Jakub Voracek will lead the Czechs during the tournament in Slovakia.
photo: Matthew Manor / HHOF-IIHF Images
It wasn’t too long ago that the Czechs were world beaters. The country was a force in international tournaments between 1996 and 2000, winning four World Championships and an Olympic gold medal .
However, the team enters the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship having not struck gold since 2010, nor any medal since 2012, and not advanced past the quarter-finals since 2015.
If there’s an upside to this tournament for the Czechs, it’s that they’re practically playing on home ice, with Bratislava just 65 km from the Czech border and 130 km from Brno, the Czech Republic’s second-largest city.
The team’s roster at the start of the tournament is not star-studded, but that could change. Like all hockey countries that have a large number of NHL players, the make-up and ultimate success of the team depends on which of them become available, and if any get added mid-tournament.
Goal
Of the three goaltenders named to the roster, Jakub Kovar is the only one with an internationally recognizable name. The 30-year-old Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg goalie was the Czechs’ number-one goalie the last time they medalled. However, that was seven years ago, and he’s only played in one World Championship and one Olympic game since.
Both Simon Hrubec and Patrik Bartosak are Czech Extraliga goalies who have performed well domestically but yet to play in a major international tournament. Bartosak has played very well for the Czech national team so far this season, though, and Hrubec was the MVP of the Champions Hockey League in 2017/18 when his stellar netminding took Ocelari Trinec to the European semi-finals. This past season he backstopped the team to the Czech national championship.
There’s always the chance that Pavel Francouz could join the team if the Colorado Avalanche are eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Defence
While the Czech defence isn’t big on star power, it has good size, a mix of veterans and youth, and its core of European players has played well together at international breaks all season.
At 32, KHLer Jan Kolar is the oldest player on the whole roster and a veteran of four World Championships and one Olympics. While this unit doesn’t have a whole lot of high-end talent, 21-year-old Filip Hronek, who made his World Championship debut last season, put up 23 points in 46 games in his first NHL stint with the Detroit Red Wings. Other NHL reinforcements include Radko Gudas, who is playing in his third straight World Championship, and Jan Rutta.
The only Czech defenceman remaining in the NHL playoffs that is likely to get a look if he becomes available is Roman Polak of the Dallas Stars.
Forwards
Up front is where we see the true strength of this Czech team, with seven NHLers led by right winger Jakub Voracek, who is without question the best player on the roster right now, as well as its biggest name.
Other offensive spark plugs include Jakub Vrana, Michal Frolik and Ondrej Palat. Although he generally doesn’t put up big numbers in the NHL, Dmitrij Jaskin had a strong tournament last year.
Also up front is 23-year-old Dominik Kubalik, who plays for Swiss club Ambri-Piotta. Considered one of European hockey’s top young players, he got some attention at last year’s Winter Olympics and led the Czechs with eight points in eight games at last year’s Worlds. Filip Chytil, who at 19 is just coming off his first full NHL season with the New York Rangers, is the youngest player on the roster and will be making his World Championship debut.
Czech fans are surely hoping for the elimination of the Boston Bruins. Last season, David Pastrnak and David Krejci joined the team mid-tournament and instantly transformed the Czechs into medal contenders. Tomas Hertl of the San Jose Sharks would also be a major score.
Coaching
Last summer, Czech Ice Hockey introduced a new national team logo, a new general manager in Petr Nedved and a new head coach in Milos Riha.
Despite being 60-years-old and having never coached a national team before, Riha has a lot of coaching experience in the Czech Republic and in the KHL, where he was the Russian-based league’s coach of the year in 2010/11. At the time of his hiring, association president Tomas Kral said: “Milos Riha is perceived as a motivator. Even with teams without stars, he is able to win big games. We are expecting that too.”
For his part, Riha has tried to build a solid core of European based players throughout the season at international breaks, with the intention of supplementing that core with NHLers at the World Championship. A team that is able to win big games without big stars, if you will.
Projected results
Looking at Group B, Russia and Sweden are the only teams that look better on paper than the Czechs. Even against those teams, they are more than capable of winning, especially with the crowd behind them. At the same time, the Czechs always seem to have trouble with the Swiss and tend to have uncomfortably close games against mid-level teams like Norway and Latvia.
As usual, the Czechs will be expected to make it to the quarter-finals at this year’s World Championship. Like the world’s other top hockey nations, their success at this tournament will be measured on what they do starting at that point.
