2026 NHL Draft eligible
Position: C, Shoots: R
H/W: 5´11”, 170 lbs
Date of Birth: 2007-11-02
Tomáš Chrenko started the year as a potential first-round prospect and had a strong first half; he especially stood out at the World Juniors as the leading scorer after the round robin. Five goals and eight points in five games at his first WJC helped his case as a potential high pick tremendously. As the year went on, his production in Slovak top tier league slowed down a bit and he did not exactly excel in the playoffs, even though the points were still coming (31 points in 44 regular season games, 12 points in 19 games of playoffs). However, he proved to be a clutch player when he scored the title-winning goal for HK Nitra in Game 7 overtime of the Slovak league finals.
Chrenko is a smallish (5´11”, 170 lbs), offensively-minded center who creates a ton of offence. He has exceptional hockey IQ and usually prefers finding a teammate in an open spot rather than shooting the puck himself (32 of his 43 points were assists) - however, he does have a strong shot and has no problem taking the responsibility himself, as he proved at the World Juniors when Slovakia did not have a more dangerous shooter than him.
Chrenko projects as a potential top-six player at the NHL level and his upside is very high. He is a true offensive creator with great hands and decent skating - he might not be an exceptional skater, which would be more beneficial given his size and lack of physicality, but he´s agile and smart enough to keep up with the level of the competition. There are some risks given his profile and similarities to Filip Mešár, another smaller, offensive forward from Slovakia, however, I believe Chrenko is the better prospect and he has the potential to play in a top-six role one day. He´d make a strong selection on Day 2 of the draft.
Skating
Chrenko is not a true speedster; his top speed won´t stand out, but he´s a very agile player who´s good at changing directions and losing defensemen even at a solid pace. He can control the tempo of the game and likes to slow things down with the puck on his stick, waiting for the ideal opportunity to find a teammate. He´s strong on skates and the technique is good; however, he lacks the top-end speed you´d ideally like to see in a smaller player like him. Overall, his skating is definitely not a weakness – he´s mobile, agile and effective at different speeds, but he won´t be the fastest skater on the ice. The size-skating combo might not be ideal for the NHL level.
Chrenko generates a decent speed in this video, uses his feet to avoid the opponent and drags the puck into the offensive zone, he shoots it right at the goalie to prevent losing it and as his teammate retrieves the puck, the attack continues. It all started with Chrenko´s decent movement, he was able to use his strides efficiently, gained the offensive zone and might have contributed to a scoring chance.
The first few steps are very promising. Chrenko gains some speed and tries to separate himself from the defensemen, which does not happen, as he lacks the top speed since he´s been on the ice for some time. Nevertheless, the technique looks promising.
Good work by Chrenko, who uses his quick feet to surprise the defenseman and gets himself into a scoring chance.
Chrenko´s confident in this battle, he believes he´ll get to the puck first and quickly gains the upper hand on the Finnish defenseman. He uses his control well and allows himself to get into a good spot to try to find a teammate.
Grade: 50
Shot
He has a quick release and can surprise goalies. Even though he´s not a shoot-first player, he can take on the sniper role – something he showed clearly at the last World Juniors. He´s a dangerous shooter from the circle and can shoot the puck from different spots with decent speed and power, the shot placement is promising as well. There´s room for growth; Chrenko sometimes rushes the shot or looks for a teammate in positions where he could shoot himself. When he finds the right balance, he can develop into a 20+ goal scorer.
Chrenko is lethal when given time and space, he doesn´t need much preparation for a shot. He gets the puck at the left circle and uses the fact no defender stood out to him – he uses his quick release and scores on the American goalie.
Chrenko can get into the slot and doesn´t hesitate to send the puck back into the net. He won´t try to do too much with rebounds, and it can pay off, such as in this example. The puck gets tied in front of the German goalie, Chrenko finds it and shoots it before the goalie can spot it. Good thinking and an accurate shot make it a goal for the Slovak forward.
Chrenko mostly relies on his wrister. The slap shot is neither strong nor accurate enough to do real damage. However, he can use it as a half-shot, half-pass to send the puck quickly into a dangerous area and allow the teammates to try to tip it into the net.
Good quick shot from Chrenko, who doesn´t hesitate and capitalizes. He doesn´t mind the sharp angle and scores from a well-placed one timer.
Grade: 55
Skills
His puck skills are very good, he has soft hands and the ability to make plays at speed. He´s always carrying the puck with confidence, trying to beat defensemen one-on-one. His biggest strength is his passing – he consistently creates chances for his teammates in dangerous areas. The skills are on a very good level and he was able to produce against men in a challenging league, which is definitely a big plus for his profile. The key will be to translate the skills to an even higher level.
Chrenko maneuvers well in a tough position; he quickly loses the defenseman and protects the puck. As soon as he´s given some space, he scans the situation and sends the puck to a teammate, who has no problem capitalizing.
Very good play by Chrenko, who runs into the situation as soon as he steps on the ice, takes the puck and finds a teammate in an ideal spot.
Chrenko is confident enough to take on three defensemen at once, he uses his quick hands and almost gets past all three opponents, who have no option but to foul him.
Good skills on display by Chrenko, who gets into the zone, receives the puck, goes to the net and creates a scoring opportunity for his teammate.
Grade: 55
Smarts
Chrenko is a very smart player who reads the game well. He has great positioning, gets into dangerous spaces and distributes the puck into areas where his teammates can capitalize. His reactions are quick, he reads the game well and understands how to create an advantage with his decisions. I still have some questions about his defensive game, but overall, the hockey IQ is his standout trait.
Chrenko thrives on the power play, he gains some speed and sends an accurate pass that just finds and open teammate in front of the open net, beautiful play.
It will be interesting to watch Chrenko on a smaller ice and what he´ll be able to do in tighter spaces. In this clip, he quickly scans the situation before receiving the puck and sees a teammate that´s getting in front of the net. He quickly sends the puck to that area and surprises the opponents, even the goalie, when his pass gets tipped behind the goal line.
Good fake by Chrenko, who, even though he´s exhausted, sees the opportunity, uses the space he´s given and creates a scoring chance by speeding up the play, although, to no effect.
Grade: 60
Physicality/Compete
Chrenko plays with good effort and stays active in all zones, although I do have some reservations about his defensive consistency and effort; it´s not anything unusual for a young offensive talent. He doesn´t throw a lot of hits, but he also doesn´t avoid physical battles and engages when needed. Nevertheless, the lack of size and strength doesn´t do him any favours, but he competes hard and plays with real effort. He needs to get stronger to be more effective, but the willingness to fight and some bite to his game are there.
Good play by Chrenko, who steps into the play and strips the opponent of the puck before the defence regroups, the puck gets to his teammate, and the play eventually results in a goal.
Not an ideal solution to the situation by Chrenko, who watches the opposing player and underestimates the danger; he doesn´t put much effort into stopping him and loses the opponent. He has to foul him to minimize the danger, but it all happened due to his low defensive effort.
Chrenko will get on the forecheck, in this video, he quickly realizes where the puck is and puts pressure on the defenseman. He uses his stick and is able to retrieve the puck, but immediately gets crushed by another defenseman. The lack of size and strength will be noticeable on other levels too.
Grade: 50
OFP: 54.5
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.