Jakub Beres

Player Overview Jakub Beres is an 18-year-old Slovak defenseman playing for Barani Banská Bystrica's U20-2 club, whose participation at the U18 World Championship positions him as a prospect worth tracking ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft cycle.

Current Production Over his last 10 games at the U20-2 level, Beres has recorded 1G, 1A, and 2 points with a +4 rating, numbers that indicate a defenseman contributing more through defensive reliability than offensive generation at this stage of his development.

Key Attributes Beres has demonstrated a mentally grounded approach to high-stakes competition, describing his mindset heading into the U18 World Championship as passion-driven rather than pressure-driven — a psychological profile that scouts associate with consistent performance under playoff and tournament conditions. His positive plus-minus at the U20-2 level suggests he is making sound structural decisions in his own zone, keeping sequences tilted in his team's favor even when raw offensive numbers are modest.

2026 Draft Outlook Given his limited offensive footprint and competition level — U20-2 rather than top-tier U20 or senior league play — Beres projects as a late-round or undrafted candidate at this stage, with his U18 World Championship performance serving as a critical evaluation window for scouts. Before June, the one thing he must demonstrate is the offensive creativity and initiative that Slovak evaluators themselves identified as a deficiency across the national program's younger defensive corps.