NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Thomas Novak

Get to Know Thomas Novak
Date of Birth: 4/28/1997
Place of Birth: River Falls, WI, USA
Ht: 6’0″ Wt: 181 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Team (League): Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)

The 3rd overall pick in the 2013 USHL Draft (and first player actually picked), Thomas Novak came to the USHL after an extremely productive and high-profile career at St. Thomas Academy in Minnesota. He scored 184 points in just 94 games in high school, capped by scoring the state championship winning goal in Overtime in his final high school game.

When he took the leap to the USHL, Novak continued producing as he scored 48 points in 46 games in his first and only USHL season. Novak is headed to the University of Minnesota next season and should inject plenty of offense into the Gophers’ lineup.

Statistics

What Scouts See

eliteprospects.com:

A highly skilled playmaking center with first-rate “hockey sense” and puckhandling ability. Creates energy through being an offensively dominant presence. Plays an up-tempo game that can catch a lot of defencemen off guard; excellent skater. Will need to gain size and strength; otherwise, with his skillset, there is nothing barring him from becoming a prolific scorer at the next level.

Future Considerations:

A smart, intelligent forward…skates well and has very creative hands with the puck…not afraid of working hard, forechecks consistently and has great determination offensively…gets himself to good spots in the o-zone…pulls defenders in before making strong passes…shows great patience with the puck…has a decent shot but could stand to work on its velocity…can make questionable decision and get into penalty trouble but does show a willingness to play in gritty areas and not back down

What BSN Avalanche sees

Novak is your classic setup man, creative with the puck with great hands and excellent vision. Novak is a very good skater who has all of the offensive tools to succeed in the NHL in a scoring role.

Not the biggest player but does have a good frame that should fill out eventually, Novak is also your classic offensive forward with defensive questions. He plays an undisciplined game in the defensive zone and gets himself into trouble with his tendency to watch the puck instead of worrying about his assignment. Isn’t great along the boards and requires space to excel.

Highlights (When it applies, otherwise don’t worry about it)


NHL Potential

Novak’s creativity with the puck and ability to create space for himself and his linemates should see him top out as a very good second line player or a first line player on a weaker team. His vision and high-end passing ability profile him as a future prolific power play specialist.

Expected Draft Position

Novak’s rankings sit in the late 20’s and early 30’s, making him a prototypical flawed-but-talented late first round talent that might slide into the second round as teams sift through a glut of similar prospects to fill their organizational needs.

How Does Thomas Novak Fit in Avalanche Organization?

Slightly undersized (Novak is listed as short as 5’10” in some places and as high as 6’0″ elsewhere) but gifted with great offensive skills, Novak fits the profile of the Rick Pracey regime but may not be someone current draft runners Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic are interested in as they’ve shied away from this particular style of player since taking over the GM reigns.

Because of the dearth of high-quality talent in the Avalanche system, Novak would still be a contender for a top 5 prospect in the organization but his fit wouldn’t be the best and while his future is bright, he’s another player with a several year development path ahead of him.

Overall, if Novak is the clear-cut best prospect for the Avalanche in the second round then by all means they should select him but I feel there will be significantly more appropriate options that better fit the identity Roy and Sakic are trying to develop in Colorado.