E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120: Marek Tvrdon #61

By Eldon MacDonald

61. Marek Tvrdon - “Titanium Guy” - LW – Slovakia

Vitals: Size - 6’2”, 212 lb.; Shoots left; Born 31-Jan-93 - Nitra, SVK
Team: Vancouver, WHL
2010-11 Stats: 12-6-5-11-14-(+3)

Rankings:
HM - Kirk Luedeke's Top 50 (HM = 51 to 58)
57 - Christopher Ralph's Top 210
61 - E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120
94 - The Scouting Report's Top 100
Unranked - NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings
Draft result:
115 - Detroit Red Wings

Is it a bird, is it a plane, no it’s “Titanium Guy”. That is what Marek Tvrdon hopes to hear next fall when he returns to the ice after recuperating from a serious shoulder injury.

Big things were expected of Marek Tvrdon when he came to North America this year. After all he was coming off a nice 2010 U18 for Slovakia. And things were starting to look pretty good at the beginning of the season too as he quickly found chemistry with Brendan Gallagher and Craig Cunningham and the trio formed one of the top lines in the Dub. However, it was not to be for long. On October 16, 2010, Marek received a shoulder injury that required a serious operation along with some titanium (used in making of jets) to put Humpty Tvrdon back together again. That was it for the season and puts a big “if” into where Marek will end up in the draft. Last year, a similar big winger, Curtis Hamilton, was expected to go in the second round before he suffered a major injury but eventually did go 48th to Edmonton. So, there is still hope for Marek and I would be very surprised if he lasted beyond the third round.

So what do you get, well, you get a guy who is very good down low. He has a nice shot too but most of his goals come so close to the crease that you could blow the puck past the line. He has the big power forward size and uses it effectively along the boards as well as the crease area. He also has the overall passing and agility expected of someone that you think can put up some major points on the board. This is a pick not without risks (injury, consistency issues) but it has the opportunity for a nice payback just like Curtis Hamilton appears to be for Edmonton. Check him out, no 14 on the ice or 22 on the atomic scale (atomic number for titanium) on YouTube below.