If you’re a fan of the Columbus Blue Jackets, you may not have paid much attention to the Cleveland Monsters’ brilliant season. They made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals before ultimately being eliminated. The massively improved play of left back Stanislav Svozil showed that he was a central part of their success.
Svozil, in his first professional season in North America and as a rookie in the AHL, recorded 5-18-23 in 57 games while posting 24 PIM and a +1 rating. Despite being benched for most of November and parts of October and December, he still played in 57 games.
With his GP total, he is at the third highest level among the Monsters rookies, only Justin Pearson and Luca Del Bel Belluz are better.
Although Svozil has a reputation among some CBJ fans as being primarily a talented offensive defender, I would like to point out some of his defensive performances as the key area of improvement in his game as the Monsters close out the season.
What impressed me most was his eye for defensive positions. I watched him late in the season. On several occasions during the playoffs, he was the only man on defense on a power play, and yet he found a way to break it up and use his eye for passing to pass the puck to set up a great breakout pass to the other end.
Svozil is part of a trio of Czech junior players for the Jackets system that he knows very well. Svozil, David Jiricek and Monsters junior goalie Pavel Cajan all played for Czech junior teams at different times, where they got to know each other despite their different backgrounds from different parts of the country.
Given his keen eye for playmaking, high hockey IQ, decent size, and ability to be in the right place at the right time, I find it hard not to believe that Svozil could prove to be a third-round pick for the Jackets in the near future.
A bold prediction: Svozil will lead the Monsters defense in points this season and be an AHL All-Star
With players like Jake Christiansen, Denton Mateychuk and possibly Cole Clayton ahead of him in the pecking order for NHL time this season, I have a hard time imagining Svozil getting a full-time job at the top level this year.
However, this will likely allow him to secure the top spot on the Monsters’ left guard alongside players like Clayton, Corson Cuelemans, and possibly Jiricek if he struggles again with the Jackets. With a decent selection of partners, plenty of playing time, and his skill level, I would be surprised if Svozil doesn’t find success with the Monsters in 2024-2025.
