| STORIES |
- Saturday, June 27, 2009: Triple threat: Ferraro, Tatar and Nestrasil
- Tuesday, June 30, 2009: Tatar tops Wings’ charts
- Tuesday, January 5, 2010: Scoring sensation Smith shines
- Thursday, January 28, 2010: 2009-10 mid-season: Tatar grabs No. 1 spot
- Tuesday, March 16, 2010: Tatar ‘relevant in every game’
- Tuesday, June 1, 2010: 2009-10 end-of-season: Tatar hangs on to top spot
- Sunday, September 12, 2010: Tatar ready for long AHL grind
- Wednesday, December 1, 2010: Mursak waiting for NHL call
- Wednesday, January 5, 2011: Big Swede’s production no Joak
- Wednesday, February 9, 2011: 2010-11 mid-season: New Euro Twins rise higher
- Wednesday, March 2, 2011: Tatar avoids second-half slide
- Thursday, June 9, 2011: 2010-11 end-of-season: Smith rules the roost
- Wednesday, November 23, 2011: Nyquist closes in on Smith’s top spot
- Wednesday, December 21, 2011: Emerging Jensen explodes for rare hat trick
- Tuesday, March 6, 2012: Tatar progresses despite production plateau
- Monday, May 7, 2012: Impressive season sends rising Mrazek to pros
|
| AWARDS |
- 2008-09 IIHF world junior championship (Slovakia top three player)
- 2009-10 The Hockey News Future Watch (NHL’s 55th-best prospect)
- 2010-11 The Hockey News Future Watch (NHL’s 36th-best prospect)
- 2011-12 The Hockey News Future Watch (NHL’s 57th-best prospect)
|
| HISTORY |
2008-09:
- Made jump from U-20 ranks to Zvolen of Slovak ExtraLiga (48-7-8-15, plus-6).
- Tremendous play led Slovakia to surprising fourth-place finish at WJC.
- Led Slovakia in scoring and tied for fourth in tournament (7-7-4-11, minus-2).
- Placed second only to Nikita Filatov in the WJC goal-scoring race.
- Started slow (29-2-4-6) in ExtraLiga but came on strong after WJC (32-10-7-17).
- Particularly good in ExtraLiga playoffs (13-5-3-8, plus-4).
- Ranked as second-rounder heading into NHL draft (49th TSN, 41st ISS, 35th RLR).
- Red Wings had him ranked mid-first round and picked Tatar in the second round (60th overall).
- Selected sixth overall in the CHL import draft by Kitchener (OHL).
- Traded from Kitchener to Plymouth for Swede Gabriel Landeskog.
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2009-10:
- Knocked the socks of the Red Wings at training camp and signed a three-year entry-level deal.
- Appeared in two NHL pre-season games with Red Wings (2-0-0-0, two shots, minus-2).
- Started the season with Grand Rapids and was the youngest player in the entire AHL.
- Sensational start with offensively-starved club (27-10-11-21).
- Tied for third in scoring for Slovakia (6-3-2-5) in eighth-place finish at world junior championship.
- Wore down late in AHL season and struggled to produce in final 31 games (31-6-5-1).
- Represented 12th-place Slovakia at world championship, averaging 11:38 in ice time (6-2-0-2-4).
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2010-11:
- Appeared in four NHL pre-season games with Red Wings (4-1-1-2).
- Returned to AHL’s Grand Rapids and finished second in team scoring (70-24-33-57).
- Also scored six power-play goals, a plus-14 rating and 163 shots.
- Piled up a franchise record seven points (two goals, five assists) in a 10-8 win on Nov. 27.
- Played his best hockey from Nov. 27 to March 20 (41-21-25-46).
- Got NHL call in late December and appeared in nine games (9-1-0-1, 9:36 average ice time).
- Scored his first NHL goal in his first game on his first shot.
- Called up to Detroit as a Black Ace (spare who doesn’t play) for the NHL playoff run.
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2011-12:
- Appeared in five NHL pre-season games with Red Wings (5-1-0-1, minus-2, five shots).
- Returned to AHL for third full season with Grand Rapids (76-24-34-58, plus-4, 224 shots).
- Finished in three-way tie for team scoring lead with Gustav Nyquist and Jamie Johnson.
- Also led Grand Rapids in goals (24) and shots (224) and was among top 30 AHL scorers.
- Shots-on-goal total placed him 11th in AHL.
- Finished season in impressive fashion, with 19 points in 19 games (19-10-9-19).
