Claimed:Milos Denis Rookie Profile

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Milos Denis

Right Wing

Turku Outlaws

Born in 1997

5'8"

147 Pounds

Slovakia

Ranked 9th in ISS Rankings (S39)

 

Early Life

 

Growing up in Slovakia, Denis had a clear ability to play any sport and showed promise in hockey and soccer in particular. At the age of 13, the young boy decided hockey was the sport for him and began training with the Slovak National Junior Program and became a standout in that program due to his incredible speed and skill with the puck. At the age of 15 he was recruited by an elite Midget AAA hockey school in Saskatchewan, Canada to play hockey there. He spent his 16 year old season playing in the Midget AAA ranks and quickly became a top prospect for the Western Hockey League where he was drafted 10th overall by the Kamloops Blazers. Denis played one full year there and put up good numbers for a rookie, with 46 goals and led Kamloops to the playoffs. The Blazers lost in five games to the defensive, tight checking Moose Jaw Warriors and Denis took much of the heat having not scored a single goal in the playoffs himself. 

 

 

VHLM Career

 

Denis was selected 9th overall in the VHLM Entry Draft by the Turku Outlaws. He was quickly expected to be among the leagues most dynamic forwards but he struggled out of the gate with just 1 goal in his first 17 games. He has been skating on a line with Dexter Morgan and Mikael Svensson, both of whom have had ridiculous starts to the season and are among the leagues top point scorers. Many are starting to wonder if Denis was all hype, or if he is simply outmatched playing against some of the leagues top defensive pairings and best forwards. There are already rumors of Denis being disgruntled with the coaching staff in Turku and some wonder if he will be on his way out sooner rather than later, but with Turku among the leagues top teams, it is also unlikely they are looking to make a move this quickly. 

 

Comparison

 

Though there are obvious flaws in direct comparisons, Milos Denis most compares most to Sven Andrighetto, a prospect in the Montreal Canadiens organization. Sven is a speedster with great handles as well as a solid shot, but one who, due to his size, is questioned as a legitimate NHL player in the future. Andrighetto, a Swiss born player, was great in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Royn Noranda and was very good on a poor Hamilton Bulldogs team this year. Scouts see a lot of Andrighetto in Denis and many say Denis is a more skilled, but less coach able version of the young Swiss player. 

 

Pro's

 

Skating - Obvious to anyone who watches him, the biggest pro to Denis game is his ability to skate fluidly and with an amazing acceleration burst. If he gets open ice and a defenseman is caught flat footed, he is off to the races and gets more than his fair share of breakaways because of this. He has great agility as well, and is much more difficult to knock off the puck than what is to be expected of a player at his height and weight. 

 

Puck Skills - He is among the best at making moves with the puck, be it around a defenseman or a goalie, he is simply a magician with the puck. He is great at finding space by making moves others would only imagine and many of his goals come off of great individual effort as opposed to any sort of team set up or play. It doesn't matter who you are, Denis will try and deke around you as opposed to dump and chase. Any kind of chip and chase system will not work with the young Slovak as he is much more of a carry the puck kind of player. 

 

 

Play Making/Vision - Denis is not a play maker in the old school meaning of the term in that he isn't some player with incredible vision who is able to find teammates. He is however, a player who can make plays in the offensive zone that open up space for other players. He isn't a technically great passer, but he is one of the best Season 39 prospects when it comes to creating offense out of basically nothing at all. He is a very creative player who seems to always be thinking two steps ahead of his opponents, and teammates.

 

Con's

 

Size - Although it is yet to be seen if size is really a serious issue that can hold a player back in the VHL, Denis certainly is not the kind of player who can use size to his advantage. He is only 5'8" and weighs less than 150 pounds and as such is sometimes intimidated against bigger, mean defenseman and forwards. He has very little in terms of reach, and therefore he is not able to win lose puck battles like his bigger counterparts sometimes are. He is also not a threat in front of the net at all because he is so easily moved from out of the way. 

 

Defense - Denis, like many young skillful players, does not focus much of his efforts on defense. He is a strictly one zone type of player and is often found floating around the ice waiting for the puck to go the other way when his team is defending a lead. He is also not much of a penalty killer, and he will almost never sacrifice his body to block a shot unless it just so happens to hit off of his leg. He has poor control of his stick while playing defense and as such often leaves lines wide open for other teams to exploit. It would appear as if he suffers from a general lack of understanding of defensive system as opposed to a lack of effort, meaning he could perhaps be coached in to understanding. 

 

 

Coachability - Many coaches have tried to turn Denis in to a more complete player with basically no success. He is the kind of player who plays for, and sometimes by, himself. He does not seem to understand or believe in any kind of a team concept and is the type of player who is very frustrating to coach or to play with. Although incredibly talented, some are wary of him as a legitimate top prospect due to his lack of learning over his few years in North America. 

 

Conclusion

 

At the end of the day, Denis has the potential to be a very special player in the VHL. However, he still has a load left to learn if he ever wants to reach the potential that he so clearly has. Assuming he is placed in the correct situation once he is drafted, he could start out as a solid second line player who can chip in when he is called upon and can quickly become one of the leagues most dynamic offensive players if he continues to progress as we believe he can. 

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Content: 5/5

I really enjoyed this profile of Denis. You had a lot of really detailed information to share and it gave me a good sense of who Denis is and what type of player he is. The one misconception, and I may have mentioned this in a biography or something, but Moose Jaw and Kamloops, based on being in different conferences, wouldn't play each other in the playoffs unless it was in the WHL Finals. Otherwise, great job!

Grammar: 1/1

Not bad at all.

 

Entry Draft = Dispersal Draft

leagues = leagues'

leagues = league's x3

most compares most = mostly compares to/compares most to

Royn = Rouyn

to Denis game = to Denis' game

mean defenseman = meaner defensemen

of defensive system = of defensive systems

 

Appearance: 1/1

Great job.

Over 500 Words? 1/1

1,187 words

Overall 8/8

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