Brno expresses interest in Palffy

HC Kometa Brno has told website hokej.cz that they are interested in acquiring the services of veteran Slovak star Žigmund Palffy for the 2011-12 Extraliga season.

Photo: Kaiser Matais.

"From our side, we are definitely interested," said Kometa general Manager Jaroslav Medlík. "I contacted Žigmund and some negotiations have taken place. But he was waiting for a lucrative offer from the Russian KHL, so it is now stalled."

For his part, Palffy seems to be eyeing a comeback, and has said there has been some interest from Czech teams, but didn't specifically mention Kometa. "A few people from Russia have called me, but nothing concrete ever came of it. Currently, there are only two applicants from the Czech Extraliga; one even came with a specific and serious offer." 

The 39-year-old Palffy hasn't played the past two seasons. His most recent team was his hometown Skalica HK 36, where he played from 2007 to 2009. Prior to that, he played 12 seasons in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins, where he amassed 713 points in 684 games. His best season was 1996-97, when he had 48 goals and 90 points with the Isles. He also has experience playing in the Czech Republic, as he played with Slavia Praha during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Internationally, he won a bronze medal with Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Winter Olympics and a gold medal with Slovakia at the 2002 World Championships. 

Whether it's Brno or elsewhere, Palffy seems intent on playing: "I want to play hockey as long as it still fulfills the sense of satisfaction that comes from being with the boys on the team. I don't look at age. Age is indeed important, but just look at Dominik Hašek, who is 46 and still enjoying it. The key is always hunger. When a man enjoys hockey and doing it well, there is nothing to worry about. Once he discovers that the team is not so beneficial, it's time to stop."

And clearly, Medlík thinks that Palffy and his team can mutually benefit from each other: "We'll see how it evolves. Our party is obviously still interested, so it will only depend on the decision of the player. We are ready to go again at any time to act."

10 Czechs drafted

Perhaps it's a positive trend in the development of Czech hockey players. For the past decade, the number of Czechs drafted has steadily decreased, from 31 in 2001 to only five in 2010. However, this past weekend in Minnesota, 10 Czech players were drafted by NHL teams, the highest number since 2005. After having no domestic players picked last year for the first time since the fall of the Iron Curtain, three were picked this year, which was last accomplished in 2007.

David Musil was taken 31st overall by Edmonton. Photo: Bruce
Bennett, Getty Images.

Although there were none taken in the first round, the Edmonton Oilers led off round two by choosing David Musil, a native son of sorts. Musil was born in Edmonton while his father, František, was playing in the NHL. "I remember, a little bit, growing up there when my dad played there," he said after being drafted. "I've got a lot of good memories from there."

After his family returned to the Czech Republic, Musil played youth hockey in Jihlava, but has spent the past two seasons playing for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. On his chances of cracking the Oilers lineup this season, Musil said, "I'm getting ready this summer and I'm going to try my best to be in the NHL as soon as possible." Although the Oilers are a young team and not the deepest in talent, Musil will more than likely return for another season in Vancouver.

Dmitrij Jaškin was taken 41st overall by St. Louis.
Photo: Bruce Bennett, Getty Images.

Ten picks later, the St. Louis Blues selected Dmitrij Jaškin of Slavia Praha. There's almost no question where Jaškin will play next season. Last season, he was second in voting for the Extraliga's rookie-of-the-year award, but he is still not a dominant player in the league, and therefore not likely to crack an NHL lineup for the upcoming season.

The lone Czech taken in the third round was goaltender David Honzík of the Victoriaville Tigres, by the Vancouver Canucks. Honzík, who hails from Karlovy Vary, was ranked below Matěj Machovský on the list of North American goaltenders, but he was the only Czech goalie taken in this year's draft.

The other seven draftees were taken between picks 144 and 177. Dominik Uher was taken late in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then six Czechs were taken in the sixth. In addition to Uher, the Penguins also picked Lukáš Sedlák of České Budějovice. Sedlak was a standout in the Junior Extraliga, as was Daniel Přibyl of Sparta Praha, who was taken by the Montreal Canadiens. Both players are expected to play full-time in the professional Extraliga in 2011-12.

Three teams went off the board and picked un-ranked Czech players. Detroit picked Richard Nedomlel and Tampa Bay took Ondřej Palát, who both play in the CHL. The most interesting pick may have been by the Philadelphia Flyers when they chose Petr Plaček, who plays high-school hockey in Connecticut. Plaček was born in Rakovník and grew up in the Kladno system, but has played the past two seasons in the US. He is committed to Harvard University for next season.

