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Mursak: High-risk, high-reward Slovenian has great upside; ready to come to North America ... The Detroit Red Wings like Jan Mursak — a lot. So much so, they began to fret as they waited for their 182nd overall pick to roll around in Saturday’s NHL entry draft in Vancouver. It was a full 90 spots after their previous pick at No. 92. “We had him ranked high and we ran out of picks,” said Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill. “We were trying to make a trade to move up and get him, but luckily, he was still around.” Mursak, a Slovenian-born winger, is known for his exceptional speed, soft hands and terrific stickhandling ability. The Red Wings got him in the sixth round, but had him rated in the top three, Nill said. The 5-foot-11, 167-pounder had 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points in 48 games with Ceske Budejovice of the Czech Republic’s top under-20 league last season, placing fourth in team scoring. “He’s a player we like a lot,” said Nill. “He’s a great skater with typical European stick skills. For his size, he competes hard.” Mursak left his home in Slovenia at age 17 to play in the Czech Republic, a move that accelerated his development and gave him more exposure to NHL scouts in his draft year. The move paid off, and now, Mursak is interested in coming overseas immediately. He has a good chance of being picked in Wednesday’s Canadian Hockey League European import draft. How he adapts to the North American game will depend on his ability to bulk up. “He wants to come over here, which is a bonus,” said Nill. “Like most of our players, it’s how he matures physically. A lot of that is just their age and the rest is up to them. It’s all about strength.” Mursak represented Slovenia at the second-level world junior championship at Christmas, scoring five points in five games on a line with Los Angeles Kings first-rounder Anze Kopitar. Nill said that with picks such as Mursak and Dick Axelsson, the Red Wings see big upside and are going for a home run. “We’re hoping that the Axelssons and the Mursaks turn into something better than what you projected, much like the (Pavel) Datsyuks and all those other guys,” said Nill. NOTE: This is the third in a series of articles on the Red Wings' newest draft picks. Articles will appear daily. See also: Matthew Wuest is a freelance hockey writer. You can contact him by email at wuest@redwingscentral.com. |
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