Nation Network Prospect Profiles: #27 Filip Chlapik
By Garret Hohl
8 years agoThe last few drafts have not been very deep for the QMJHL, but the 2015 draft crop looks to make up for this. The Q is boasting a little bit of everything this year, from high-end scorers to two-way D, and everything in between.
Charlottetown Islander Filip Chlapik may not have been on as many draft radars as his teammate Daniel Sprong going in to this season, but with a strong debut on North American ice, he made a name for himself and garnered first-round consideration.
Bio:
- Age: 17.29 years old at start of season. Born June 3, 1997
- Birthplace: Praha, Czech Republic
- Frame: 6’1, 196 lbs
- Draft Year Team: Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL)
- Accomplishments: U18 Silver Medal, QMJHL Most Goals by Rookie, QMJHL All-Rookie Team, Hlinka Memorial Silver Medal, CHL Top Prospects Game
Stats:
| GP | ES G | ES A1 | ES A2 | ES Pts | ES Pts/GP | ES GF% | ES GF% Rel | TmG% | TmPts% | AA Pts/GP | EA Pts/GP | Adj Pts/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 45 | 0.70 | n/a | n/a | 16.02% | 36.41% | 1.08 | 1.26 | 1.15 |
- TmG% = Percentage of team goals a player scored in that player’s games played
- TmPts% = Percentage of team goals a player registered points on in that player’s games played
- AA Pts/GP = Age adjusted points per game
- EA Pts/GP = Era and league adjusted points per game
- Adj Pts/GP = Age, era, and league adjusted points per game
| PCS% 2014 | PCS Pts/82 2014 | PCS% 2015 | PCS Pts/82 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.09% | 27.7 | 29.8% | 42.4 |
| PCS Most NHL GP | PCS Highest Pts/GP |
|---|---|
| Jarome Iginla | Jarome Iginla |
| Gary Roberts | Corey Perry |
| Claude Lemieux | Ray Sheppard |
- PCS = Our Player Cohort Success model. Click here for more information about PCS.
Scouts:
Draft rank:
| NHL CSS | ISS | FutureConsiderations | HockeyProspect | Pronman | McKeen’s | McKenzie | Button |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (NA) | 40 | 35 | 35 | 46 | N/R | 39 | 46 |
Chlapik is a tremendous thinker of the game and plays well in a lot of areas. He has good size, very high hockey IQ, and dynamic offensive skills. He could be a terrific playmaking replacement when it’s time for Ryan Kesler to move out of Anaheim’s top six.
Chlapik is a Solid, two-way centre who is very smart and can play in the varying situations of the game and find ways to be a positive contributor. There is nothing flashy about his game but he finds the path to productivity with and without the puck and adds the quality of timely plays to his repertoire.
You give him the benefit of the doubt of adjusting to the North American game. It’s clearly evident that he has that high skill level, sees the ice very well, makes the big pass in key situations. It’s been an adjustment and he seems to be responding well.
Our Take:
Chlapik had a pretty successful season – he was the top goal scoring rookie for the QMJHL and one of the top (and few) offensive threats for his team.
It’s not uncommon to see European players struggle when adjusting to North American style hockey, but Chlapik seemed to adjust well in terms of production. There are still legitimate concerns about the tempo of the North American game and that Chlapik predominately depends on the speed of the game to slow down.
He is best described as a smart player. While not an elite playmaker, he can thread some pretty decent passes when setting up his linemates. Chlapik has an okay shot but still not enough to look like an elite goal scorer at the NHL level.
He does not carry a tonne of strength nor does he have a tendency to win puck battles consistently, but a combination of wit and will causes Chlapik to have a positive impact on his team’s defensive play. He refuses to play lazy, backchecks hard, and will never be caught cheating out of the defensive zone.
Chlapik ends up pretty high on our list due to his solid numbers on a poor team. While his teammate Daniel Sprong is a talented player, Charlottetown was far from a power house. Charlottetown carried the league’s third lowest Two Period Shot Percentage (which closely relates to Fenwick close) and the fourth lowest goals scored. The young Czech forward really didn’t have a lot of help.
Despite this situation, Chlapik ended up seventh in QMJHL 17-year-old’s points for game, and 6th if you filter only even strength scoring. Using the Goals Created statistic, Chlapik also finished the season 4th in percentage of team’s Goals Created. He also was 6th in percentage of team’s points in games played.
Chlapik has a slew of top-end statistical cohorts. Players like Jarome Iginla, Corey Perry, Jordan Eberle, Nathan Horton, Jeff Skinner, Brandon Dubinsky, Tyler Toffoli, and Radim Vrbata all come as 17-year-old statistical cohorts. While this suggests players like Chlapik tend to have some impressive upside ceiling, a near 30 per cent PCS rating states Chlapik is not safe enough to be tiered with some of this year’s top talents.
Still, PCS notes an average upside of 42 points, which is very strong second line production. It’s very possible that Chlapik could become a very valuable complimentary scoring threat on a good team.
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