Below are the 10 Czechs who were taken in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft:

 31. David Musil      D    Edmonton      Vancouver (WHL)
 41. Dmitrij Jaškin   RW   St. Louis     Slavia Praha
 71. David Honzík     G    Vancouver     Victoriaville (QMJHL)
144. Dominik Uher     C    Pittsburgh    Spokane (WHL)
158. Lukáš Sedlák     C    Pittsburgh    České Budějovice
165. Matěj Stránský   RW   Dallas        Saskatoon (WHL)
168. Daniel Přibyl    C    Montreal      Sparta Praha
175. Richard Nedomlel D    Detroit       Swift Current (WHL)
176. Petr Plaček      RW   Philadelphia  Hotchkiss Sch.(HIGH-CT)
177. Ondřej Palát     LW   Tampa Bay     Drummondville (QMJHL)

Jaškin and Musil lead list of Czech draft hopefuls

This weekend, the NHL stages its annual Entry Draft. It is the time when the top hockey prospects 18 years of age or older from around the world hold their collective breaths and find out who, if anybody, will hold their NHL rights.

Dmitrij Jaškin. Photo: hokej.cz.

Czechs have had some success in the draft before, most notably 1992 and 1999, when Roman Hamrlík and Patrik Štefan were taken first overall, respectively, by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers. In 2011, when the Edmonton Oilers make their first selection, it won't be a Czech name, barring a miracle. However, there are two Czech players, Dmitrij Jaškin and David Musil, that are expected to be taken in the first two rounds, which would be an improvement over recent years. Jaškin is a right winger who currently plays for Slavia Praha in the Czech Extraliga and Musil is a defenceman who currently plays for the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants. Both players have taken interesting paths to get to this point in their careers, which is explored in greater detail here.

David Musil. Photo: Gerry Kahrmann, theprovince.com.

The NHL divides its draft-eligible prospects into skaters and goaltenders, and further into players on North American clubs and those playing in Europe, with Musil and Jaškin easily leading all Czechs on those lists. In 2010, only five Czechs were drafted and none of them played domestically. This was a particularly embarrassing total for a country that, at one time, was one of the top producers of top hockey players in the world. As recently as 2001, 31 Czechs were drafted, with 21 of them coming from domestic clubs. This downward trend is examined here.

While the 2011 crop of Czechs won't approach 2001 numbers, it is reasonably safe to say there won't be another shutout of domestic players, as many forecasters have predicted that Jaškin will be taken late in the first round. Daniel Přibyl of Sparta Praha, who was taken by Cherepovets in last month's KHL draft, is pegged to go somewhere in the middle rounds, with Mladá Boleslav's Tomáš Hyka being seen as a possible late-round pick.

Below are the European-based, draft-eligible Czechs, according to their rankings. Of the listed players, only Jaškin and Plzeň's Jakub Jeřábek played full-time in the Extraliga in 2010-11.


  5. Dmitrij Jaškin       right wing   Slavia Praha
 46. Daniel Přibyl        centre       Sparta Praha
 47. Tomáš Hyka           right wing   Mladá Boleslav
 56. Štěpán Jeník         defence      Slavia Praha
 57. Lukáš Sedlák         centre       České Budějovice
 77. Jakub Jeřábek        defence      Plzeň
 79. Lukáš Králík         centre       Olomouc
 86. Tomáš Pavelka        defence      Vítkovice
 88. Václav Tomek         right wing   Slavia Praha
 95. Petr Holík           centre       Zlín
 96. Adam Řehák           right wing   Vítkovice
100. Michael Švihálek     left wing    České Budějovice
101. Dušan Žovinec        defence      Sparta Praha
125. Vojtěch Zadražil     defence      Jihlava
129. Tomáš Rousek         útočník      České Budějovice

Of the Czech players in North America, Musil is currently projected to be taken somewhere in the second round. Matěj Stránský could also be a mid-round pick, while Dominik Uher and Bohumil Jank could be taken late.


