By: Nick Liard
At a quick glance you can see why the Sudbury Wolves used the fifth overall pick in the 2016 CHL Import Draft on Jachym Kondelik.
He’s 6-6, 207 pounds and he is only 16-years old.
“The first thing that you notice is he’s got a real intriguing physical element that you see with his size,” said Wolves GM Barclay Branch.
But when you dive deeper, the native of the Czech Republic brings a lot more than just his size.
Playing for HC Ceske Budejovice U18 this season as a 16-year old he scored more than a point per game with 23 goals, 46 assists for 69 points in just 44 games.
“He’s also got a lot of other strengths in his game and there’s still a bit of of rawness to him which means he’s got some room to grow and room to develop which tells you that he’s got a pretty significant ceiling. Just the overall package makes him a pretty intriguing prospect,” said Branch.
“I got to see him play at the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge this past November. I left there with a real positive feeling about what I saw from him, as far as what he brings to the table and what he offers.”
Room to grow is right, because he will start the season at 16-years-old, his birthday is not until December, meaning he will be more than a year younger than Dmitry Sokolov was when he came over from Russia to the Wolves in the 2015 Import Draft.
That age drew the scouts to him.
“It definitely played a part, he fit into what we’re trying to do and that was important in our decision making,” said Branch.
Many had thought the Wolves were going to lean towards the blue-line in this draft as it was the most visible weakness this past season.
Sudbury took defenceman Owen Lalonde second overall in the 2016 OHL draft, but this time position didn’t play a factor in this selection.
“It never really entered into the discussion on position, we just simply went with a prospect standpoint first and all of the things that Kondelik represents fits into our overall plan,” Branch said.
With import players there is always a chance they decide not to come but Branch said by all accounts he expects Kondelik to be at training camp.
That training camp will be a tough one with a plethora of forwards battling for positions and spots.
“This selection just adds another young forward to an already strong young forward group, and furthers the competition at that position. There’s going to be strong competition at all positions and that was our aim,” said Branch.
For Wolves fans, there has to be some excitement about Kondelik's large stature, the only negative is the somewhat long wait before seeing him fill out that blue and white uniform in September.
