Adam Sýkora Explained

Adam Sýkora
Birth Date:7 September 2004
Birth Place:Piešťany, Slovakia
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:179
Position:Forward
Shoots:Left
League:NHL
Team:New York Rangers
Prospect League:AHL-->
Former Teams:HK Nitra
Ntl Team:SVK
Draft:63rd overall
Draft Year:2022
Draft Team:New York Rangers
Career Start:2021

Adam Sýkora (born 7 September 2004) is a Slovak professional ice hockey forward for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the second round, 63rd overall, of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Sýkora was drafted by the New York Rangers with the 63rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers on 15 July 2022.[1] He joined the Rangers for the beginning of their 2022 training camp but was returned to HK Nitra of the Slovak Extraliga after playing one preseason game.[2]

Sýkora scored 8 goals and had 13 assists in 38 games for HK Nitra in the 2022-23 season. He joined the Hartford Wolf Pack after HK Nitra was eliminated from the Extraliga playoffs in March 2023.[3]

After Hartford was eliminated from the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, he was recalled to the Rangers roster for the Stanley Cup playoffs.[4]

International play

Sýkora competed in Ice hockey at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in the boys' 3x3 mixed tournament.[5]

He represented the Slovak national under-18 team on their runner-up team in the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scoring two goals in five tournament games, including one in the semifinals game against Finnish national under-18 team.[6] [7] He also represented Slovakia in the IIHF World Junior Championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He was named the captain of the Slovakia team for the 2024 World Junior Championship.[8]

Sýkora played for the Slovak national team in the 2022 IIHF World Championship, in which Slovakia finished in eighth place. Sýkora scored two goals and had one assist in six games during the tournament.[9] [10]

Player profile

Sýkora's strengths as an ice hockey player are speed, defense and competitiveness, but his size likely hurt his NHL draft position.[10] [11] The Hockey News writer Steven Ellis wrote in advance of the 2022 World Championships that Sýkora "is an active forechecker who doesn't let his 5-foot-10 frame hold him back against the older and more physically mature competition in the Slovak men's league" and that "his playstyle and motor in combination with his skill and knack for finding a way to score give him the ability to play up and down the lineup." The Hockey News writer Tony Ferrari praised Sýkora's speed and creativity on offense and his backchecking ability and commitment on defense.[12] Rangers' director of player development Jed Ortmeyer said of him after he participated in the Rangers' 2022 prospect camp "How can you not like him? He's got a smile on his face all the time. Just positive, he wants to work, he's excited to be here. Great energy in the room. It was fun to work with and get to know him this week."[13] During the Rangers' 2023 development camp Ortmeyer described him as a "high energy guy."[14]

HK Nitra general manager Tomáš Chrenko praised Sýkora's work ethic and said that:

Chrenko noted that as a young player he was already the best defensive forward and a first pair penalty-killer for HK Nitra. However, some scouts feel that his offensive upside is limited and that he has no outside shot.

Sýkora said that he models his game after Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins. Sýkora said that "I really like Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins. He's like a rat and he isn't scared of (taller) players."[15]

Prior to the 2023-24 NHL season, USA Today writer Vincent Z. Mercogliano rated Sýkora as the Rangers 4th best prospect.[16]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2019–20HK NitraSlovak-Jr.9 3 5 8 0
2020–21Team Slovakia U18Slovak-Jr.3 2 0 2 2
2020–21Team Slovakia U18Slovak.113 3 6 9 6
2020–21HK LeviceSlovak.16 1 4 5 64 0 1 1 4
2020–21HK NitraSlovak15 0 2 2 2
2021–22HK NitraSlovak-Jr.1 0 0 0 0
2021–22Team Slovakia U18Slovak.13 0 0 0 2
2021–22HK NitraSlovak46 10 7 17 619 2 3 5 2
2022–23HK NitraSlovak38 8 13 21 88 1 3 4 4
2022–23Hartford Wolf PackAHL2 0 0 0 04 0 1 1 0
2023–24Hartford Wolf PackAHL66 8 15 23 410 0 3 3 0
Slovak totals99 18 22 40 1627 3 6 9 6

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2022SlovakiaWC8th6 2 1 3 0
2022SlovakiaWJC9th4 1 0 1 27
2023SlovakiaWJC6th5 1 0 1 0
2024SlovakiaWJC6th5 1 1 2 2
Senior totals6 2 1 3 0

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rangers Agree to Terms with Adam Sykora . NHL.com . 28 September 2022 . 15 July 2022.
  2. Web site: Rangers Assign Adam Sykora to HK Nitra . NHL.com . 28 September 2022 . 27 September 2022.
  3. Web site: Rangers Assign Forward Adam Sýkora to Wolf Pack, Pack Ink Bryce McConnell-Barker to ATO. 29 March 2023. 2023-03-29. Hartford Wolf Pack.
  4. Web site: Rangers' Brennan Othmann: Among recalls Saturday. 25 May 2024. 2024-05-26. CBS.
  5. Web site: Ice Hockey - Men's Mixed NOC 3-on-3 - Black Team . Lausanne2020.sport . . https://web.archive.org/web/20200724123748/https://www.lausanne2020.sport/results/nh/en/Participant/ParticipantInfo/7ed69090-0384-45b4-b062-30fab6157b2f . 24 July 2020.
  6. Web site: Adam Sýkora . Elite Prospects . 8 July 2022.
  7. Web site: Slovakia, Russa to Play for Gold at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup . Ellis, Steven . 6 August 2021 . 8 July 2022 . The Hockey News.
  8. Web site: Adam Sýkora Named Captain of World Juniors Team Slovakia. Mungo, Matthew. The Hockey News. 2023-12-27. 23 December 2023.
  9. Web site: Men's World Championship Set to Showcase 2022 NHL Draft Talent . Ellis, Steven . 12 May 2022 . 8 July 2022 . The Hockey News.
  10. Web site: Rangers pick Adam Sýkora with their first selection of 2022 NHL Draft . New York Post . 8 July 2022 . 8 July 2022 . Neschis, Matthew.
  11. News: newspapers.com. 2023-03-09. Star-Gazette. Mercogliano, Vincent Z.. Breaking down every Rangers draft pick. July 10, 2022. 1C, 5C.
  12. Web site: Prospect Pool Overview: New York Rangers. Ferrari, Tony. 2022-12-21. The Hockey News. August 11, 2022.
  13. Web site: Rangers sign Adam Sýkora to three-year entry-level deal: 'Best day ever'. Walker, Mollie. 15 July 2022. 17 July 2022. New York Post.
  14. Web site: Speedy Rangers prospect Adam Sykora begins next steps of development with high hopes. Walker, Mollie. July 8, 2023. 2023-07-11. New York Post.
  15. Web site: Rangers Draft Pick Adam Sýkora Models Game After Bruins' Brad Marchand. Campbell, Lauren. 8 July 2022. 8 July 2022. NESN.
  16. Web site: NY Rangers 2023 prospect rankings: No. 4 has the look of a valuable role player. Yahoo! Sports. Mercogliano, Vincent Z.. 2023-09-05. 5 September 2023.