Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Fantasy Summary

A heart-and-soul player, Drozg has enough one-on-one ability and hand skills to be a bottom-six NHLer with some offensive contributions. Adding some muscle to his lanky frame would help.


Observations

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November 2020 – Drozg is off to a hot with HK SZ Olimpija of the Alps Hockey League with four goals and six assists for 10 points in four games played. He also spent three games with their lower division team, posting six goals and once assist. With NHL training camps still unknown to start, Drozg, while playing in a much weaker league than the AHL, is getting good ice time that will help his game come camp time. Clare McManus 

October 2020 – The Penguins have loaned Drozg to HK SZ Olimpija of the Alps Hockey League in Slovakia. He will return to North America once NHL training camps begin. Clare McManus

 

April 2020 – Drozg had a bit of a tougher transition to the pros this season. He spent a majority of the time with the ECHL Wheeling Nailers, where he scored 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 24 games. Upon his call up to the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he scored five goals and added three assists for eight points in 32 games. Clare McManus

 

September 2019 – After being among the first wave of cuts from Pittsburgh’s training camp, the slender Slovenian was subsequently assigned to the Wheeling Nailers. While bypassing the AHL on his way down is ominous for his future in the organization, he’s just beginning a three-year deal. Drozg was first a victim of the numbers game with the big club, then squeezed out of a crowded squad in Wilkes-Barre-Scranton. Since the NHL Penguins are again making a run at the Stanley Cup with a veteran-heavy roster, there aren’t as many opportunities for younger players. Mark Allan

 

September 2019 – Drozg was among the first wave of cuts from Pittsburgh’s training camp. He’ll begin his first full AHL season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Mark Allan

 

May 2019 – Drozg had no points in two late-season AHL games. He missed experiencing his pro post-season debut because Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fell short of qualifying for Calder Cup play. Armed with a three-year entry-level contract, Drozg will probably open 2019-20 in the AHL. Mark Allan

 

April 2019 – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins signed Drozg to an amateur tryout contract for the rest of the AHL season, a bridge to his three-year NHL entry-level deal beginning in 2019-20. With personal QMJHL bests of 21 goals, 41 assists and 62 points, the slender Slovenian topped Shawinigan in points. The 20-year-old also led the Cataractes with six playoff points, including four goals. He had an assist in an AHL game a year ago. Exposure to Calder Cup post-season play will surely hasten his development. Mark Allan

 

March 2019 – The slender forward signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract with an average annual value of $925,000. A first-round pick in the CHL import draft, he leads Shawinigan with 36 assists and 56 points in 57 games as well as being second on the team with 20 goals, although he’s minus-34. He would undoubtedly have better numbers if the 16th-overall Cataractes didn’t insist on being one of the league’s worst teams. The hard-working battler with good anticipation and speed is one of Slovenia’s top junior players, totalling four goals and eight assists in five games in the 2019 world junior championship’s 1B Division. A year earlier, he was named the top player of the division with nine points in five games. Between playing in his homeland and Quebec, Drozg spent two seasons with Leksands’ junior system in Sweden. Not quite 20 now, he has a season of junior eligibility left, so Pittsburgh could decide to leave him in the QMJHL instead of turning him pro, although Drozg did register an assist in his lone AHL game during the 2017-18 campaign. Mark Allan

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 6.0
NHL Certainty 4.5
Country SVK
Position LW
Roster Type Free Agent, Minors
Shoot/Glove Right
Date of Birth April 1, 1999
Height 6‘2”
Weight 174 lbs
Drafted 2017 Round 5; Overall: 152

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2013-2014 HK Maribor U18ICEJL25 20 1131 46|        
  HK Maribor U18Slovenia U180 0 00 0|Playoffs6 5 05 10 
 2014-2015 HK MariborSlovenia11 4 37 6|        
  HK Celje U18Slovenia U180 0 00 0|Playoffs5 10 919
  HK Celje U18ICEJL25 47 3178 37|Playoffs3 3 25
  Slovenia U18WJC-18 D1B5 4 26 0|        
 2015-2016 Leksands IF J18J18 Region22 16 1531 16|        
  Leksands IF J18J18 Nationell16 10 1020 10|Playoffs5 0 11
  Leksands IF J20J20 Nationell1 0 00 2|        
  Slovenia U18WJC-18 D1B5 3 47 2|        
 2016-2017 Leksands IF J18J18 Region18 12 1628 8|        
  Leksands IF J18J18 Nationell17 7 1421 10|Playoffs4 1 23
  Leksands IF J20J20 Nationell4 3 25 0|Playoffs2 1 01
  Slovenia U18WJC-18 D1B5 5 813 4|        
  Slovenia U20WJC-20 D1B3 1 23 2|        
 2017-2018 Shawinigan CataractesQMJHL61 16 3450 44|        
  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL1 0 11 0|        
  Slovenia U20WJC-20 D1B5 5 49 10|        
  SloveniaWC D1A5 1 01 2|        
  Slovenia (all)International5 1 01 2|        
 2018-2019 Shawinigan CataractesQMJHL60 21 4162 48|Playoffs6 4 26
  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL2 0 00 2|        
  Slovenia U20WJC-20 D1B5 4 812 14|        
  SloveniaWC D1A5 5 27 4|        
  Slovenia (all)International7 5 38 6|        
 2019-2020 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL32 5 38 12|        
  Wheeling NailersECHL24 13 1023 16|        
 2020-2021 HK Olimpija LjubljanaAlpsHL10 7 1017 14|        
  HK Olimpija LjubljanaSlovenia6 9 211 37|        
  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL30 5 27 10|        
 2021-2022 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL23 4 610 8|        
  Grand Rapids GriffinsAHL15 0 11 4|        
  SloveniaOGQ3 1 12 8|        
  Slovenia (all)International3 1 12 8|        
 2022-2023 Amur KhabarovskKHL40 8 1321 18|        
  SloveniaWC7 3 03 0|        
  Slovenia (all)International13 7 29 6|        
 2023-2024 Amur KhabarovskKHL49 9 1726 22|Playoffs6 3 25

Highlights