islesinfo - Draft Central 2002

Menu

'98 Draft Central
'99 Draft Central
'00 Draft Central
'01 Draft Central

2002 Free Agents

//// //// //// ////

-Draft Central 2002-

	Chabada a Steal
	The Isles believe they unearthed another gem from the Czech Republic in the eighth round, just as they did with Radek Martinek three years ago. Our scouts believe Martin Chabada, a 25 year old power winger, could compete for a job next season.

2002 Selections

RD # Selection Pos. Ht Wt From

1 22 Sean Bergenheim W 5-11 194 Jokerit, FIN

3 87 Franz Nielsen C 5-11 172 Malmo, SWE

5 149 Marcus Paulsson W 6-1 185 Morrum, SWE

6 189 Alexei Stonkus D 6-0 174 Yaroslavl, RUS

7 220 Brad Topping G 6-1 185 Brampton, OHL

8 252 Martin Chabada LW 6-1 202 Sparta, CZE

9 283 Per Braxenholm D 6-3 215 Morrum, SWE

LW Martin Chabada: 6-1, 202 lbs. Born June 14, 1977 in Kladno, Czech Republic. While Stonkus is a long term project, Chabada may be the real steal of the draft for the New York Islanders. Already 25 years old, this big winger has tons of international experience and has even played with Radek Martinek and Dusan Salficky in a few tournaments over in the Czech Republic. Chabada had a breakthrough season offensively in 2001-02 with the Extraliga champions Sparta Praha and the Islanders believe he could come over and compete for a spot in training camp for the upcoming season. If he does he has to be signed to a contract by July 15th. "He had a very good year," said Isles' European scout Karel Pavlik, who once coached Chabada. "He skated on the first line with the league champion. That is impressive. I like his offensive instincts. They are very good. He can skate and handle the puck." This past season with Sparta Praha, Chabada scored 19 goals and 40 points in 51 games along with a +29 rating and 113 penalty minutes. It was a far cry from his 2000-01 numbers, just nine goals and 19 points in 43 contests. "He has international experience with Czech Republic," said Pavlik. "It goes back to when he was a junior that he got a lot of experience. Now, he has become a top player on the Czech League's champion club and he's played some games on their National Team." Chabada broke into the Sparta Praha lineup as a regular during the 1997-98 season, scoring eight goals and 12 points in 40 games. After a steady progression, the Czech, who shoots righty, broke out. "He's not afraid to go into the corners and sees the ice very well," said Pavlik. "He hasn't had any major injuries and I like him a lot." Likes to often wear #15.

Martin Chabada's stats

Year Team Lea. GP G A Pts. PIM

1997-98 HC Sparta Praha Extraliga 40 8 12 20 59

1998-99 HC Sparta Praha Extraliga 39 3 9 12 14

1998-99 Playoffs 1 0 0 0 0

1999-00 HC Sparta Praha Extraliga 35 7 12 19 12

1999-00 Playoffs 9 2 2 4 4

2000-01 HC Sparta Praha Extraliga 43 9 10 19 36

2000-01 Playoffs 12 0 0 0 8

2000 HC Sparta Praha Zepter Cup 7 3 3 6 6

2000-01 Eesko Repre-pøíprava 1 1 0 1 2

2000 Eesko Eeska Cup 3 1 0 1 4

2000 Eesko Karjala Cup 2 0 0 0 2

2001 HC Sparta Praha Tipsport Cup 6 3 4 7 8

2001-02 HC Sparta Praha Extraliga 51 19 21 40 113

2001-02 Playoffs 13 4 7 11 4

2002 Eesko Karjala Cup 3 0 0 0

D Per Braxenholm: 6-3, 215 lbs. Born October 31, 1983(Halloween!) in Karlskrona, Sweden. Born is the same town and plays for the same team as the Islanders fifth round pick Marcus Paulsson. According to the Islanders scouting staff, Braxenholm has some snarl. "He's a North American style player," said Isles' European Scouting guru Anders Kallur. "He loves to take the body and be physical. He's a good skater and I see no major weaknesses in his game." Braxenholm split the season in Sweden's junior league in Kallinge before being promoted to the "A" league with Morrum late in the year. "I liked what I saw in those 15 games," said Kallur. "They were a high-pressure time for that team and he fit right in." Braxenholm has good size at 6-2, 210 pounds.

Per Braxenholm's stats

Year Team Lea. GP G A Pts. PIM

2001-02 Morrum GoIS SWE 15 0 0 0 0

2001-02 Kallinge SWE d2

Isles Go European

Six of the Islanders seven picks in the 2002 entry draft are from overseas. One possibility for this increase is because NHL teams can keep their rights to European players for many years. Left: scouts Tony Feltrin and Anders Kallur.

- A lot goes into finding all these good prospects and hidden gems. The Islanders have some of the best scouts in the league, especially their European contingent. Former Islander Kallur does not get much print in any of the Islanders publications but he has a role in many of the Isles European selections. The Islanders scouts include Jim Madigan, Mario Saraceno, Earl Ingarfield, Brian Hunter, Doug Gibson and Harkie Singh. Scouts who focus primarily on Europe are Kallur, Karel Pavrlik, Harri Rindell, Nikolai Ladygin, Bo Karlsson and Falu Ishockey Scouting Service. Now that Gordie Clark is leaving the Islanders organization, Feltrin has assumed the role of Chief Scout.

2002 Draft Central - Page 1 2002 Draft Central - Page 2