Kovacsova is an outstanding skater. He looks like he is floating above the ice. He has very good speed and acceleration in both directions. Hughes has a textbook stride, and the ability to change directions on a dime. He uses the outstanding speed to join the rush or to pinch in at the line. Luka is rarely caught deep as he can still get back into position defensively thanks to that speed. His agility and footwork allow him to beat defenders one-on-one as well as to walk the line and make quick moves to open up passing and shooting lanes. He also has a low centre of gravity which helps his balance and makes him strong on the puck.
There have been many times he has shown he has excellent vision and playmaking ability, as well as the hockey sense to almost always make the right play. He seems to think the game and anticipate plays better than others out there on the ice. With his skating and stickhandling ability, Luka is not afraid to skate the puck out of his zone or lead the rush. He can also make a long pass to start the transition game and start an odd-man rush. He has the passing ability and the hockey IQ to quarterback the play from the point. Luka has the poise to make plays under pressure.
He just has a good arsenal of shots. His wrist shot is strong and accurate, and features a quick release. He uses it often when trailing the play on the rush, or when pressured by shot blockers. He also has a hard and accurate slap shot
Lukas defensive game is based on his anticipation and ability to quickly transition the puck out of his own zone. The size is a liability as he sometimes can be outmuscled in his own end. He needs to be quick on the puck on dump-ins, as well as using a good stick check to steal pucks from attackers. He will continue to need work in his own end, perfecting his positioning, and reading the play in order to maximize his potential. He could also add some muscle to his frame.
Kovacsova can be an elite offensive and puck-moving defenceman at the next level. He should quarterback the power play and lead the rush. The defensive game is a question mark, and how much he can improve in the next couple of years will determine if he is a first pairing defenceman at even strength or more of a second pairing player. Kovacsova will likely head into Juniors ready to rack up the assist if he's brought to a team with strong forward play for his rookie season, as he is probably not going to be SHL ready this coming season.
The key to the young Luka Kovacsovas game begins with his outstanding skating. He has very good speed and outstanding acceleration in both directions. His skating is sublime and at times he seems to be floating above the ice. He has outstanding pivots, agility, and edge work. This allows him to cover all areas of the ice, and transition quickly from offence to defence. Luka is strong on the puck, but should get even stronger, and continue to improve his balance as he adds muscle
Kovacsova is an elite offensive defenceman, who has been playing above his age group for quite some time, both at the international and club level in Bantam style of play.  Lukas passing ability is outstanding, with extremely good vision and the ability to thread the needle through the smallest openings. He can start the rush, make the long breakaway pass, and quarterback the power-play. He also has an outstanding slap shot and one-timer. Kovacsova  moves the puck out of the zone quickly. He utilizes his skating and strong first pass to start the transition game.
Kovacsova creativity and hockey sense are off the charts. He makes plays that other defenders would not even dream of trying. His strong skating allows him to walk the line, and to open up passing and shooting lanes. Couple this with the stickhandling to elude defenders one-on-one and the skating to beat them as well, and he is one of the most dynamic offensive defencemen in years.
Kovacsova is also very effective defensively, utilizing his strong positioning as well as the good stick-checking ability to shut down forwards on the rush. He keeps them to the outside and has good gap control. He is not the most physical player, though that may come with more time, and added weight. Kovacsova is willing to use his body to fight in the corners and to knock an attacker off the puck, but he does not throw a lot of big hits. In this way he keeps himself in position, and is ready for the next play.  When a defensive zone turnover is created, he moves the puck up the ice and transitions quickly to offense.
Kovacsova is quite simply the best draft defence prospect we have seen in a decade. Terms like “generational talent” are thrown around often but in Dahlin’s case it is very much deserved. The sky is the limit as far as his potential goes. Now in terms of a style (not talent) comparison, he has the offensive game and is very strong in his own end, I think he should be in the SMJHL and a big-time contributor next season.
At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Slovakia born defenseman Luka Kovacsova has the size of a Chris Pronger.
The question scouts have asked is can Kovacsova match Pronger's ability to use his size in a successfully nasty way. The answer could decide where Kovacsova is chosen when the 30 SMJHL teams meet for the S61 Draft.
"He's a big guy that really moves well," said Marc Steinberner, who scouts the Eastern Europian countries for SMJHL Bantam Scouting. "He handles the puck well, he's got good puck skills, his first pass is excellent. The one thing you would knock on him is he's too casual at times. He's a big guy that could use his size more."
That's something Kovacsova agrees with, but at the same time, he insists he is not going to run around looking for a big hit. He finds it more advantageous to play smart hockey and let the play come to him.
"The style I play is calm and I don't panic too much," Kovacsova told our reporters "Everyone has their own style and mine isn't to run around. I play my position and I think I play it well."
Adds Edwards: "The upside on Luka Kovacsova is he's going to be a very good pro. He's got all the potential that you want in a guy." That opinion is not universal, however. The calm, assured play that appeals to many can be misconstrued and seen as a turn-off to others.
"One of the things that people talked about with him was his lack of intensity and apparent indifference; someone mentioned casual,"  "At first blush you might say he's playing like a kid who's already been drafted, so he doesn't have anything to gain. That's not a good knock to put on a kid."
"He fools you some nights because he is so big and he skates so well that he can appear to be lazy at times, but that's not the case," . "A lot of big guys that move so well, and he's so fluid, they look like they're not working hard but they are and he's in that category. … His body language when he goes off the ice, he projects some things that make him look lazy; but he's casual. He's a big, easy-going kid. He needs to use his size more."
That's a point Kovacsova agrees with.
At the next level they're a lot of quick players, and I need to use all my advantages and use my size to my advantage. Hopefully, I get a little bit bigger and can use it more. - Luka Kovacsova
"I think when I sit down with my coaches, they say the same thing, that I can use that to my advantage," he said. "At the next level they're a lot of quick players, and I need to use all my advantages and use my size to my advantage. Hopefully, I get a little bit bigger and can use it more.
"I think throughout the year I progressed that way. I'm getting older so my body's maturing, and I'll get bigger. You want to make guys aware you're on the ice; (but) it's a matter of knowing when to use the size.And, in Kovacsova's thinking, that doesn't include breathing fire and racing out of position just to deliver a hit.
"If you ask the guys on the team, they'll say I'm one of the more intense guys," Kovacsova said. "The style I play is calm and I don't panic too much. I don't like to lose, that makes me intense. I like to do my job, there's no reason to run around. Just stay calm through the whole game." Using his excellent skating ability, Luka has become a force in the transition game and has the ability to find a breaking forward streaking into the offensive zone with a pass.
With the vision to find the passing lanes and make accurate decisions on the fly, his presence as the leader of the power play has resulted in one of the most dangerous point shots in the entire draft class. The real key to success for Luka is his confidence. The young man knows that he is a great player, but he still works hard to improve and looks to make his teammates better when given the opportunity
Luka also has the elite size organizations are looking for at the next level. At 6’3” and 190 pounds, the fact that there is still room to grow on his frame will have every franchise desperate for help along the blue line taking notice.