 38. David Musil         defence       Vancouver (WHL)
136. Matěj Stránský      right wing    Saskatoon (WHL)
162. Dominik Uher        centre        Spokane (WHL)
181. Bohumil Jank        defence       Victoriaville (QMJHL)

The International Scouting Services ranks goaltenders separately. Among European goalkeepers, Jarolsav Pavelka is ranked third, and has an outside chance at being drafted. He played last season at the starší dorost level, and was impressive at the Five Nations Tournament in his hometown of Hradec Králové. In Dresden at the U18 World Championships, Pavelka backed up Matěj Machovský, who is ranked 10th among eligible netminders in North America.

Ranked Czech goaltenders in Europe:

 3. Jaroslav Pavelka      Hradec Králové
10. Marek Mazanec         Plzeň

Ranked Czech goaltenders in North America:

11. Matěj Machovský      Brampton (OHL)
13. David Honzík         Victoriaville (QMJHL)
15. Tadeáš Galanský      Saginaw (OHL)

Rankings were compiled by International Scouting Services, and were acquired via hockeysfuture.com, nhl.com, and hokej.cz.

Jágr wins his 10th Golden Stick

 The golden boy of Czech hockey has a bit more gold today. For the tenth time in his illustrious career, Jaromír Jágr has been awarded the Golden Hockey Stick, emblematic of the best Czech hockey player in the world.

For Jágr, this is his tenth win, which gives him twice the number of Golden Sticks as Dominik Hašek, the award's next most frequent winner. Hašek finished 12th in voting this year. This was the second time that Jágr won the award without playing in the National Hockey League. His sixth win, back in 2004-05, happened during the NHL lockout, and he split the season between Rabat Kladno and Avangard Omsk, which is where he now plays. The last time a non-NHL player beat out NHL competition was in 2000-01, when Jiří Dopita of HC Vsetín took home the hardware.

Jágr topped the second round of voting with 1,005 points, beating out Tomáš Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens by 201 votes. Jágr's linemate in Omsk and in the World Championships, Roman Červenka, finished third with 743. The national team's top goaltender and left winger at the Worlds, Ondřej Pavelec and Patrik Eliáš, finished fourth and fifth.

Of the top ten, three players did not play for the Czech national team this spring. They were Martin Straka in sixth, David Krejčí in seventh, and Tomáš Vokoun in eighth. Krejčí's chances were doubtlessly hurt by the fact that the vote took place before the start of the Stanley Cup Finals. In addition to capturing the Cup, he lead all players in playoff scoring.

A pair of players from the Minnesota Wild, Martin Havlát and Marek Židlický, who was injured for a significant portion of the season, rounded out the top ten.

1. JAROMÍR JÁGR Avangard Omsk, KHL	1005
2. TOMÁŠ PLEKANEC Montreal Canadiens (NHL)	804
3. ROMAN ČERVENKA Avangard Omsk (KHL)	743
4. ONDŘEJ PAVELEC Atlanta Thrashers (NHL)	662
5. PATRIK ELIÁŠ New Jersey Devils (NHL)	352
6. MARTIN STRAKA HC Plzeň 1929	328
7. DAVID KREJČÍ Boston Bruins (NHL)	304
8. TOMÁŠ VOKOUN Florida Panthers (NHL)	297
9. MARTIN HAVLÁT Minnesota Wild (NHL)	267
10. MAREK ŽIDLICKÝ Minnesota Wild (NHL)	224

In total, 58 players received votes:

11. Tomáš Vlasák (Plzeň) 212 points, 12. Dominik Hašek (Spartak Moscow, KHL) 181, 13. Karel Rachůnek (Yaroslavl, KHL) 178, 14. Martin Růžička (Třinec) 170, 15. Milan Hejduk (Colorado, NHL), 129, 16. Jakub Štěpánek (St. Petersburg, KHL) 124, 17. Zbyněk Michálek (Pittsburgh, NHL) 108, 18. Tomáš Rolinek (Magnitogorsk, KHL) 83, 19. Milan Michálek (Ottawa, NHL) 76, 20. Tomáš Kaberle (Boston, NHL) 74, 21. Miroslav Blaťák (Ufa, KHL), 45, 22. Jakub Voráček (Columbus, NHL) 42, 23. Petr Sýkora (Davos, Switzerland) 36, 24. - 25. Michal Neuvirth (Washington, NHL) and Alexandr Salák (Färjestad, Sweden) 29, 26. Lukáš Krajíček (Třinec) 26, 27. Aleš Hemský (Edmonton, NHL) 24, 28. Petr Nedvěd (Liberec) 18, 29. Michael Frolík (Chicago, NHL) 16, 30. - 31. Jakub Kovář (České Budějovice) and Roman Málek (Vítkovice) 15, 32. Jiří Burger (Vítkovice) 14, 33. Radim Vrbata (Phoenix, NHL) 12, 34. Lukáš Kašpar (Astana, KHL) 11, 35. - 36. Roman Hamrlík (Montréal, NHL) and Jan Marek (Atlant/Yaroslavl, KHL) 10, 37. Milan Gulaš (České Budějovice) 9, 38. - 40. Petr Čajánek (St. Petersburg, KHL), Petr Hubáček (Kometa Brno) and Jiří Hudler (Detroit, NHL) 8, 41. Josef Vašíček (Yaroslavl, KHL) 7, 42. - 43. Miroslav Kopřiva (Slavia Praha) and František Ptáček (České Budějovice) 6, 44. - 45. Tomáš Duba (Zlín/Třinec) and Marek Malík (Vítkovice) 5, 46. - 48. Petr Leška (Zlín), Radek Martínek (New York Islanders, NHL) and Petr Průcha (St. Petersburg, KHL) 4, 49. - 50. Viktor Hübl (Litvínov) and Viktor Ujčík (Vítkovice) 3, 51. - 54. Jaroslav Bednář (Davos, Switzerland), Radek Bonk (Třinec), Petr Čáslava (CSKA Moscow, KHL) and Martin Růžička (Pardubice) 2, 55. - 58. Radek Duda (Chomutov/Plzeň), Jan Kovář (Plzeň), František Lukeš (Litvínov) and Ondřej Němec (Cherepovets) 1.

Past Winners:

1969 - Jan Suchý (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1970 - Jan Suchý (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1971 - František Pospíšil (D), Poldi Kladno
1972 - František Pospíšil (D), Poldi Kladno
1973 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1974 - Jiří Holeček (G), HC Sparta Praha
1975 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1976 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1977 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1978 - Ivan Hlinka (C), CHZ Litvínov
1979 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Dukla Jihlava
1980 - Peter Šťastný (C), HC Slovan Bratislava
1981 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1982 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1983 - Vincent Lukáč (RW), VSŽ Košice
1984 - Igor Liba (LW), HC Dukla Jihlava
1985 - Jiří Králík (G), HC Gottwaldov
1986 - Vladimír Růžička (C), CHZ Litvínov
1987 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1988 - Vladimír Růžička (C), Dukla Trenčín
1989 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1990 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1991 - Bedřich Ščerban (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1992 - Róbert Švehla (D), HC Dukla Trenčín
1993 - Miloš Holaň (D), TJ Vítkovice
1994 - Roman Turek (G), HC České Budějovice
1995 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Poldi Kladno/Bolzano/Schalker Haïe/Pittsburgh Penguins
1996 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
1997 - Dominik Hašek (G), Buffalo Sabres
1998 - Dominik Hašek (G), Buffalo Sabres
1999 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
2000 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
2001 - Jiří Dopita (C), HC Vsetín
2002 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Washington Capitals
2003 - Milan Hejduk (RW), Colorado Avalanche
2004 - Robert Lang (C), Washington Capitals/Detroit Red Wings
2005 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), HC Rabat Kladno/Avangard Omsk
2006 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2007 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2008 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2009 - Patrik Eliáš (LW), New Jersey Devils
2010 - Tomáš Vokoun (G), Florida Panthers

Most wins:

10 - Jaromír Jágr
5 - Dominik Hašek
4 - Vladimír Martinec
3 - Milan Nový

2 - Jan Suchý

2 - František Pospíšil

2 - Vladimír Růžička

Who will win the Golden Stick?

The Golden Hockey Stick (or Zlatá hokejka) is an annual award presented to the Czech hockey player who had the best season. The player can play anywhere in the world, and contributions to both his club team and the Czech national team can be taken into account. The 2011 winner will be announced on Saturday night at a special ceremony at the Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, beginning at 21:00 Central European Time. It will be televised on ČT1 and webcast at ceskatelevize.cz. More information can be found at zlatahokejka2011.cz.

Following last month's World Championships, a group of panelists voted on who they felt were the ten best Czech hockey players over the past season. Each panelist ranked them one to ten, with the top-ranked player getting 10 points, and the tenth-ranked player getting 1 point. The panel included all 14 Extraliga head coaches, plus coaches from the Czech national men's senior and U20 teams, retired Czech hockey players, and members of the media.