- Worked one-on-one with skating coach Kim Muir to improve his skating stride and speed.
- Called up for Red Wings’ brief playoff run to serve as a Black Ace (spare who doesn’t play).
- Represented Slovakia at IIHF world championship in Finland in May.
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| SCOUT COMMENTS |
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“He’s one of those guys the puck just follows. He’s got the offensive instincts, the head and the hands.” — Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill (June 2009) … “He’s a little bit bigger than (Jiri) Hudler, but this guy can skate. If there’s one knock on Hudler, it’s that he doesn’t have that top speed. Tatar has good top speed. He has good offensive instincts, too. He can shoot the puck, he can make a play, he can beat a defenseman 1-on-1. He could be a top two line player in the future. He can be a real sniper.” — Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson (June 2009) … “He’s relevant in every game. He has a big future ahead of him. He’s got really, really nice hands, really good vision and he’s hard on the puck in the corners. He plays the game hard, too, for a skilled guy. He’s not big but he’s strong on his skates.” — Griffins general manager Bob McNamara (March 2010) … “He’s got a passion for the game and good offensive instincts. He thinks the game well. He’s the first guy in the corner getting the puck. He goes to the net.” — Nill (March 2011, The Hockey News) … “He’s been terrific for us. He’s really taken a big role penalty-killing this year and he’s done an excellent job learning how to block shots, how to be better defensively, all these little things. He’s a really good offensive player, but he’s rounded out his game more.” — Griffins head coach Curt Fraser (February 2012).
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| STRENGTHS |
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Simply loves to play the game and has off-the-charts hockey passion … Cerebral hockey player with a sixth sense in the offensive zone … Always in the right place at the right time from the offensive blue line in … Boasts a threatening arsenal of offensive tools, with good skating, dangerous 1-on-1 ability and a hard shot … Has a nose for the net and bulls into traffic to get the puck … Smart on power play … Hard worker has a jump to his step every shift … Infectious energy … Capable of killing penalties, blocking shots, and playing responsibly in his own zone.
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| WEAKNESSES |
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Probably not as tall as the 5-foot-11 he is listed at, and some scouts wonder if his size will hinder him … Doesn’t boast top-end speed of guys like Jan Mursak and Darren Helm, but has made a commitment to become a better skater … Needs to work on his consistency and become a little bit less streaky.
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| PROJECTION |
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Tatar didn’t earn an NHL call-up in 2011-12, nor did he increase his production in Grand Rapids. But he still made major strides toward becoming an NHL player. More of a one-dimensional offensive sparkplug on his draft day, Tatar has rounded out his two-way game and is a much more complete player after three seasons in the AHL. He’s certainly in the conversation for an NHL roster spot in 2012-13, but he’s still exempt from waivers and could spent one more season on the farm.
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Player statistics powered by www.eliteprospects.com
| Season |
Team |
League |
GP |
G |
A |
TP |
PIM |
|
Playoffs |
GP |
G |
A |
TP |
PIM |
| 2004-2005 |
HK Dubnica U18 |
Slovakia U18 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2005-2006 |
HK Dubnica U18 |
Slovakia U18 |
35 |
8 |
12 |
20 |
14 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2006-2007 |
HK Dubnica U18 |
Slovakia U18 |
48 |
33 |
44 |
77 |
42 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
HK Dubnica U20 |
Slovakia U20 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2007-2008 |
HK Dukla Trencin U18 |
Slovakia U18 |
4 |
9 |
4 |
13 |
0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
HK Dukla Trencin U20 |
Slovakia U20 |
42 |
41 |
35 |
76 |
32 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2008-2009 |
HKM Zvolen |
Slovakia |
48 |
7 |
8 |
15 |
20 |
| |
Playoffs |
13 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
4 |
| |
HC Detva |
Slovakia2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Slovakia U20 |
WJC-20 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
11 |
4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2009-2010 |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
AHL |
58 |
16 |
16 |
32 |
12 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Slovakia U20 |
WJC-20 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Slovakia |
WC |
6 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2010-2011 |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
AHL |
70 |
24 |
33 |
57 |
45 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Detroit Red Wings |
NHL |
9 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
- |
- |
| 2011-2012 |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
AHL |
75 |
24 |
34 |
58 |
45 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Slovakia (all) |
International |
2 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
- |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Slovakia |
WC |
8 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2012-2013 |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
AHL |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Player statistics © www.eliteprospects.com
