Prucha still hasn't returned to the form he had when he started out in the Rangers' organization. During his first two years with the Rangers, he scored 40-plus points. After 2006-07, he went south and struggled to score 15 points or more. Last season with the Coyotes, Prucha performed slightly better and notched 13 goals with nine assists. With the talent the Coyotes have stocked in the AHL, one wonders how much time Prucha has left. For 2010-11, most people will be surprised if he scores more than 25 points.
Prucha should slide right in to a spot on the third line for the Coyotes this season. He was fairly impressive for Phoenix after the lopsided deal that brought him over from the Rangers in exchange for Derek Morris last season, putting up 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in his 19 games with the 'Yotes. He never got a full chance with New York, but being settled in for the full season in the desert, Prucha is perfectly set up for a nice year on the third line with Phoenix.
After only scoring seven goals and 17 points last season Prucha may have found himself an afterthought this season. He will need to work hard to re-establish himself as a solid NHL winger. For now he will likely play on either the third or fourth lines with little or no power play time.
Prucha struggled considerably last season, as he had a hard time finding his shot while a member of the team's second line. Prucha will be relegated to mostly third-line duty this upcoming season, and minutes will be hard to come by with all the new faces in town. He'll need to show flashes of his successful rookie season in order to regain our confidence in his ability. We're less than skeptical, so on draft day we're avoiding Prucha and so should you.
Coming off an impressive rookie campaign in which he netted 30 goals and 17 assists, this slick Czech winger will look to improve on those numbers as part of the second line that will have Matt Cullen and Brendan Shanahan. There should be no reason why Prucha should regress; his game is most suited for the new NHL and he’s shown no fear in going hard to the net.
Prucha was the Rangers' eighth-round choice, 240th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft; he skated in 47 games with HC Moeller Pardubice of the Czech Republic Extraleague (Czech) last season, registering seven goals and 10 assists, to go along with 24 penalty minutes.
