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A Relentless Attitude to Boot, LA Kings Prospect David Hrenak Just Keeps Getting Better

(Photo credit: Maddie MacFarlane)

While Cal Petersen may be the front-runner to be their goaltender of the future, the Los Angeles Kings have nonetheless bolstered their depth between the pipes for years to come. Yet, while the likes of Matt Villalta and Jacob Ingham are both on the forefront of said future, fans and experts alike would be remiss if they stopped there.

For David Hrenak, in particular,  there is plenty to look forward to.

Photo credit: Zach Dwyer/SC Times

Drafted by the Kings in the fifth round (144th overall) by the Kings in 2018, Hrenak was arguably one of the most underrated netminders taken that year. The Slovakian was even overlooked in the 2017 Draft. How he responded to that, though, was a testament to his character.

Entering the 2017 Draft, Hrenak had just completed his lone USHL season — with the Green Bay Gamblers — where he posted a 2.24 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage, establshing himself as one of the league’s top goaltenders. This is especially impressive for a goaltender who has been used to the larger, European ice surface.

“David transitioned to the North American size rink very well,” Gamblers head coach Pat Mikesch told me. “His positioning and angles are the strength of his game.  This enabled him to be comfortable and confident.”

Following the 2017 Draft, though, Hrenak began his collegiate career at St. Cloud State where he wasted no time in settling in.

Already having a junior as their starter, St. Cloud State was astonished by the solid play of their freshman netminder as Hrenak took over the starting job for the Huskies, ultimately leading them to the NCAA Tournament. His 14-7-2 record with a 2.11 goals-against average as a freshman was nothing to take lightly. As a result, the Kings took notice, drafting the 6-foot-2 netminder a year after he was passed up.

Matt Millar
(Photo courtesy of Dubuque Fighting Saints)

In addition to Mikesch, I also had the pleasure of speaking with Kings’ goalie development coach Matt Millar as well as St. Cloud State goaltending coach Matt Bertram about the Hrenak and his progression. Both are very enthusiastic about the youngster’s potential and what he has to offer on and off the ice.

Following two solid seasons at St. Cloud State, however, Hrenak came off a subpar junior season numbers-wise.

The 22-year-old went 12-11-2 in 2019-20 with a 2.76 GAA and a .906 save percentage. These numbers, however, didn’t faze the Kings’ goalie development coach.

“Despite a down year numbers-wise, I think his save percentage is pretty on par with what it was the previous year, so I think he played really well,” Millar said. “Maybe the team wasn’t as strong around him but I thought he played really well and I thought it was a great year for him.”

As far as Matt Bertram is concerned, though, Hrenak’s successful transition from a sophomore to a junior was simply spurred on by the youngster’s determination to improve.

Matt Bertram
(Photo courtesy of scsuhuskies.com)

“I think with David, the big change that he made from his sophomore to his junior year was his work ethic,” the St. Cloud State goalie coach noted. “His work ethic was really, really good in practice. He took every practice hard using in-game scenarios, which really helped him get into the games as the season went along.”

Inexperience may have been the cause of the Huskies’ inability to explode out of the gate, so to speak, but once he was given some time to get comfortable, Hrenak and his club were off and running.

“Our team was young last year, so we all started out slow and David started out slow,” Bertram began. “Once it started to get going– we had a really good weekend against Minnesota-Duluth, which we earned a sweep at home, we beat and tied North Dakota at home when North Dakota was the number-one team in the country. But, playing in the NCHC and as tough of a conference as it is, [Hrenak] did a really nice job as the season got going.”

“He handled some adversity,” Millar said of Hrenak’s 2019-20 campaign. “He saw a lot of situations that he wasn’t used to seeing and I think he really gained a lot of confidence and belief in his own game. He did a lot of work with myself and [Matt Bertram], some video stuff, we talked on the phone quite a bit. So, I think off ice for him was a big deal. Obviously, I can’t be on the ice with the college kids, so we made a lot of communication and just believing in his game and really refining how he wanted to play.”

As resilient as he is as a player, though, it is Hrenak’s attitude towards his game that has resonated most with the Kings’ goalie development coach.

Photo credit: Carlos Gonalez/Star Tribune

“I think it was good for him to go through those adversities now and it’s only going to make him better in the future,” added Millar. “I think he worked hard through a lot of those things and a credit to David for staying positive. He’s probably one of the most positive people I’ve ever been around. I think his perspective and his outlook really allowed him to work through a tough season.”

