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.

Czechs finish 7th at WJC

Petr Holík engages in a battle along the boards
against Slovakia. Photo: hokej.cz.

The Czech Republic played its last game of the 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship on Tuesday night, beating Slovakia by a score of 5-2 to finish seventh in the tournament. They were led offensively by captain Jakub Jeřábek (2 assists), Martin Frk, and Andrej Nestrašil (each 1 goal and 1 assist). In goal, Filip Novotný stopped 19 of 21 shots for his second straight win.

Click here to see the official individual statistics, as compiled by the IIHF, for the Czech U20 team at the 2011 World Junior Championships.

Jeřábek was their leader and best player all tournament. The 19-year-old undrafted defenceman led the team offensively with 8 points (1 goal and 7 assists) in 6 games. Collectively, only 1 other point was recorded by a thin Czech defensive unit. Jerábek, who plays full time for HC Plzeň 1929 in the Czech Extraliga, made a strong case for being drafted in 2011, and suitors from the KHL may come calling as well.

Up front, the club was led by 17-year-old Frk. Frk wasn't even on the radar for inclusion on this team at the start of the season, but his strong season in Halifax garnered attention. Frk recorded 3 goals and 3 assists and, since his October birthdate means that he won't be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft until 2012, he will almost certainly return next year and be counted on as one of the team's offensive leaders. Michal Hlinka also scored 3 goals and added 1 assist, and Antonín Honejsek had 2 goals and 2 assists.

In goal, the team was definitely hurt by the absence of Petr Mrázek of the Ottawa 67's, and were forced to alternate between Extraliga backups Marek Mazanec and Novotný. While better results may have been expected, they were often getting shelled with a weak blueline in front of them. Mazanec may now face more of the same when he returns to a Plzeň team that has had goaltending and defensive woes all season.

By finishing seventh, the Czech Republic will find itself next season in a group with Canada, the USA, and Finland, with either Denmark or Latvia being the group's fifth team. Again, they will be ranked fourth in their group and facing an uphill battle to reach the quarter-finals, though it may be slightly easier than it was this year.

From this year's club, only Frk, Bohumil Jank, Petr Holík, and Rimouski Oceanic teammates Jakub Culek and Petr Straka will be eligible to return. Dmitrij Jaškin and defenceman David Musil, a pair of 17-year-olds who missed this year's tournament with injuries, are also expected to be there.

Though the Czechs ended up in the relegation round, they were represented in the gold medal game of this tournament. Příbram-native Martin Fraňo was one of the referees of the game in which Russia defeated Canada 5-3 to claim the championship. The 28-year-old Fraňo, who is a referee in the Czech Extraliga, also worked the Canada-USA semi-final. In his early twenties, he spent a year living in Minnesota and worked as a linesman in the junior A-level United States Hockey League. Jaromír Bláha, from Újezd nad Lesy, was a linesman in the tournament and worked the Finland-Russia quarter-final.

Russia wins on NYE and goes to quarters, Czechs to relegation round

Marek Mazanec is unable to prevent Denis Golubev from giving
Russia a 3-1 lead. Photo: Andre Ringuette, HHOF-IIHF Images.

It was a showdown on Silvestr between too old hockey rivals, Russia and the Czech Republic. It was the very last game of Group B at the 2011 World Junior Championships, and there was a lot riding on it. The winner would finish third place in the group and advance to the quarter-finals, while the loser would finish fourth and be sent to the relegation round.

From the start of the tournament, the Czech Republic knew that making the quarter-finals would be a difficult task. And though they appeared so close to advancing, in the end they were so far.

Like they had in their losses to Canada and Sweden, they got off to a quick start, with Jakub Osrava getting the first goal at the 1:53 mark. And like those other games, the wheels came off the bus not long afterward. The Russians scored four goals in under eight minutes in the first period to put the Czechs in a deep hole. After getting pulled after four goals against Sweden, goaltender Marek Mazanec was pulled again on Friday at 6:28 of the second period after allowing six goals on 16 shots. Filip Novotný stopped 11 of 13 shots the rest of the way.

The final score was 8-3, with Petr Straka and Michal Hlinka scoring the second and third goals for the Czechs. In their four group games, the Czech Republic was led in scoring by captain Jakub Jeřábek with 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists). Martin Frk, Antonín Honejsek, and Hlinka each had 3 (2 goals and 1 assist each).


Russia was led in the game by a goal and three assists from captain Vladimir Tarasenko. Dmitri Orlov, Danil Sobchenko, and Yevgeni Kuznetsov each chipped in a goal and two assists.

