Czech national junior team named, heads to Malmö

The 25-man roster has been set by Miroslav Přerost and his coaching staff -- 17 European-based players and eight from the CHL make up the Czech team that will head to the World Junior Championship, which starts December 26 in Malmö, Sweden.

Victoriaville Tigres captain Petr Šidlík will fulfill the same role for

Team Czech Republic at the upcoming World Junior

Championship. Photo: tigresvictoriaville.com.

The high percentage of European-based players on the team compared to recent years has surprised many people, and leads some to believe that there may be a resurgence of home-grown Czech talent. Přerost explained to hokej.cz that his decisions were made based on the players' performances at a recently-completed training camp in Rokycany.

"We had all the players for five or six days in camp, and the performance of the players from overseas were comparable with those of the local clubs. In certain respects, maybe even a little worse. It turns out that many players have made progress playing in the Czech Extraliga, so we decided to give them priority over before those from the Canadian junior leagues."

Furthermore, he explained: "The World Championship will be played on European-sized ice, and that also factored into our decision."

Here is the 25-man roster:

Goaltenders: Daniel Dolejš (HC Vítkovice Steel), Marek Langhamer (Medicine Hat, WHL), Dominik Hrachovina (Tappara Tampere, Finland).

Defencemen: Jan Štencel (HC Vítkovice Steel), Libor Šulák (Piráti Chomutov), Ronald Knot (HC Slavia Praha), Patrik Marcel (HC Škoda Plzeň), Jan Košťálek (Rimouski, QMJHL), Michal Plutnar (Tri-City, WHL), Petr Šidlík (Victoriaville, QMJHL), David Němeček (Saskatoon, WHL).

Forwards: Dominik Simon, Martin Procházka (both HC Sparta Praha), Ondřej Kaše, David Kämpf (both Piráti Chomutov), David Pastrňák (Södertälje, Sweden), Jakub Vrána (Linköping, Sweden), Pavel Zacha (Bílí Tygři Liberec), Richard Nejezchleb (Brandon, WHL), Dominik Volek (Red Deer, WHL), Radek Faksa (Kitchener, OHL), Vojtěch Tomeček, Jiří Fronk (both HC Energie Karlovy Vary), Patrik Machač (Rytíři Kladno), Pavel Sedláček (PSG Zlín).

The captain of the team is defenceman Petr Šidlík, one of five returnees from last year's squad in Ufa. Šidlík has played on Czech national teams for years and has really developed his physical game over the past few seasons. When asked about his style of leadership, he explained, "I'm not the type that storms into the dressing room and yells and screams. I want to lead by example on the ice."

"This year we don't have players like Hertl, Dima Jaškin, Sedlák and others that we had last year, but I believe that we can do well," he said, when asked of the team he will be leading. "We have to play as a team, and our hockey should be based on character and hard work."

Hokej.cz has compiled a list of which players have represented the Czech Republic at recent U20 and U18 World Championships, with Radek Faksa of the Kitchener Rangers being the only one to return to the World Juniors for a third go around:

U20 2013: Šidlík, Štencel, Vrána, Faksa, Tomeček
U20 2012: Faksa

U18 2013: Košťálek, Štencel, Němeček, Zacha, Pastrňák, Vrána, Kämpf, Kaše, Zdráhal
U18 2012: Langhamer, Hrachovina, Šidlík, Košťálek, Knot, Šulák, Štencel, Machač, Volek, Sedláček, Vrána, Procházka, Simon, Tomeček.
U18 2011: Šidlík, Faksa 

The team travels to southern Sweden today, and will play a pair of pre-tournament games before things begin for real next Thursday.