Post Draft interview with Luka Kovasova




Q. You've been gaining momentum the past few weeks. Did you think you could go as high as No. 1?



Luka Kovacsova: To be honest, I didn't really know. I was coming in here, and I keep telling people it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I never knew what was going to happen, so it was just fun to sit in the stands.



Q. Did you ever get any inkling that the Maine Timbers would select you 52nd?



Luka Kovacsova: I think my meeting went pretty well with them at the Combine, but other than that, yeah, I couldn't tell you. It's just kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.



Q. You're one of the best Slovak drafted player in SHL history. Were you aware of that before the draft, and what does that mean to you?



Luka Kovacsova: It's pretty special. I'm going to a team that Toasty, he was the other SMJHL pick way back when, so it's pretty special, and it's very humbling to think about, for sure, to play with him and learn from him.



Q. Has it sunk in that you're in an SMJHL jersey right now?



Luka Kovacsova: To be honest with you, I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. It seems cliché, but it's kind of speechless right now. You don't know what's going to happen, and now that it finally does, you don't know what to feel.



Q. Do you guys have an option of being in the stands or being in the green room there?



Luka Kovacsova: Yeah some guys went to the Green room, i had the option to sit out and stay at home to be close with freinds and family, and choose that option instead.



Q. How much do you know abou this team's history?



Luka Kovacsova: Not much, to be honest. I know that some greats played there way back when, but other than that, I haven't looked up this team too much.



Q. Are you still committed to ging to Austria?



Luka Kovacsova: Yeah, 100 percent. That's my plan for next year, and I couldn't be more excited to do that.



Q. Why is Austria the best step for you right now?



Luka Kovacsova: Im a big fan of international play all around, always have been, the idea of each countries best vs the others best is always good time. its fun to win and have bragging rights of who is the best and develops the best overall talent, especially playing for a smaller country.