With the win, Russia advances to the quarter-finals, and they will play Finland on Sunday. The winner will play Sweden, the winner of Group B, on Monday. The other quarter-final, also on Sunday, will feature Canada against Switzerland, with the winner playing Monday against the USA, tournament host and winner of Group A. The bronze and gold medal games will be played Wednesday.

The next task for the Czech team is avoiding relegation. They are joined in the group by Norway, Germany, and Slovakia. The top two teams will stay in the top group and play in next year's World Junior Championship in Calgary and Edmonton, AB. The bottom two will drop to the Division 1 tournament, their spots in the top tournament to be taken by Denmark and Latvia.

The Czech Republic's 2-0 win over Norway carries over into the relegation round, as does Slovakia's 2-1 overtime victory against Germany. Therefore, the Czechs currently lead the group with 3 points, followed by Slovakia with 2, Germany with 1, and Norway with 0. The Czechs play against Germany on Sunday and against Slovakia on Tuesday. A win in at least one of those games will be enough for the Czech Republic to remain in the top group.

Czechs fall to Sweden, face all-important game vs Russia on New Year's Eve

Jakub Jeřábek tries to protect the puck against
Swedish pressure. Photo: hokej.cz.

It is said that the two powerhouses in Group B are Canada and Sweden. The performance of the Czech Republic against each team seems to bear an uncanny resemblance.

As they did against Canada, the Czechs struck early against Sweden, this time it was Milan Hlinka on a power play at 3:09. But then Sweden's Johan Larsson answered on a power-play of their own. As was the case against Canada, when they gave up a short-handed goal on a five-minute power-play, the biggest blow came when the Czechs trailed 2-1. This time, the knee-capping goal came when Jesper Fasth's seemingly harmless shot along the ice beat Marek Mazanec and Sweden took at 3-1 lead to the first intermission.

After the lead was increased to 4-1, Czech coach Miroslav Přerost made the curious move of replacing Mazanec with Filip Novotný in goal. With an all-important game against Russia coming tomorrow, it would seem that playing a rested Novotný would be the most sensible way to go if he was unhappy with Mazanec's performance. In any event, Novotný was beaten on the first shot he faced and Fasth had his second of the game to make it 5-1.

Just when all hope seemed lost, 17-year-old Martin Frk struck twice to bring the Czechs within two at the second intermission. His first was an impressive wrist shot that beat Swedish goaltender Fredrik Petersson-Wentzel to the stick side and the second was a slapshot from the point on a power-play. Both of his goals were assisted by team captain Jakub Jeřábek. Frk was thrown out of the Czechs' last game when he was penalized for spearing, and it was initially not clear if he would be able to play this game.

Eventually, it was all for naught, Sweden won 6-3, meaning they will face Canada on Friday in a showdown for first place in the group and an automatic berth in the semi-finals. As for the Czechs, they face Russia on Friday and, assuming Russia beats Noway, the game will determine which team gets third place in the group and advances to the quarter-finals and who will be sent to the relegation round. In Europe, the game will actually begin in the new year, at 1:00 CET on ČT4 Sport.

Click here to watch the Czech Republic-Sweden game in its entirety.

Czechs win WJC opener over Norway

A couple of Czech teams began their post-Christmas tournaments abroad on Monday.

Jakub Osrava venutres into the Norway zone in the Czech
Republic's first game at the 2011 World Junior Championships.
Photo: Andre Ringuette, HHOF-IIHF Images.

The Czech national U20 team played its first game at the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, NY, defeating Norway 2-0. Marek Mazanec of Plzeň 1929 stopped all 21 shots he faced and the offence was supplied by Tomáš Rachůnek, formerly of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the second period and Antonín Hanejsek of the Moose Jaw Warriors on a third-period penalty kill.

The competition will get a lot tougher for the Czechs from this point, however, beginning with Tuesday's encounter with Canada. The game will begin at 4pm in Buffalo, 10pm Central European Time. In addition to various television outlets, including TSN in Canada, the NHL Network in the United States, ČT4 Sport in the Czech Republic, and Eurosport 2 elsewhere in Europe, it can be seen streaming online at:

http://www.tsn.ca/live/wjhc/default.aspx

Sparta goaltender Tomáš Pöpperle thwarts a Servette
attempt in Spengler Cup action. Photo: spenglercup.ch.

