Introducing: Lukáš Pařík

Third Round, 87th overall: Lukas Parik
Position: G
Catches: Left
DOB: 3/15/01
Height: 6’4
Weight: 185
Hometown: Neratovice, Czech Republic
NHL Central Scouting final ranking: 3 (European goalies)
NHL Central Scouting midterm ranking: 4
Stats (Cze. Jr-Liberec): 15-17, 2.85, .917
Stats (Cze 2-Benatky nad Jizerou): 4-4, 3.39, .886
Stats (U-18-Czech Republic: 3.54, .924)

Corey Pronman’s final ranking: 7 (draft-eligible goalies)
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Parik played most of the season in the Czech junior league where he was good, but it was during international play where he really shined, often having to carry an underwhelming 2001 Czech age group. Parik is a 6-foot-4 goalie who moves well. He’s able to get from post-to-post effectively and jump to difficult spots to make saves. There were times I really liked his hockey sense. I saw dominant games where he seemed to always know where the puck was, cutting off angles and always in the right position. I also saw times where he didn’t track the puck perfectly and scrambled when he shouldn’t need to. I saw more of the good than the bad from Parik, though. He’s a goalie without many flaws, even if I wouldn’t give many of his attributes a high-end grade.

McKeen’s final ranking: 147
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An athletic netminder with ideal size for the modern game, had a solid year in the Czech U19 league and then almost single-handedly kept the Czechs in some games at the WU18 tournament.

Headline translation: I was a player in the fourth grade, I was caught in the goal after the injury
Translated excerpt: Lukáš Pařík is a great talent of Czech hockey. Goalkeeper juniors Bilých Tigers from Liberec earned the best junior player award in February for their performances in the domestic competition as well as for the national eighteen. The prize from the Sports Department of Czech Hockey was taken over by the Tipsport Extraliga. How did his career begin? When did he get into the goal for the first time, what brought him between the three bars?

–Lead photo via Chris Tanouye/HHOF-IIHF Images