BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If Dalibor Dvorsky is available when the Penguins are on the clock with pick No. 14 in the draft on June 28 in Nashville, Tenn., it might make for an easy decision.
Dvorsky, who just turned 18 last week, is a left-handed forward capable of playing both wing and center. He's a native of Zvolen, Slovakia, but has been playing in Sweden for several years and spent last year in the Allsvenskan, the Swedish second professional league.
Most rankings have Dvorsky being drafted somewhere around 10th overall. Several rankings have him outside of the top 10, including EliteProspects (No. 11), Sportsnet (No. 11), Recruit Scouting (No. 14), Dobber Prospects (No. 15), and Smaht Scouting (No. 19).
There's no telling where actual NHL scouting staffs have Dvorsky on their draft boards, but it's not inconceivable that Dvorsky could fall to the Penguins at No. 14. If that happens, the Penguins would have the opportunity to get a pretty good prospect.
Dvorsky has been playing professional hockey since he was 15 years old, when he broke into Slovakia's top league in the 2020-21 season. He played 20 professional games that year, scoring two goals and two assists. As a 16-year-old in 2021-22, he split the year between the Swedish club AIK's U20 junior affiliate and its team in the Allsvenskan. He played 17 games in the Allsvenskan that year, scoring a goal and two assists.
Dvorsky spent this past season split between AIK's U20 team and the Allsvenskan team, but he became more of a regular in the Allsvenskan. He scored six goals and eight assists in 38 games, and his 14 points were the most by any player under the age of 18 in the league.
Dvorsky represented Slovakia twice on the international stage this season. He was named to the U18 World Junior Championship's All-Star Team after finishing sixth in the tournament in scoring with eight goals and five assists in seven games. He played in the main U20 World Junior Championship as well, scoring one goal and two assists in five games.
"I think I'm a really good offensive player with great hockey IQ," Dvorsky told me of what sets him apart from other prospects while at the NHL's scouting combine in Buffalo earlier this month. "I have a great shot and an overall offensive game."
Dvorsky said that he likes to try to emulate John Tavares and Anze Kopitar, "because they are really good offensive players that have great hockey IQ and shots, and they're good two-way players. They're quick-thinking."
Despite being one of the younger draft-eligible players, Dvorsky already has pro size at 6 foot 1 and 200 pounds, one of the reasons he was able to break into the European professional leagues at his age.
When asked what parts of his game he wants to focus on improving the most, Dvorsky said that he "always wants to improve everything."
Really, Dvorsky doesn't have any glaring weaknesses in his game. He's an average skater and could stand to get faster.
Dvorsky met with a number of teams at the combine, and said that the Penguins were one of them. A common question that came up in those interviews was whether he's more of a wing or center, given that he plays both positions. He said that he's most comfortable as a center.
Dvorsky impressed on the physical side of the combine, placing in the top-25 among the 100-plus players who participated in the combine in several fitness tests. His 8.21% body fat was the 20th-lowest among all participating prospects. He had the 21st best squat jump at 16.3 inches. In the bench press test that has a player press 50% of his body weight up at the highest velocity possible, he registered the 15th-highest score. His grip strength was the third-best in each hand, recording 165 pounds in his left hand and 168 pounds in his right.
Dvorsky could come over to North America as early as next season. He hasn't decided yet where he'll play, and he said that he's open to playing wherever the team that drafts him wants him to play. It would probably be too early to pencil him in on any AHL rosters just yet -- usually, a team would want a player in Sweden to have success in the SHL first -- but he could likely be on his way to North America sooner than most prospects his age.
This is the tenth story in a series of player profiles from the NHL's Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., focusing on potential first-round picks for the Penguins.