Q. Can you take us through this day leading up to this moment, how you were feeling as this moment got closer?



Luka Kovacsova: Yeah, there was a little bit of anxiousness, excitement and nervousness, my heart started pumping throughout the day. But I've been told by guys, Toasty and Southpaw and stuff, recent friends, and just to kind of take it all in. You're not going to get to experience this ever again, so I'm here for the experience, and I've had a great couple days here in Maine so far.



Q. There have been several scouts who said you may end up being the best player in this draft when all is said and done. How does that make you feel?



Luka Kovacsova: Yeah, it's just a prediction, I guess, in a way. And the way that I see this draft is it's not going to matter where you get picked. People aren't going to look at that. They're going to look at what you did after the draft. Nobody is going to care what you did before, so it's all about how you're going to carry yourself afterward and where you're going to go, so that's kind of the way I look at it.



Q. What do you think makes you the player you are?



Luka Kovacsova: Just steady progress. I think being consistent as a person and as a player. Obviously my teammates helped a lot and our coaches there



Q. Did you have other options? The obvious question, why Austria instead of a different program? Did you have other options available to you?



Luka Kovacsova: At the time I honestly didn't have those big, big options, but I had options from a few other nations, and it was just kind of the feeling that I had, the personal touch of Austria. I had been down to the rinks down there from Slovakia, and I really liked it there. You know what you're going to get when I go there.



Some of the bigger Nations you kind of get stuck in the lineup sometimes, but I know when I go to Austria, my goal is to be a No. 1 defenseman there, and I know they're going to give me every opportunity that I can to pursue that.



Have you kind of explored their recent history? They've had a couple of succesful seasons in a row, im hoping to help build a dynasty with them and a patriots like dynasty in maine for the next 3 or 4 years.



Q. I know the Newfoundland team had tremendous interest in you, you interviewed really well with them. Maine has needs on the back end. Did you have a feeling you were going to Maine?



Luka Kovacsova: To be honest, no, not at all. Like I was saying, I met with them at the Combine, but they didn't give me any indication that they were taking me for sure. I was just kind of coming here and waiting to see what happened.



Q. Can you learn off a back end like that when you think of what they have at that position?



Luka Kovacsova: Definitely. Like I was saying, I don't know a lot about the team, but I know that they have some good guys on the back end that can help me learn and develop and obviously they have guys that have lots of experience in the SHL and they're guys that every rookie kind of needs to lean on, so I'm excited for the experience just to kind of go through this all, and yeah, just kind of see where it takes me.



Q. When you think of where the game is going, do you think it's kind of the right time for you in your career when you see where the game is going?



Luka Kovacsova: I think so. I think watching some other teams through the playoffs, you see how mobile and kind of speed and agile their D are, going back on pucks or whether it be jumping up in the rush or mobility in the zone, and I think my speed and my hockey sense are two things that are my biggest parts of my game. I'm excited to kind of hopefully pursue that path in the SMJHL.



Q. Does it feel like you've got to get bigger, stronger? Is that No. 1 on your list of things to do?



Luka Kovacsova: Definitely. I think that's why SMJHLis going to be a great path for me, and especially Austria. You're going to get the time off the ice, I'm going to get hopefully a little bit bigger, and like I said, a little bit of time there is going to hopefully shape me into an SHL player.



Q. You have no idea of the timetable, whether it's one year, two years, three years, four years?



Luka Kovacsova: Yeah, it's going to obviously depend on how I develop. My intention is to play in the SHL when I'm ready, and whenever I feel I'm ready and whenever the organization feels I'm ready. Hopefully I can make that jump.



Q. What's your mindset? Do you set a target date in your head, a point where you want to be playing in the show?



Luka Kovacsova: I think, like I said, it's how I develop, but I think one or two years at Austria and whenever I feel I'm ready, I want to make the jump straight to the SHL.



Q. Did you talk with Maine at all about going to Austria next year?



Luka Kovacsova: To be honest, I can't really remember. Like I was saying, I met with them in the Combine and it probably came up in the interview, but I think they accepted the fact that I'm going to Austria in the off season for international play.





Interviewer: Well Luka, we truly do wish you the best of luck in your future, anywhere that may be. keep holding that Slovak flag high, and making us proud. we do believe you are on the cusp of greatness in your career and will be winning many many championships in this career, you've put alot of work and now we are ready to see it pay off.


Luka: thank you so much for the kind words, and thank you to all my coaches in slovakia and austria for the teaching and coaching you have given me over the last few years, i will make you all and my family proud and bring home much much gold.


Part 3/3