Dominik Badinka 2024 NHL Draft Profile

It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will be held on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Next up on The Win Column’s draft profiles for the 2024 NHL Draft is the Czech defender Dominik Badinka.

Who is Dominik Badinka?

PLAYER	POSITION	HANDEDNESS	HEIGHT	WEIGHT
Dominik Badinka	D	R	6’3″	190 lbs

The 2005-born Czech is expected to go as early as 25th, or as late as 48th. This draft stock realistically results in him falling to somewhere in the mid-30s. Here’s what you need to know about the possible first-round pick.

Year	Draft Relative	League	Team	GP	G	A	P
2022–23	D-1	U20 SM-sarja	Jokerit U20	43	5	21	26
		International-Jr	Czechia U18 (all)	20	0	7	7
2023–24	D+0	J20 Nationell	Malmö Redhawks J20	17	2	11	13
		SHL	Malmö Redhawks	33	1	3	4
		International-Jr	Czechia U20 (all)	3	0	0	0

Badinka’s on-ice production

The young defender has certainly bounced around recently with pit stops with Pirati Chomutov starting in 2019, then the Finnish Jokerit (J20) in 2022–23, then finally Malmo for this past season. Luckily he hasn’t been alone on this journey as his twin-brother Daniel also joined him. The brothers have found a home in Malmo, with Dominik particularly impressing in their junior system, earning him a regular shift on their Swedish Hockey League team.

With Badinka’s 6’0″ frame and mobility on the blue line, the big Czech is a key piece to the Redhawk’s rebuild this past season. The Swedish team sees him as such a vital piece to their rebuild that they signed the young Chomutov product to a three-year extension this past December.

Badinka’s strengths

Badinka is a mobile puck-moving two-way defender, which can be seen in various aspects of his play.

Senses

The core element of Badinka’s game is his senses at both ends of the ice. Defensively he proves to be a capable pro-level defender, with good post-up positioning in front of the net, combined with noticeable instincts in D-zone play like boxing out, stick lifts, and smart tie-ups.

Defensive awareness is present to an acceptable amount in Badinka’s game. In transition is where Badinka will be the most impactful (or at least attempt to be). The Czech defender is an asset on the breakout as he has good vision and pass/play identification, often initiating quick up-and-out plays with short passes, or just directly leading them himself.

For a defenceman, Badinka shows great offensive instincts and knows how to generate chances off of the rush. Boy does he like to jump up lots, which can make him a chance generation machine on the rush, although at times he will be caught as his risk assessment/anticipation is not fully developed yet.

This development will come with time and experience. In other instances, the Czech can be a competent O-zone pinch, activations, and play support elements. There are flashes of hockey IQ, where he makes smart plays that are a step or two ahead but because of puck skills, (more on that later), it falters.

Puck protection

One of the most stand-out elements of Badinka’s game is his puck protection. He plays a smart defensive and deceptive puck protection game in his own zone, and transition. Often absorbing nasty-looking hits to keep possession and then using both body and board leverage to retain control.

In other instances, he will keep the puck at his skate, and then a simple spin will give him the runway to take off with the puck or pass it to a safer option. As any coach will tell you, puck possession is half of the game, and with his puck protection mechanics Badinka helps establish exactly that.

Skating Fundamentals

The skating foundation that Badinka has is solid. His ankle flexion, posture, and mechanically sound stride all exceed the expectations of a player his age. There is a good chance in the near future he could be the golden standard of an NHL skater. Mix in his outside edgework, with quick turns, and decent stopping mechanics and his already sound foundation becomes even more solid.

Most noticeable is his agility, with a lanky 6’3″ frame, it is a favourable combination of reach, agility, and lane. On breakouts, he often leans into passes, giving them more power than they otherwise would have, demonstrating both his high-level balance as well as his offensive play creation instincts.

Badinka’s areas of improvement

Puck skills

There’s lots of upside with Badinka, as most of his limitations are fixable, and quite common for a player of his age. First and foremost his puck skills generally need improvements. As a main contributor off of the rush, Badinka had a bad habit of losing puck control upon zone entries, leading to a loss of chance generation.

In-zone Badinka is especially prone to handling issues, puck bobbles, and a lack of poise, which would be a point of contention in any coach’s room. Luckily for his coach, and NHL fans, these are skills that will naturally develop as the player ages and works with high-level skill coaches.

These improvements in puck handling will complement his decision-making under pressure, which is currently below average. If the young defender wants to be the offensive difference maker off the rush that his play would suggest then growth in puck skills is central.

Power

As highlighted earlier his skating base is absolutely solid, it’s the power behind it which is a cause for concern. This is not to say he is a slow player, but he is not particularly fast either. His lateral speed, acceleration, crossovers, and general power may pose problems next season in the SHL and beyond.

This lack of skating power leads to problematic transition play regarding puck races, pace of play, and defensive recovery, which are even more noticeable for defenders who jump up offensively as often as Badinka does. This skating power is another element that will get better as the muscle mass of the player increases with age.

Physicality

For the 6’3″ frame that the Chomutov product has, he lacks the more physical elements of the game. Per 60 minutes, Badinka dishes out 0.4 hits, while being on the receiving end of 1.02. These numbers can be important as they influence D-zone play and transitional board play.

Badinka also starts 51% of all of his shifts from this past season in the D-zone, which is one area a defender can’t be pushed around in. To be a truly two-way defender in the NHL Badinka will have to have at least a tinge of physicality to his game to be successful.

Summary

It’s unlikely that Badinka is any more of a risk than any other player in the draft. Yes, he’s signed an extension but this sort of deal is not uncommon, and the problem it would pose if an NHL club wanted him is miniscule. Lots of Badinka’s skills are underdeveloped by current NHL standards, so whichever NHL organization drafts him would likely wait out the contract and reexamine signing him when he starts taking those steps forward. The Czech’s NHL ETA is at a minimum of three years. In other terms: the classic wait-and-see type of prospect.

What teams get out of Badinka is a likely NHL calibre defenceman that with development taken into account, should be a high-end top six defender with a mobility edge, and instincts.

Risk: 2.5/5

Reward: 3.5/5

Projection: High-end top six defender, with possible room for even more growth.

Skating: 3.5/5
Senses: 3.5/5
Compete Level: 3.5/5
Puck Skills: 3/5
Shooting: 3.5/5

Comparables: Ethan Bear

Fit with the Flames

Badinka would be a nice addition to the defence corps of the future, idealistically fitting around the #4-6 slot. Having a more mobile puck mover that is capable at both ends with a distinct (hopefully more refined) offensive flair is certainly never a bad thing.

With all of this being said, would you want to see the Calgary Flames draft Dominik Badinka come draft day? Let us know in the comments.

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:

Tyler RohlederMay 3, 2024

5 minutes read