New Blackhawks prospect Vaclav Nestrasil is currently behind the curve compared to most first-round picks, but he might not be behind for long.
In Nestrasil, the No. 25 pick last week, the Hawks see an arrow pointing directly up. The 6-5 power forward has already come a long way over the past year. Considering he’s already developing this rapidly, what’s stopping him from eventually surpassing his peers?
“It’s still all coming together for him, but [with] his brain and his hands, he’s got the ability to play up the lineup,” Hawks scouting director Mike Doneghey said.
Nestrasil, who turned 18 in April, was playing under-17 Czech hockey — not typically an NHL breeding ground — until the spring of 2024, when he jumped to North America and tallied zero points in 11 games for the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks.
He added 15 pounds last summer, increasing his weight from roughly 170 to 185, and Doneghey immediately noticed a difference. By Thanksgiving, Nestrasil had seven points in 19 games for Muskegon. He added 35 more in the next 42 games.
Even still, he only finished tied for 44th in the USHL in scoring, which isn’t what one usually expects from an NHL first-round pick. But again, the Hawks care more about what he can become than what he is now.
Statistically, every month for Nestrasil has been better than the last — including April and May, when he racked up 13 points in 14 playoff games, helping the Lumberjacks win the league championship. The improvement was even true visually, Muskegon coach Colten St. Clair said.
“Players [need time] to find their identity,” St. Clair said. “[Vaclav had] to be work-based, play a little bit heavier and then let the skill take over. Once he understood that order . . . that’s when his game took off. And he was committed to doing so.
“It’s not [about] being a goon or anything like that. It’s just [about] being harder to play against. When he plays hard away from the puck and is physical and creates that offensive positioning, that’s when he’s at his best, and he gets [the puck] back. . . . When he came to the realization that he created more chances being more of a 200-foot forward, that [became] his identity.”
Nestrasil said Muskegon’s coaching staff was “straight” with him about what he needed to work on. He took their advice to heart.
“The physical part was the biggest jump for me,” he said. “I really started to shape out in that direction.”
And as he did, the rest of his game improved as well.
“When you’re comfortable with the physicality, whether that’s just staying over pucks or actually finishing a check or winning a [battle], you get more confident,” St. Clair said. “You’re not timid to engage.
“There came a point where he grew into his body a little bit more, became more coordinated and learned how to anticipate the play a little bit quicker.”
St. Clair showed Nestrasil clips of Avalanche forward Martin Necas, his Czech countryman, to demonstrate how to be more direct and assertive offensively (specifically by playing a north-south game) and why a shoot-first mentality can be beneficial. That paid off when Nestrasil scored three times in the championship series.
Necas is not so attentive on defense, but his skating stride as a bigger guy (6-3) and his eagerness to attack the net make him a good NHL comparison to Nestrasil, St. Clair said.
He also sees similarities between Nestrasil and Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies, one of Nestrasil’s role models, in terms of hand-eye coordination in tight spaces and doggedness away from the puck.
Nestrasil will be a freshman at UMass this coming season, a path the Hawks like for him. Skills coach Brian Keane reviewed Nestrasil’s tape and told Doneghey he thinks the kid could become a “four-out-of-four mover in the NHL.”
“He just needs the strength,” Doneghey said.
