Matej Pekar

September 2018 – The Sabres selected the Czech forward with the 94^th overall selection. Pekar made a nice transition over to the USHL and has played well with Muskegon this year. He’s primarily a playmaker, plays a very tidy defensive game, is a very hard worker and he can play up and down the lineup. Pekar sees himself like Brad Marchand and enjoys being an annoyance to players and getting under their skin. He is used on the powerplay and penalty kill, contributing with his range of passing and vision which he uses to set up teammates for good scoring looks. He has a solid accurate shot making him a dual threat off the wing. He is a strong player off the boards, winning battles and helping his team transition, but also being very defensively responsible and mature as a hockey player. Pekar could be ready for the NHL in two to three years and would most likely feature in the bottom six to start. Pekar was expected to play with Miami in the NCAA but he will be missing the first semester and will be playing with the Barrie Colts in the OHL instead who chose to select him in the import draft. Marcus Griep