensive combinations. Sadly, he has only a minimal chance of getting playing time in the Czech Extraliga, as Pardubice is one of the favorites for the title with a lot of national team players on their roster, on defense especially.
There is a big challenge in front of Švec. He must convince experts, scouts, and the whole hockey community that he can get better in a less competitive league. He’ll still play in a league of his age group as well, but he has to be at his top when playing for the national team.
He’s not going to be able to play at the U18 Championship and it’s going to be a hell of a challenge for him to crack that World Juniors team. If he does so, he will get attention from many NHL teams. And, he will probably earn a spot at the NHL Draft.
Check back here at RecruitScouting.com for more coverage of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft as the year goes on.
Featured Image Credit: Tomas Zubrus
