Falling in the 65th spot is Vancouver Giants centre, Milos Roman.

Roman came to the Giants and there was the expectation that he would be a 2nd round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury, which derailed his lock on a spot in that round. But that injury shouldn’t cast doubt on the young Slovakian’s skill level and smarts.

At this point in the draft, Roman is right there with any of these prospects and might be worth the gamble.

Selected 6th overall in the CHL import draft, Roman reported to the Giants this fall with hopes of raising his draft stock and helping the Giants get out of the basement of the WHL. He was able to put up some respectable point totals in the regular season with 32 points in 39 games and then followed that up with 6 points in 7 playoffs games against the Victoria Royals.

He’s represented Slovakia at various international tournaments throughout the last few years including the tournaments in the image above and the Ivan Hlinka in 2016 and 2017.

Roman started the playoffs with a bang, scoring five of his six goals in the first three games and then was held to one point in the final four. Like many of the Giants, they just stopped being effective and the Royals were able to come back in the series to win in 7. Roman’s start to his season was perfect, not being on the ice for a goal against for the first 10 games while contributing offensively in those game situations.

Nothing really stands out offensively, on the season as a whole, for Roman in terms of percentiles.

Some encouraging signs in terms of WOWY GF% with Roman, Ty Ronning and Brad Morrison (before he was traded) making things happen when they were together. Roman’s points-per-60 was lower than his most common linemates.

As we mentioned above, Roman didn’t blow the doors offensively and thus is reflected in his pGPS success rate. 12.6% is still a decent percentage and given that he suffered an ankle injury, that took a while to recover and was adjusting to the North American game, the percentage isn’t of grave concern.

Milos Roman is a playmaker at heart, able to make passes in tight and across the ice. He looks for his teammates first and effectively finds them regularly. I really liked his ability to make little quick passes that give receiver some space. He isn’t a gritty player but uses his stick and quickness to take the puck out of mix quickly. Just his read of the play to make things happen rather than engage physically.

Those smarts with the puck and engagements also reflect in the fact that he only had 10 penalty minutes this season – he doesn’t hook, grabs, or trip unless it’s needed. Smart in his engagements and use of his body/stick to make his checking as effective as possible.

Ideally, he would shoot more because he has a decent shot but is usually very patient with the puck waiting for a hole to place the puck. Willing to wait for the goalie to slide out of position, drag it around them or pass it to an open teammate.

The Slovak isn’t exactly quick but isn’t slow either – with some refinement in technique and added strength, it will be something that will help him get around.

Roman suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss two months of action including the Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game which seems to have cast some doubt on him as a prospect. Other prospects were making things happening during the 2018 calendar year and Roman was on the shelf.

Roman ranked 6th in points-per-game in the WHL among first-time draft eligible players – his production is encouraging given that he averaged an estimated TOI of just under 14 minutes per game

I like Roman as a player due to his skill level, smarts, and play-making abilities. He is another player that feels like there is more under the surface but quite regularly you walk away from seeing Roman play and are impressed with his overall game and effectiveness. Ty Ronning and Tyler Benson will be graduating next season, so the Giants will be relying on Roman more next season and I feel like we could see him put up some decent numbers.