Adam Benak 2025 NHL Draft Profile

Player	Position	Handedness	Height	Weight
Adam Benak	C/LW/RW	Left	5’7″	163 lbs

Benak’s on-ice production

Year	Draft Relative	League	Team	GP	G	A	P
2021–22	D-3	Czechia U17	HC Plzen U17	34	31	33	64
2022–23	D-2	Czechia U17	HC Plzen U17	12	13	11	24
		Czechia U20	HC Plzen U20	30	10	21	31
2023–24	D-1	Czechia U17	HC Plzen U17	2	2	5	7
		Czechia U20	HC Plzen U20	29	8	21	29
		Czechia	HC Plzen	18	0	2	2
2024–25	D+0	USHL	Youngstown Phantoms	56	17	42	59
		WJC-18	Czechia U18	4	2	2	7

Early hype in his career

Benak is a name many people will recognize due to his being regarded as a top prospect in this draft for years. This all started when he lit up the U17 in Czechia in his D-3 season. At 15 years old, Benak produced 31 goals and 33 assists for 64 points in 34 games. A points per game of almost two, almost a goal a game, at 15, that’s where the hype started.

The following year, Benak would continue to prove he was too good for the U17 level, scoring 13 goals and 11 assists for a total of 24 points in 12 games. This time reaching the two points per game mark. Benak would be gifted a promotion to the U20 team. With HC Plzen U20, Benak would add 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 30 games. Achieving a point per game against players up to three years older.

His D-1 season would follow, and for good measure, he would get two games at the U17 level. In those games, he would produce two goals and five assists for seven points. Benak would then return to the U20 team and, in another 29 games, would score eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points, continuing his point-per-game trend. Benak would be rewarded with 18 games with the HC Plzen professional team. In a smaller role, he didn’t really do much, with only two assists in the games.

Rollercoaster draft season

Now onto his draft year, Benak would come overseas to North America and join the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. Benak’s season had lots of ups and downs. He didn’t start the year off great; he wasn’t playing with enough drive, and was a little unlucky, and that was reflected in his totals. He was moved from centre to wing, and that would help out his production tons. Overall, Benak would score 59 points, distributed by 17 goals and 42 assists, in 56 games. While Benak’s stock took a huge drop to start, he climbed his way back up throughout the year.

Benak’s stock would also get a little bit of help from his performance at the U18 World Juniors. In Czechia’s four games, Benak would be the top producer with two goals and five assists for seven points. Benak and Czechia would, unfortunately, fall to Canada in the quarterfinals.

Benak’s strengths

Passing

If there’s one element to Benak’s game that still absolutely shines, it’s his passing. Benak is a fantastic playmaker who would pair perfectly with a high-end goal scorer. He has the anticipation to watch the play develop, draw in a defender, and then feed his teammate a high-quality chance. His passes have some deception behind them, and he uses that to his advantage. The simple or difficult pass, Benak can make either. If there’s a need for a give-and-go, Benak can supply. Benak can also dish out beautiful saucer passes that end up on his teammates’ sticks when you don’t think it could.

High-level hockey sense

Complementary to his passing, Benak displays a strong understanding of the game around him. He understands the play to be made and does his best to execute it. Benak can wait to see where he should move to continue the ongoing play at the highest level. Positioning himself to generate the best possible chance is something you may see Benak do. Displaying a good motor, Benak knows not to sit back and tries to keep himself involved. An underrated aspect of his game is the potential he has in the defensive zone. He again knows how to properly position himself and can use that to his best advantage.

Skating

Benak’s skating is definitely good. He has strong lateral movements and uses his edgework at a high level. Moving around the zone with his agility is something you’ll see Benak frequently do. Benak has great top-end speed and can utilize it to his advantage, getting around defenders and to the net for a pass. His acceleration could be a tiny bit quicker, but when he reaches that full speed, he can blast by. Add in his solid hands, and you can see him move around the ice at impressive levels.

Benak’s areas of improvement

Shot

I wouldn’t necessarily say Benak has a bad shot; it’s alright. It’s enough to score goals from time to time and has its moments. With how it currently is, Benak projects to be more of a strict playmaker. It certainly doesn’t help that Benak can be too heavy on the pass-first mentality. If he can develop his shot to be more lethal, becoming a dual-threat option in the offensive zone would go a long way for his overall offensive game.

Size

Being 5’7″, 163lbs, it’s no surprise that Benak is considered undersized. Despite being developed at centre, it’s also not that surprising that Benak got moved over to wing at his size. Benak is much more fitted for the wing than centre. He sometimes has had time dealing with some pressure and is knocked off the puck, completely killing the play. Avoiding physicality, he can get rid of the puck too quickly, making him an easier target. His size also restricts him from being a driver. He can be caught hanging out in the perimeter and waiting for the play to develop instead of getting engaged.

Doing too much

With a skilled player like Benak, doing too much with the puck is common. Feeling too confident in a specific play, Benak may repeat the idea even past failure. This can be seen with his saucer passes or cuts with skating, for example. These attempts usually end up in turnovers or dead opportunities and can raise questions about his projectability in offence.

Benak’s comparables

Benak is a hard player to draw a comparison for, and one I’m not even 100% sure I could give. He has his shines of smaller, playmaking stars. This could be Johnny Gaudreau or Clayton Keller. But sometimes it feels he lacks some of the full high-end talent they display and even his slight difference in size might be enough to show the difference.

Another is someone like Conor Garland. Benak’s smarts and motor can be similar to what Garland does on the ice. If Benak’s size is stopping him from being a top producer, perhaps serving as a driven workhorse in a team’s middle-six or bottom-six is an option.

Fit with the Flames

With Benak moving away from centre, there’s not a perfect fit for the Flames. The Flames have plenty of wingers who are about the same tier of prospect that he is, and the pick could probably be used for other options. However, the upside Benak displays is something the Flames should be chasing after, and maybe at the right pick, the organizational fit doesn’t matter.

Summary

Adam Benak dominated his way through his home country of Czechia. Coming overseas for his draft season didn’t start out too hot, with slow production. He found his footing throughout the year and moved to the wing. Benak displays high-quality passing, IQ, and skating while adding good motor and hands. His size is a concern, as his strong focus on passing the puck may force him to be strictly a playmaker. Benak is the type of high-risk, high-reward investment that you might take a chance on and end up happy with. He has the potential to be a star, a middle-six dawg, or to never make it.

Risk: 4/5

Reward: 4/5

Projection: Middle-six workhorse or Top-six scoring forward

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2025 NHL Draft prospects:

Matthew Schaefer | Michael Misa | James Hagens | Porter Martone | Anton Frondell | Victor Eklund | Roger McQueen | Caleb Desnoyers | Jackson Smith | Jake O’Brien | Carter Bear | Radim Mrtka | Lynden Lakovic | Brady Martin | Justin Carbonneau | Malcolm Spence | Cameron Reid | Logan Hensler |Cameron Schmidt | Ben Kindel | Kashawn Aitcheson | Cullen Potter | Braeden Cootes | Ivan Ryabkin | Blake Fiddler | Cole Reschny | Joshua Ravensbergen | Bill Zonnon | William Moore | Jack Nesbitt | Jack Murtagh | Milton Gastrin | Sascha Boumedienne