Looking at Jakub Kovar's progression as a prospect

[MichkovSzn 150]

Jakub Kovar’s second season in the VHLM finished in heartbreak for him and his team, the Philadelphia Reapers as they fell in 6 games to Halifax 21st in the VHLM semifinals. However, while Kovar will not be leaving this season with any personal or team hardware, there is much to be happy about for him and his future in this league, as he continues to aspire to be a star and franchise player in the VHL. Jakub spent his first season in the VHLM on a lowly Reapers team that finished 2nd worst overall in the league, and while he showed promise and signs of improvement, his production was quite frankly, terrible. In 72 games for Philadelphia he scored 36 points, 13 of them goals, which is good enough for a pace of .5 points per game, in addition he also had an abysmal -46 +/- as he struggled mightily on defence, which is not rare for a forward of his playstyle and physical stature. Despite his lowly numbers in season 97, his hard work did not go unnoticed as many VHL GMs began to realize that he may have a real potential to be an amazing player in the draft, with talks of him going as high as 9th. In the end it was the Predators of Warsaw that would secure his rights with the 11th overall pick in the draft. Going into season 98, it was clear that the Philadelphia Reapers were poised to improve tremendously and looked to be cup contenders as the season progressed. Jakub Kovar turned over a new leaf both production wise and as a locker room presence and fan favorite. He was named an alternate captain for the season along with teammates Jackson Jeannot and Adam Joy, while winger Alto Red got the nod for head captain of the team. Jakub Kovar was stellar this season for the reapers as he was the top forward on the second line for a Philadelphia squad that had the number 1 offense in the league and one of the best VHLM offenses in the hybrid-era. He secured 79 points in 72 games this season, and fell just shy of a 40 goal season with 36, which placed him 6th overall for goals in the M, and tied for the 10th spot with teammate Bazooka Joe for points. Kovar’s explosive numbers this season, while still remaining a relatively raw prospect in the VHLM, and his spot on a Reapers team that is looking to be potentially even more successful next season has some people giving him early MVP nods if he and the Warsaw Predators decide to have him stay down for 1 final draft contract season in the VHLM. Looking at TPE numbers for the first round of the S98 VHL draft, Jakub Kovar had the 4th lowest TPE total of players selected in the top 16, with only 174 TPE at the time of his selection, nearly 100 less than the pick directly before him, and 35 less than the pick directly after. However, as of May 2nd, 2025, Kovar sits as the 10th highest in terms of TPE in his draft class, with 352, and is gaining rapidly. Since the draft Kovar has earned 178 TPE, the most out of any player in the draft class and 10 above second best earner Ryan Mantzz with 168. He is one of three players to earn more than 150 TPE since draft night, those being Kovar himself, Ryan Mantzz, and Tina Hughes. With Kovar already leaping Walcott, Joe, and teammate prospect Zak Trokker, he has found himself within striking distance of overtaking Alex Bridges IV and Agustin Martinez, both players selected in the top 7 of the draft. As his career progresses it looks more and more like Kovar will be the steal of the draft in season 98.

 

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[Fire Tortorella 2,684]

@MichkovSzndid you name this player after a mid 2000's Flyers draft pick?

Edited 23 hours ago by Fire Tortorella

[MichkovSzn 150]

2 minutes ago, Fire Tortorella said:

@MichkovSzndid you name this player after a mid 2000's Flyers draft pick?

no, lol, I just wanted to make a player from the Czech Republic, and have an IRL friend with the last name Kovar, and Jakub was a name that came up when I searched up common male Czech names, though I do know of Jakub and Jan Kovar.