Over the course of his collegiate career, Hrenak has made significant strides forward. Aside from taking over the starting job in his freshman year, the youngster was named a semi-finalist that season for the Mike Richter Award, honoring the best goaltenders in men’s college hockey.

Fortunately, there was no sophomore slump for the netminder as Hrenak went 23-5-2 with a 2.18 GAA.

Hrenak’s current goalie coach was able to narrow down which area of the netminder’s game he saw the most improvement in.

“For David, some of the biggest improvements involve handling traffic,” Bertram noted. “In college hockey, there’s so much traffic and as you move up in levels, even more traffic in front of the net. His ability to find pucks and to handle those pucks has really improved.”

In addition to handling traffic, Hrenak has also acquired an uncanny penchant for being patient.

Photo credit: Nick Nelson/Grand Forks Herald

“I would also say his overall ability to, within a game, take it one shot at a time instead of getting ahead of himself has gotten much better,” Bertram continued. “I think just being in the moment has been something that David has worked on quite a bit and really has improved.

“Also, his ability to square the pucks, make the back-door save when he needs to make it and be solid and be square to the shooter as much as he can. He’s able to, because of his feet, stay square longer than some other goalies because he’s able to get to those pucks.”

While he certainly agrees with Bertram’s observations, Matt Millar was quick to point out another factor in Hrenak’s game that has made him a better all-around goaltender.

“A lot of it for him was consistency,” the first-year Kings coach stressed. “Sometimes, it was the environment — whether big games or not — he put a little extra pressure on himself. He tried to do more and I think he’s really been focused on his game and really being consistent with his positioning, his stance and a couple of other things that are giving him consistency from game-to-game. It wasn’t like the highs were high and the lows were low; it was more, ‘I may have lost tonight’s game but did I play the way I wanted to play?’, and I think focusing on that kind of consistency allowed him to gain confidence whether he won or lost.”

A native of Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia, Hrenak had listed fellow countryman, and former Kings netminder, Peter Budaj, as his childhood idol. To get where Budaj did, though, David Hrenak still has work to do.

Peter Budaj (Photo credit: Derek Sparta/Texas Stars)

Fortunately, Bertram knows exactly what his netminder needs to work on to prepare him for the professional ranks.

“What we’re working on a good percentage of the time is just making sure that the basics are correct because he is so athletic, making sure his tracking is on, making sure his feet are square to pucks,” the 49-year-old elaborated. “Sometimes, he’ll get a little bit sideways because he’s so athletic and can do so many different things. So, making sure he’s square to the puck when he needs to be square and actually playing a simpler game versus, I would say, a harder-working game or a moving-all-over-the-place game. When he is simpler with his movements, he makes it look super easy and that’s when he’s playing at his best.”

In regards to his character and his attitude, Hrenak is, simply put, at the top of his game and Bertram wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Honestly, he is an incredible young man,” Bertram beamed. “I mean, he loves hockey, he loves to be in the locker room, he is a tremendous teammate and he is the athlete you would want to have on your team because he’s so positive and so energetic and cares so much about the team. It’s not just about David; it’s about the team and the team’s success.”

The native of nearby Edina, MN, continued.

“For me, he’s great to work with because he comes ready to work every day,” Bertram emphasized. “We have really good conversations about his game, where he wants to take it and where we see the things that we need to work on, and he’s super intelligent and super bright.”

Mikesch attests to this as the Kings prospect was just as much a pleasure to work when he was a member of the Green Bay Gamblers.

“He showed up at the rink with a smile everyday,” Mikesch added. “It didn’t matter how the last game went. He just loves to play hockey. It was very contagious. His teammates loved to spend extra time with him both on and off the ice.”

At 6-foot-2, 181 pounds, David Hrenak certainly has the size to compete at the NHL level. Before that day comes, though, there are a few areas that need addressing. This shouldn’t deter the youngster, however, as he has jumped leaped and bounds since beginning his collegiate career in 2017.

From Mikey Eyssimont and Blake Lizotte, there have been many connections between the Los Angeles Kings and St. Cloud State University in recent years, but if anyone thinks that the Kings’ decision to draft Hrenak is simply to further said connection, they would be mistaken.

In addition to Hrenak’s size and his skill, Hrenak’s resilience is noteworthy, being known for a netminder who is quick to bounce back from disappointing performances — not that the 22-year-old has had many to speak of.

While his future is already beaming brightly, time is still on David Hrenak’s side. Still, as the lanky netminder prepares for his senior season, a plethora of promise awaits. After all, if the previous three seasons are any indication, David Hrenak will be ready to make the jump to the pros much sooner than anticipated.

 

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