Player Overview
Team: HK Dukla Trencin (Slovakia) Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
Position: LW
Height: 6’0″/183CM
Weight: 181LBS
Introduction
Prior to playing in the pro league in Slovakia, Martin Chromiak made an immediate impact when turning pro. With HC Dukla in the Slovakian U20 league, Chromiak finished the season as one of the pro league’s top scorers with 22 goals and 46 points in 39 games.
Despite being drafted second overall in the 2019 CHL Import Draft, Chromiak opted to stay with HC Delkin to start the year. In January, he came over to North America to play with the Kingston Frontenacs after being cut from the Slovakian World Junior team.
In the OHL, he continued to establish his offensive game. Even though he only played 28 games with the Frontenacs, he tallied 11 goals and 33 points. Had he played more games, his pace would have put him as one of the team’s top scorers. His play helped bolster an already strong Kingston offense.
Plenty of rankings have Chromiak in the second, or even third round. Playing alongside young phenom Shane Wright, some are worried that he might not be able to do enough defensively, and in some cases even enough offensively, to carry his own game moving forward. There’s no question that he benefitted from playing with the 16-year-old, but Chromiak was still a significant presence on Kingston’s top line.
Statistics
Analytics
Much like in the eye test, Chromiak’s play leaves a lot to be desired, as reflected in the data below.
His shot creation efficiency at 5-on-5 is above average – which is a positive – but could also be inflated, since he consistently played Zayde Wisdom and Shane Wright. His controlled zone entries/60 are low, but Wright and Wisdom handle most in that regard.
Where Chromiak actually excels is in transition from the defensive zone, as reflected in his ability to read the defensive play well, and exit the zone with possession of the puck.
Chromiak is often criticized for not being involved enough defensively. However, he reads the breakout extremely well and is able to anticipate when to jump onto the puck for a successful carry out with possession.
Shot Quality/Utilization
Chromiak’s strongest attribute unanimous across the board is his shooting. He possesses a lethal wrist shot that is NHL ready. When shooting, he uses his strong build-up and spatial awareness to his advantage. He recognizes both shooting and passing lanes extremely well. Although he has an pro-level shot, Chromiak could still be encouraged to shoot more.
The Frontenacs accomodated Chromiak’s deadly one-timer by deploying him on the half wall with the man advantage. In a crop of already gifted shooters, Chromiak’s shooting is fairly versatile. He can fire off a wrist-shot, snap-shot or one-timer without over adjusting his positioning or losing balance.
In the clip below, Chromiak stretches out to receive a misplaced pass from Wright on his backhand. In stride, he switches to his forehand and turns his body to the right to give his shot more power.
Over the course of the season, Chromiak was used on the half wall, as he could either settle the puck down for a wrist shot or fire off a one-timer.
In this sequence from U18 Men’s Worlds, Chromiak recognizes both scenarios on the odd man rush and makes a smart decision with the puck. He sells the pass the entire time, but once he identifies the American defencemen attempt to block the pass and back up toward his goaltender, Chromiak shifts his weight and uses the space to his benefit. Instead of forcing a pass or shooting right away, he corrals the puck slightly back while on the forehand, freezes the netminder and puts it over top of the glove.
Skating
Chromiak is a steady skater with strong outside edge work. His first stride could use some work, but is not a major cause for concern, as he still has plenty of time to work on it. He’s not overly agile, but he makes up for it with his potential speed and steady footwork. His top-end speed is a strength: he maintains strong balance, proper footwork and composure when at his max. Chromiak has the ability, and has shown flashes of his skating ability, but does not always demonstrate his willingness or intensity to use it.
Chromiak is not afraid to skate the puck up ice. A point of criticism is that often, Chromiak gets so caught up in his speed that he forces himself to the outside too quickly, or loses the puck just ahead of his stick and is left to shoot a high volume shot, but low danger chance. It’s uncommon for shooters this strong, who can hit a fairly fast top speed, to have difficulty controlling the puck. Perhaps his stick is too long, or Chromiak’s is choking his right hand up too much, but his puck control skills still need to be tweaked a bit more.
The clip below demonstrates how Chromiak’s first stride still needs a little bit of work, but his top-end speed is still solid. Again, he forces himself to the outside too much but recovers with a wraparound attempt.
