Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2015 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow me on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Sports is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! For a Complete Listing of all our 2015 Draft Articles Click here.

Daniel Vladar may be the next great NHL goalie prospect out of the Czech Republic. He has been a staple at the international level, appearing for the Czechs at the January 2014 U-17 tournament, winning a silver medal in a backup role at the 2014 IIHF Under 18 World Championships, winning another silver medal, this time as a starter in the 2014 Ivan Hlinka tournament, and appearing as the starter in the 2015 Under 18s. He was also on this year’s World Junior Championship roster, but did not appear in any games. In terms of club play Vladar has played eight games for HC Kladno in the 2nd division of the Czech League, in addition to most of his work on their under-20 team. Vladar has also been drafted in the USHL Draft by the Chicago Steel and the 2014 KHL draft by HK Sochi.

Daniel Vladar

Goaltender — shoots Left — Catches Left

Born Aug 20 1997 — Toronto, ONT

Height 6’5.5″ — Weight 185 [197 cm/84 kg]

At 6’5.5″, Daniel Vladar is one of the tallest goalies in the NHL draft. This is certainly a big asset as teams are seeing the success of tall goalies in the NHL and leaning that way. He takes up a ton of net due to his frame, but Vladar does not maximize this as he plays deep in the net, and doesn’t come out far to cut down angles. Still he is extremely athletic, and his long legs jut out like pinball paddles to take away the bottom of the net. Even on his knees he covers the top of the net well, and has good reflexes with both his blocker and his trapper. He could use a bit more work on his rebound control, and sometimes has issues catching pucks in the trapper though he does block them. Overall his butterfly technique is very raw, and this leads to inconsistency in his game, but Vladar has the size and the athleticism to make him an intriguing prospect.

Daniel Vladar’s side to side movement is very quick. He has powerful legs that propel him across the crease and get him in position to make saves on cross ice plays. However, he needs to work on being sure he does not overslide and get himself out of position on said plays. He sometimes has a tendency to do so. Vladar is extremely athletic, and can make acrobatic saves and recovering quickly when he does get out of position. He is a battler in the crease, who never gives up on a play and always tries to get some body part in front of the puck.

Vladar has not done a lot to develop his puck handling skills at this point, and this will need to be worked on going forward.

Daniel Vladar is a major project for a team to take on. His technique is very raw, and a very good goalie coach will need to be put in place to help him develop the skills he needs. However, the talent and size make for an intriguing package, and the possibility is there that with the right coaching Vladar could become an elite NHL netminder. His current style is unorthodox and I can’t really make a style comparison for this player. Right now there is no one in the league who plays the way he does. The size makes you think of a Pekka Rinne or a Ben Bishop, but that raw technique is something that needs to be worked on over the next couple of years.

Below are some videos fof Vladar in action with a gopro.

Bookmark the site and be sure to check back tomorrow for our latest NHL Draft article.