Once the top ten finalists were determined, a second round of voting was conducted, where the panel again ranked the ten remaining players. The result of that second-round vote will be revealed on Saturday.

Here are the ten finalists, listed alphabetically:

ČERVENKA, ROMAN	Avangard Omsk (KHL)
ELIÁŠ, PATRIK	New Jersey Devils (NHL)
HAVLÁT, MARTIN	Minnesota Wild (NHL)
JÁGR, JAROMÍR	Avangard Omsk (KHL)
KREJČÍ, DAVID	Boston Bruins (NHL)
PAVELEC, ONDŘEJ	Atlanta Thrashers (NHL)
PLEKANEC, TOMÁŠ	Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
STRAKA, MARTIN	HC Plzeň 1929
VOKOUN, TOMÁŠ	Florida Panthers (NHL)
ŽIDLICKÝ, MAREK	Minnesota Wild (NHL)

Of the ten finalists, seven played in the NHL, while two played in the KHL and one, Martin Straka, played at home in the Czech Extraliga. Straka, who has never won the award, would be a sentimental pick, as held the titles of President, General Manager, and team captain and had to deal with a ton of front-office headaches and still finished second in league scoring. He would be the first domestic player to win the award since Jiří Dopita in 2001.

The two KHL players, Roman Červenka and Jaromír Jágr, were linemates in Omsk. Jágr, who with nine Golden Sticks has won the award more than any other player in history, surely made his way up the voting with his performance in the World Championship, where he registered 9 points in nine games.

Jágr is one of three finalists who have won the award before. The others are the past two winners: Tomáš Vokoun and Patrik Eliáš. Like Jágr, Eliáš's presence in the Top Ten is likely aided by his World Championship performance, where he also recorded 9 points in nine games. Vokoun, on the other, hand, won the award last season based on his performance at the Worlds, but his refusal to play this season will likely prevent him from repeating. The other goaltender on the list, Ondřej Pavelec, was spectacular in goal in the Worlds, but may not have had enough of a spectacular regular season to top the voting.

Eliáš, along with Martin Havlát and David Krejčí, would seem to be the three favourites to win. The trio finished tied with 62 points to lead all Czech players in the NHL. While Eliáš and Havlát starred in the World Championship, Krejčí won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Boston Bruins and led all playoff scorers with 23 points in 25 games.

In total, 58 players received votes:

11. Tomáš Vlasák (Plzeň) 212 points, 12. Dominik Hašek (Spartak Moscow, KHL) 181, 13. Karel Rachůnek (Yaroslavl, KHL) 178, 14. Martin Růžička (Třinec) 170, 15. Milan Hejduk (Colorado, NHL), 129, 16. Jakub Štěpánek (St. Petersburg, KHL) 124, 17. Zbyněk Michálek (Pittsburgh, NHL) 108, 18. Tomáš Rolinek (Magnitogorsk, KHL) 83, 19. Milan Michálek (Ottawa, NHL) 76, 20. Tomáš Kaberle (Boston, NHL) 74, 21. Miroslav Blaťák (Ufa, KHL), 45, 22. Jakub Voráček (Columbus, NHL) 42, 23. Petr Sýkora (Davos, Switzerland) 36, 24. - 25. Michal Neuvirth (Washington, NHL) and Alexandr Salák (Färjestad, Sweden) 29, 26. Lukáš Krajíček (Třinec) 26, 27. Aleš Hemský (Edmonton, NHL) 24, 28. Petr Nedvěd (Liberec) 18, 29. Michael Frolík (Chicago, NHL) 16, 30. - 31. Jakub Kovář (České Budějovice) and Roman Málek (Vítkovice) 15, 32. Jiří Burger (Vítkovice) 14, 33. Radim Vrbata (Phoenix, NHL) 12, 34. Lukáš Kašpar (Astana, KHL) 11, 35. - 36. Roman Hamrlík (Montréal, NHL) and Jan Marek (Atlant/Yaroslavl, KHL) 10, 37. Milan Gulaš (České Budějovice) 9, 38. - 40. Petr Čajánek (St. Petersburg, KHL), Petr Hubáček (Kometa Brno) and Jiří Hudler (Detroit, NHL) 8, 41. Josef Vašíček (Yaroslavl, KHL) 7, 42. - 43. Miroslav Kopřiva (Slavia Praha) and František Ptáček (České Budějovice) 6, 44. - 45. Tomáš Duba (Zlín/Třinec) and Marek Malík (Vítkovice) 5, 46. - 48. Petr Leška (Zlín), Radek Martínek (New York Islanders, NHL) and Petr Průcha (St. Petersburg, KHL) 4, 49. - 50. Viktor Hübl (Litvínov) and Viktor Ujčík (Vítkovice) 3, 51. - 54. Jaroslav Bednář (Davos, Switzerland), Radek Bonk (Třinec), Petr Čáslava (CSKA Moscow, KHL) and Martin Růžička (Pardubice) 2, 55. - 58. Radek Duda (Chomutov/Plzeň), Jan Kovář (Plzeň), František Lukeš (Litvínov) and Ondřej Němec (Cherepovets) 1.

