One Polarizing Giant

Spencer Machacek
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Country: Canada
Position: Right Wing
League: WHL
Team: Vancouver Giants
Height: 6'1'''
Weight: 182
Shoots: Right
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Scouting Report: The Alberta native is a big body on the right wing who had a tremendous playoff and Memorial Cup run scoring 9 goals and 20 points .. Machacek’s most admirable attribute is his unmatched determination and ability to stick with a play and ultimately prevail in getting to a loose puck, open shot, or defensive breakup .. he has this uncanny positioning and sense of where to be when his linemates press and find openings .. racks up points from finishing nice plays McArdle and Bliznak start .. at times is able to bull his way to the net and sticks there .. knows how to get to the net and just gets there however he needs to .. owns ordinary hands and has decent shooting skills .. scores a lot of ugly goals from in close .. has signature move of taking the puck from behind the net, skating to the bottom of the circle away from the net, while at the same time spinning around and throwing the puck at the goalie .. a strong body along the boards and takes care of his own end well ..is an awesome passer as he will always find his linemates and put the puck on their tape using willpower, hustle, and some vision .. for the majority of the game is just a decent skater who you wish had that extra jump, quicker acceleration, dynamic agility .. but will have a couple of shifts during the game where he displays an exceptional burst, and top end speed, leaving you to wonder where it was and where it went .. could be a result of subpar conditioning or lower body strength .. nonetheless, is not terribly affected by this and is usually always in the mix .. can impress once in a while in gearing up and carrying the puck up ice with speed and size .. is a devastating hitter at times, and other times he bounces off his checks as if he is 140 pounds and has weird disbursement of strength and power .. when he puts his mind to it can absolutely steam roll his way through defenders .. certainly limited offensively as far as measuring an individual skillset and does not stick out offensively .. Vancouver’s power forward is a great what if prospect as he certainly flashes signs of being a third line power forward but could just as well be an ECHL’er.

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2006-2007 Regular Season Stats

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63 games 21 goals 24 assists 45 points +26 32 PIM
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2007 Playoff Stats

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22 games 9 goals 11 assists 20 points +12 14 PIM
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Draft Day Status/Projection: In our estimation, Spencer Machacek is a harder working, less offensive version of Luca Caputi. Because of this, DraftBuzz rates him 45-60 and can see him being selected anywhere from early second round to late third round on draft day. The census is split on Machacek: some believe his skills are too limited to make it and some believe there is something more to him that we have not seen just yet. He is definately a prospect who needs to show some improved regular season offensive production, and developed skating skills, but his work ethic and tenacity make us believe he has a future as an NHL'er.

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(photo courtesy of www.whl.ca)