Meanwhile, Sparta Praha played its first game at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, falling 4-3 to Servette Geneva. Sparta got goals from Tomáš Kůrka, Yorick Treille (who was playing against his former team), and Félicien DuBois, a pick-up who normally plays for the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss A League. DuBois' goal early in the third period gave Sparta a 3-2 lead, but Servette came back with goals from Josh Hennessy of Boston, MA and Paul Savary to win.

Today they play SKA St. Petersburg in the last game of the round-robin. On Sunday, St. Petersburg beat Servette 3-1, meaning a victory by three goals or more would earn Sparta an automatic berth in the semi-finals, otherwise they will play a quarter-final game on Thursday. If Sparta manages to finish second in the group, their quarter-final opponent would be Spartak Moscow, with Dominik Hašek in goal.

A tough week for Plzeň

Last season, with the help of a few imports from North America, HC Plzeň 1929 finished first place in the Tipsport Extraliga before bowing out in the quarter-finals. This season, things haven't gone quite as well. Still, with four North Americans on their roster, the "Indians", as they are known colloquially, are likely to command more attention in North America than any other team in the league.

They currently have defensemen John Slaney from St. John's, NL and Nick St. Pierre from St-Étienne, QC and forwards John Lammers from Langley, BC and Nick Johnson from Windsor, CT. To Canadians, Slaney is by far the most noteworthy name, by virtue of his winning goal at the 1991 IIHF U20 World Championships followed by his lengthy career in the NHL and AHL. Currently, however, Slaney is on the sideline. He broke his jaw October 12 against Mladá Boleslav and is due back in mid-December.

Last Friday night, the rest of the Plzeň team paid a visit to Prague's TESLA Arena to take on HC Sparta Praha. Sparta had a pair of North American defensemen in their lineup, Brian Salcido from Los Angeles, CA and Doug O'Brien who, like Slaney, hails from St. John's.

It was Salcido who broke the goose-egg in the first period with a shot from the high slot that beat goaltender Marek Mazanec inside the post. For Salcido, who was known as an offensive defenseman in the AHL, it was his second goal of the season.

Minutes later, it appeared that the Plzeň duo of Lammers and Johnson may have tied the game, but referee Milan Minař blew the whistle first, claiming that Sparta goaltender Tomáš Pöpperle had covered the puck. Lammers explained, "I took a shot and there was a rebound lying in the crease. Johnson whacked it in but unfortunately there was a quick whistle."

After that, Pöpperle was perfect the rest of the way, posting 21 saves and earning his second straight shutout.

Like Pöpperle, O'Brien played for Plzeň last season, which made the win feel even better. "Yeah, defintely. It feels great to beat 'em. Lot of old buddies so it feels good to beat them. They beat us last time in a close game and tonight was a pretty close game."

For the past few games, O'Brien has been paired on the blueline with Michal Gulaší, who is one of Sparta's harder hitters.Though it wasn't an overly rough contest, Gulaší was a noted physical presence on the back end. "He throws the body around a lot. It's a big part of his game. He loves to do it. I love watching him."

After Salcido's first period tally, Karel Hromas scored late in the second and again midway through the third period to give Sparta a 3-0 victory. The win gave Sparta 22 points on the season and moved them one ahead of Plzeň into the tenth place in a tight race for playoff spots. O'Brien added, "It's a big win for us. With the new coach (Miloš Holaň) that's two in a row for us. The guys are excited. Back to back shoutouts; Pöpperle's played great for us."
 
As far as Plzeň is concerned, they were last season's regular season champions and their record to this point is certainly a disappointment. Unfortunately, an even bigger disappointment would be in store a few days later.

On Tuesday, Czech Ice Hockey Association Competition Director Stanislav Šulc dropped a bomb, stating that three teams, Kladno, Mladá Boleslav and Plzeň, had played games with improperly registered players and would likely be forced to forfeit points accumulated in games where the ineligible players participated.

The players reported were Kladno's Jindřich Kotrla, Mladá Boleslav's Tomáš Divíšek, Jiří Marušák and Peter Fabuš, and Plzeň's Tomáš Frolo and Petr Přikryl.

As Kotrla played only eight games and Kladno was almost certain to finish in last place anyway, they are least affected by this ruling. However, for Mladá Boleslav and Plzeň, the results could be disastrous. Mladá Boleslav would lose 22 points and Plzeň 19, making the playoffs a virtual impossibility. What's more,  Boleslav would drop below Kladno into last place, meaning they might end up having to play a series to avoid relegation to the First National League.