First awarded in 1969, the Golden Stick began essentially as an MVP award for the Czechoslovak First League, and continued to be until the administrative breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993. At that time, due to the fact that most of the best Czech hockey players were now playing abroad, the award was changed to its present format, where all Czechs are eligible for the award, regardless of where in the world they play.

Past Winners:

1969 - Jan Suchý (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1970 - Jan Suchý (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1971 - František Pospíšil (D), Poldi Kladno
1972 - František Pospíšil (D), Poldi Kladno
1973 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1974 - Jiří Holeček (G), HC Sparta Praha
1975 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1976 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1977 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1978 - Ivan Hlinka (C), CHZ Litvínov
1979 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Dukla Jihlava
1980 - Peter Šťastný (C), HC Slovan Bratislava
1981 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1982 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1983 - Vincent Lukáč (RW), VSŽ Košice
1984 - Igor Liba (LW), HC Dukla Jihlava
1985 - Jiří Králík (G), HC Gottwaldov
1986 - Vladimír Růžička (C), CHZ Litvínov
1987 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1988 - Vladimír Růžička (C), Dukla Trenčín
1989 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1990 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1991 - Bedřich Ščerban (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1992 - Róbert Švehla (D), HC Dukla Trenčín
1993 - Miloš Holaň (D), TJ Vítkovice
1994 - Roman Turek (G), HC České Budějovice
1995 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Poldi Kladno/Bolzano/Schalker Haïe/Pittsburgh Penguins
1996 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
1997 - Dominik Hašek (G), Buffalo Sabres
1998 - Dominik Hašek (G), Buffalo Sabres
1999 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
2000 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
2001 - Jiří Dopita (C), HC Vsetín
2002 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Washington Capitals
2003 - Milan Hejduk (RW), Colorado Avalanche
2004 - Robert Lang (C), Washington Capitals/Detroit Red Wings
2005 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), HC Rabat Kladno/Avangard Omsk
2006 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2007 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2008 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2009 - Patrik Eliáš (LW), New Jersey Devils
2010 - Tomáš Vokoun (G), Florida Panthers

Most wins:

9 - Jaromír Jágr
5 - Dominik Hašek
4 - Vladimír Martinec
3 - Milan Nový

2 - Jan Suchý

2 - František Pospíšil

2 - Vladimír Růžička

St. Petersburg pulls out of Jágr sweepstakes

After earlier declaring their intention to sign Jaromír Jágr for the coming season, KHL club SKA St. Petersburg has now stated that they have abandoned efforts.

Jaromír Jágr (shown here with Vladimir Putin), may return to
Russia, but it won't be in St. Petersburg. Photo: Presidential Press
and Information Office.

"We are no longer pursuing Jaromír Jágr," said SKA general manager Alexei Kasatonov, citing the league's salary cap and limit on import players. "This is mainly due to the budget. The salary cap is not inflatable. Another reason is that we have too many foreigners. We already have six instead of the allowable five. Jágr would be the seventh. So that's the end of the story."

With St. Petersburg out of the picture, the only KHL team that still seems interested in signing him is Avangard Omsk, with whom he has played the last three seasons. Other possibilities are the NHL, or his home club in Kladno, where he will eventually take over as club president from his father. 

If anyone thought the 39-year-old Jágr was beyond the point of being a productive NHL scorer, his performance at the most recent World Championship, where he recorded 8 points in 8 games, showed that he still seems capable of playing hockey at an elite level. All three teams that he played for during his NHL career, Pittsburgh, Washington, and the New York Rangers, have expressed interest. Other possibilities are Montreal and Detroit.