Offensive Instincts
Shooting aside, there is a creative side to Chromiak’s game that is not talked about enough. At slower speeds, there were times where he dazzled with the puck, making unexpected passes, and creating plays out of seemingly harmless rushes.
In this clip, Chromiak receives the puck on the half wall, identifies the space he has and pursues up ice. He sees the the opposing team’s trailer covering the forward and cuts toward the upper slot. The defender pushes to his side, but Chromiak keeps the puck on his backhand, and his back and rear end facing the defender to protect the puck. His pass just misses his teammate, but it shows the creativity he has when given both the time and space.
Chromiakreads the defensive zone well. In this example, he reads the cross blueline pass and uses his reach to poke the puck into space. He makes no mistake on the breakaway.
This is a sequence from Chromiak I really like. It shows how strong he can be in transition. He picks up a loose puck above the right circle and pushes to the offensive zone. He slips the puck past the Slovakian defender and draws both Slovakian players to him in the corner and then skates towards the slot. Chromiak’s positioning when moving out of the corner leaves the opponents unsure what his move would be, whether it would be thrown on the net, a pass to the point or a shot out front. He opts for the pass in front and creeps up for the rebound back to him and takes a slapshot.
Playing with Shane Wright has obviously puts you at an advantage, but there’s an argument to be made that Wright didn’t only make it easy for Chromiak, but that playing with Chromiak helped Wright as well. Here, the dynamic of a typical 3-on-2 is changed with a sneaky pass from Chromiak. Instead of pushing up the side that he’s on, he jumps to the outside on his right wall. In a situation like this, some players would have forced the pass to the far side (to Wisdom) or try and sneak by the defender. Instead, Chromiak sees the Flint defencemen attempting to block the pass and slips the puck under to Wright, who feeds Wisdom for the goal.
Compete Level
I am cautious when from using buzzwords such as “effort” and “drive” when describing a player. A young player’s style and immediate surroundings shape the way they play, and why they play the way they do. Player evaluation, and what to look for in a player’s drive, heart, or physical play, varies depending on who you ask.
There is plenty to enjoy when watching Chromiak. His blistering wrist shot, his transitional play, or his illusory playmaking. However, there are still some red flags within his games. They became more apparent to me throughout my time watching him. For a player with all of this skill, there were periods of time where he was a non-factor. Not on the scoresheet, but there were shifts, and even full game,s where he didn’t skate to his ability, made ill-advised passes, or was just sloppy defensively.
Take for example, players who hit consistently. They are deemed as energetic role players, typically given an edge over players who don’t hit. Others might suggest that players who are hitting, are doing so because they are chasing the play.
This is a cause for debate. The player who didn’t hit is deemed as soft while the player who did is gritty. Of course, there are players who lack involvement and don’t hit. But in reality, strong possession players play a style where hitting is not prioritized in their specific game, and that’s fine. For Chromiak on draft day, general managers would take a guy with more heart and work ethic over a guy with skill, but an unwillingness to demonstrate it throughout a full 60 minutes or full season. This will be a factor when Chromiak gets selected in the upcoming draft, wherever that might be.
Draft Rankings
#36 – Recruit Scouting
#58 – Future Considerations
#84 – EliteProspects
#44 – McKeen’s
#65 – Corey Pronman – The Athletic
#47 – Scott Wheeler – The Athletic
NHL Comparable
With Chromiak already possessing an NHL ready wrist shot and demonstrating that he can be a threat offensively, I think there are some similarities in his offensive game that remind me of Brock Boeser. Both are great on the half wall and have similar shooting tendencies and deceptively-smart playmaking abilities.
That being said, his effort often seems sporadic and there are defensive inconsistencies in his game. This leads me to draw a comparison to a player like Tomas Vanek a player with all the tools who didn’t demonstrate them consistently throughout his career.
There are plenty of variables to keep in mind when evaluating Chromiak. At 17, he came over to North America. He took time to adjust to the new ice, new team, and the systematic changes. But slowly and surely, he developed chemistry with Wright and Wisdom and was able to show that he can be, or at least has the tools to be a key contributor for the Frontenacs.
There are inconsistencies in his game – some more prominent than others – but Chromiak has shown what he can do when he puts it all together.
Another year in Kingston, with more time to adjust and develop, will truly tell if Chromiak was a sleeper after the first round, or a player teams were correct to pass on.