What happens next depends on several factors, including luck. Will they get the necessary goaltending? Will any players be added during the tournament? If not, will Riha’s team without stars be able to win the big games?
However, the team enters the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship having not struck gold since 2010, nor any medal since 2012, and not advanced past the quarter-finals since 2015.
If there’s an upside to this tournament for the Czechs, it’s that they’re practically playing on home ice, with Bratislava just 65 km from the Czech border and 130 km from Brno, the Czech Republic’s second-largest city.
The team’s roster at the start of the tournament is not star-studded, but that could change. Like all hockey countries that have a large number of NHL players, the make-up and ultimate success of the team depends on which of them become available, and if any get added mid-tournament.
Goal
Of the three goaltenders named to the roster, Jakub Kovar is the only one with an internationally recognizable name. The 30-year-old Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg goalie was the Czechs’ number-one goalie the last time they medalled. However, that was seven years ago, and he’s only played in one World Championship and one Olympic game since.
Both Simon Hrubec and Patrik Bartosak are Czech Extraliga goalies who have performed well domestically but yet to play in a major international tournament. Bartosak has played very well for the Czech national team so far this season, though, and Hrubec was the MVP of the Champions Hockey League in 2017/18 when his stellar netminding took Ocelari Trinec to the European semi-finals. This past season he backstopped the team to the Czech national championship.
There’s always the chance that Pavel Francouz could join the team if the Colorado Avalanche are eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Defence
While the Czech defence isn’t big on star power, it has good size, a mix of veterans and youth, and its core of European players has played well together at international breaks all season.
At 32, KHLer Jan Kolar is the oldest player on the whole roster and a veteran of four World Championships and one Olympics. While this unit doesn’t have a whole lot of high-end talent, 21-year-old Filip Hronek, who made his World Championship debut last season, put up 23 points in 46 games in his first NHL stint with the Detroit Red Wings. Other NHL reinforcements include Radko Gudas, who is playing in his third straight World Championship, and Jan Rutta.
The only Czech defenceman remaining in the NHL playoffs that is likely to get a look if he becomes available is Roman Polak of the Dallas Stars.
Forwards
Up front is where we see the true strength of this Czech team, with seven NHLers led by right winger Jakub Voracek, who is without question the best player on the roster right now, as well as its biggest name.
Other offensive spark plugs include Jakub Vrana, Michal Frolik and Ondrej Palat. Although he generally doesn’t put up big numbers in the NHL, Dmitrij Jaskin had a strong tournament last year.
Also up front is 23-year-old Dominik Kubalik, who plays for Swiss club Ambri-Piotta. Considered one of European hockey’s top young players, he got some attention at last year’s Winter Olympics and led the Czechs with eight points in eight games at last year’s Worlds. Filip Chytil, who at 19 is just coming off his first full NHL season with the New York Rangers, is the youngest player on the roster and will be making his World Championship debut.
Czech fans are surely hoping for the elimination of the Boston Bruins. Last season, David Pastrnak and David Krejci joined the team mid-tournament and instantly transformed the Czechs into medal contenders. Tomas Hertl of the San Jose Sharks would also be a major score.
Coaching
Last summer, Czech Ice Hockey introduced a new national team logo, a new general manager in Petr Nedved and a new head coach in Milos Riha.
Despite being 60-years-old and having never coached a national team before, Riha has a lot of coaching experience in the Czech Republic and in the KHL, where he was the Russian-based league’s coach of the year in 2010/11. At the time of his hiring, association president Tomas Kral said: “Milos Riha is perceived as a motivator. Even with teams without stars, he is able to win big games. We are expecting that too.”
For his part, Riha has tried to build a solid core of European based players throughout the season at international breaks, with the intention of supplementing that core with NHLers at the World Championship. A team that is able to win big games without big stars, if you will.
Projected results
Looking at Group B, Russia and Sweden are the only teams that look better on paper than the Czechs. Even against those teams, they are more than capable of winning, especially with the crowd behind them. At the same time, the Czechs always seem to have trouble with the Swiss and tend to have uncomfortably close games against mid-level teams like Norway and Latvia.
As usual, the Czechs will be expected to make it to the quarter-finals at this year’s World Championship. Like the world’s other top hockey nations, their success at this tournament will be measured on what they do starting at that point.
What happens next depends on several factors, including luck. Will they get the necessary goaltending? Will any players be added during the tournament? If not, will Riha’s team without stars be able to win the big games?