Czech Republic will host 2012 U18 men's and women's championships

It has long been known that the IIHF Women's U18 World Championship will be played in the Czech Republic in early January 2012. On Wednesday, Czech website hokej.cz announced that the men's edition of the tournament will be held in the same country, subject to rubber-stamp approval from the IIHF Congress.

"Information was sent to us from the IIHF, stating that we will host the tournament," said Czech Ice Hockey Association (ČSLH) Gereral Secretary Martin Urban. "Officially, it still must be confirmed by Congress." The ČSLH website is also announcing they will host the tournament, which suggests the information is true.

The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Switzerland, but rumblings began during the 2011 tournament in Germany that the Swiss may relinquish their right to host, citing a lack of suitable venues that were willing to host. The Czech Republic and Denmark stepped to the forefront as possible replacements, and now it seems that the Czechs will, indeed, host both the women's and men's U18 events.

Hosts for both tournaments have not been announced, but there are many possible candidates.
 
Among last season's top women's teams were Pardubice, Slavia Praha, Karvina, Kladno, and Plzeň. While Prague isnt likely to host, the others are all possibilities, as is Slaný, which hosted a 5-teams U18 womens tournament last December, prior to the World Championship in Sweden. Slaný is just 13 km north of Kladno, which could make them suitable candidates to co-host.

Hradec Králové hosted a U18 tournament in February 2011.
Photo: Stanislav Souček, hockeynews.cz.

As for the men's event, Pardubice has hosted World U20 Championships in 2002 and 2008, and the area's passion for hockey makes them likely front-runners for this event as well. Nearby Hradec Králové hosted a five-team U18 tournament in February, making them ideal co-host candidates. Indeed, the Czech Republic is no stranger to hosting U18 hockey tournaments. The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament is annually co-hosted in South Moravia, usually Břeclav, along with a Slovak city, usually Piešťany. Junior hockey is usually more popular in Moravia, as seen by the excitement in Znojmo over their national junior title. Znojmo's 5,500-seat Hostan Arena would seem to suit the needs of the tournament, although the departure of the Orli Znojmo professional team to the Austrian League might not earn them any points with the ČSLH. Brno's 7,200-seat Hala Rondo and the area's passionate fans is another option worth considering.

Of course, cities won't be chosen until after the IIHF formally approves the host nation. That won't happen until their next Congress meeting, August 22 to 24 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Rebuilding Sparta signs Foster and Bližňák

In an ongoing effort to rebuild from a disastrous 2010-11 campaign, HC Sparta Praha signed a couple of forwards with NHL experience, American Alex Foster and Slovak Mario Bližňák, on Tuesday.

Alex Foster. Photo: marlies.ca.

"We need the squad to be balanced," said head coach Josef Jandač on the team's website. "We therefore signed Foster and Bližňák on the grounds that they are forwards who also know how to defend well. They can both be part of our offence and also play defensively."

26-year-old Foster was born in Canton, Michigan while his father, Dwight Foster, played for the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s. His uncle, Wes Jarvis, also played in the NHL. The younger Foster attended Bowling Green University and was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2006. He has spent the past five seasons in the Toronto organization, playing for the AHL's Toronto Marlies and 3 games with the Leafs in 2007-08.

Bližňák, 24, hails from Trenčín, Slovakia, but has played in Canada since the age of 18. He spent three seasons with the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants, where he was part of their 2007 Memorial Cup championship team.  He was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and has played professionally in that organization ever since. He played a total of 6 games for the Canucks, recording a goal, but the club's depth at centre has relegated him to the AHL's Manitoba Moose for the rest of that time. The signing comes despite the fact that the Canucks' season is not yet over; they are currently playing in the Stanley Cup Final.

Mario Bližňák. Photo: bleacherreport.com.

The signings came a day after the club signed defencemen Jaroslav Kasík and Michal Sersen. Kasík is a Prague native who grew up in the Sparta organization, while Sersen is another Slovak who played two years in the QMJHL with the Rimouski Océanic and Québec Remparts.

The club's roster for 2011-12 is starting to come together after releasing nine players on April 7. Traditionally one of the strongest Czech clubs, Sparta had a disastrous 12th-place finish last season, which resulted in the shake up.

The first chance anybody might get to see the new players in Sparta crimson will be August 11, when they host Swedish club HV71 Jönköping on the opening day of the 2011 European Trophy.