We began our 2023 NHL Draft profiles series with a look at Colby Barlow, winger for the Owen Sound Attack. We continue our series with a look at another skilled forward the Capitals could land with the eighth overall pick on June 28.
DALIBOR DVORSKY – (17) – 6’1” – 210LBS, Center, AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
As we said in our Barlow profile, most mock drafts have the Caps landing the Slovak center with the eighth selection. Dvorsky has been playing in Sweden for the majority of his career, most recently with the AIK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second tier league.
Dvorsky didn’t have the most eye-catching numbers with AIK, only racking up 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 38 games this season. However, Dvorsky blossomed at the U-18 World Championship with Team Slovakia, recording 13 points (eight goals, five assists) while serving as an alternate captain.
Patrik Masnica with the perfect tap-in off a great pass from Dalibor Dvorský to give Slovakia a 2-0 lead! #2023NHLDraft
— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) April 27, 2023
Dvorsky’s best season came in 2021-22 with the AIK junior 20 team, where he had a career-best 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 33 games.
Unlike Barlow, who is a goal scorer, Dvorsky is a playmaker who is very agile on his edges. He has a very high hockey IQ and is very good at finding passing lanes. He has a quick shot that is accurate and is patient with the puck. There is not a lot of panic in his game.
Dalibor Dvorský rips it home on the power play as Slovakia ties the game at 2! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/gbjvTfxPrb
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 28, 2022
As we said in our Barlow piece, Evgeny Kuzentsov’s future in Washington is up in the air. Dvorsky could compete for a center position with Connor McMichael next season if the Capitals decide to draft him. However, some scouts have Dvorsky slotted at the wing, so he is a versatile forward that can play anywhere in the lineup.
One arena of improvement for Dvorsky is his play under pressure. He has a tough time evading traffic and this sometimes leads to turnovers. He can win most 50-50 puck battles, but is sometimes soft in the corners.
Overall, there is a plethora of center depth in the upcoming draft. Dvorsky would be a good fit in Washington because of his versatility.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
OTHER TAKES
Scott Wheeler (9th overall)
Dvorsky is a highly talented and intelligent playmaker who can threaten coverage in a variety of ways, whether that’s carving through it in control and finishing cleanly from the home plate area, sliding off of coverage to find pockets of space to get open into, or drawing coverage and facilitating (he does a wonderful job hanging onto pucks and waiting for options to open). He’ll occasionally force things but he usually finds his way through with his skill, strength on pucks and smarts. His statistical profile is really strong and continued progress in his skating will keep it that way into the NHL. I expect he’ll be picked a little lower than this, but I still like him at the edge of the top 10.
Bob MacKenzie (9th overall)
The 6-foot-1 Slovak centre who plays in Sweden is a physically strong and capable, heady two-way centre who is not without good offensive instincts. But scouts are trying to discern if he has the higher-end skills to put up bigger offensive numbers. Those scouts who believe he has a higher offensive ceiling than he’s shown are more likely to rate him closer to five than 10.
Dalibor Dvorsky is an excellent center prospect with a great shot and the defensive instincts to be a two-way force in the NHL someday. Playing in the second tier Swedish pro league HockeyAllsvenskan, Dvorsky has established himself as one of the top-10 prospects in most prospect evaluators’ minds, with the vast majority seeing him as a top-16 talent. This is his first year playing against grown men, after several years of being the youngest player on his team at the junior level, and he has remained effective while showing off more of what he could be in the NHL.
OTHER RANKINGS
Elite prospects: 17
NHL Central Scouting: 3 (Among EU skaters)
Sportsnet: 12
By Jacob Cheris