Pre-tournament schedule leading up to the World Junior Championship:

Dec 21: exhibition game vs Switzerland (Lund, 6pm)
Dec 23: exhibition game vs Norway (Landskrona, 6pm)

Group stage schedule at the World Junior Championship (all games in Malmö):

Dec 26: vs USA (5:30pm, ČT Sport)
Dec 28: vs Canada (5:30pm, ČT Sport)
Dec 30: vs Germany (1:30pm, ČT Sport)Dec 31: vs Slovakia (1:30pm, ČT Sport)

U18 World Championship roster begins to take shape

While most Czech hockey fans have their attention focused on the Extraliga semifinals at the moment, the national U18 team gathered in Havlíčkův Brod to open a second, and more intensive, training camp in preparation for the World Championships, which they will host in Brno and Znojmo from April 12 to 22.

From a preliminary roster of 50, only 14 players were able to attend last week, as everybody else was still committed to their club teams. This week, the number is higher.

"We worked on drills for defencemen and forwards, two-on-twos, and other things," coach Jiří Veber said to hokej.cz's Vaclav Jáchim about the limited things he was able to do last week. "This Tuesday, we are up to 21."

It's unclear how many of the 21 at camp will make the final cut, but to be sure, the names that attract the most attention are still absent and may not arrive at all.

Marek Langhamer is expected to be the Czech U18
team's starting goalie in Brno. m.denik.cz.

The team's starting goaltender is expected to be Marek Langhamer, who is currently acting as the third-string goaltender on the Pardubice club that is still alive in the Extraliga playoffs. Pardubice currently leads its semifinal series 2-0 and the league finals will overlap the international tournament, but Langhamer will be allowed to join the U18 team, barring an injury to one of the two ahead of him on the depth chart.

Additionally, nine players are still active in the Junior Extraliga playoffs, but they will be over by the weekend.

While Langhamer's inclusion is a near certainty, the players who are currently involved in Canadian Hockey League playoffs are anything but that. Defencemen Petr Šidlík and Michal Plutnar and forwards Radek Faksa, Patrik Machač and Dominik Volek are all in the playoffs. If their clubs advance beyond the first round, they will not join the Czech team.

Defenceman Karel Plašíl of České Budějovice, who played in last August's Ivan Hlinka Tournament, has been out with an injured hand and is not currently in camp, but he might still return.

They will have a lot of last-minute decisions to make, but that's no different from most of the teams in the tournament, and Veber knew it coming in.

"It is what it is, I have no problem with that," he said. "We knew that we would have to prepare in the days before the start of the tournament."

On April 7, the team will play an exhibition game against the Czech U20 team in Havlíčkův Brod before heading to Brno. There, they will host Canada in a final pre-tournament game on April 9 before it gets underway on April 12. The next day, they will play their first game of the group stage against Norway.

In all, there are 50 players in consideration for the 23 spots:

Goaltenders:

Marek Langhamer (Pardubice), Patrik Polívka (Plzeň), Daniel Dolejš (Havíčkův Brod), Dominik Hrachovina (Tappara Tampere, Finland), Josef Sobotka (Liberec).

Defencemen:

Lukáš Buchta (Zlín), Tomáš Prokop, Karel Plášil (both České Budějovice), Ronald Knot (Slavia Praha), Jan Košťálek (Sparta Praha), Martin Kokeš (Litvínov), Jakub Houfek (Plzeň), Dominik Tejnor, Radek Havel (both Chomutov), Marek Bail, Adam Hawlik, Jan Štencel (all Vítkovice), Jiří Běhal (Třinec), Jan Sedlák (Kometa Brno), Libor Šulák (Tatranští vlci, MHL), Petr Šidlík (Victoriaville, QMJHL), Michal Plutnar (Tri-City, WHL).

Forwards:

Dominik Kubalík, Roman Přikryl, Jan Schleiss (all Plzeň), Jan Hudeček, Ondřej Slováček, Patrik Zdráhal (all Vítkovice), Dominik Simon, Martin Procházka, Martin Matějček (all Sparta Praha), Richard Nejezchleb (Slavia Praha), Pavel Sedláček (Zlín), Matěj Zadražil, Vojtěch Tomeček (both Karlovy Vary), Matěj Psota, Adam Dlouhý (both Liberec), Ladislav Marek (Mladá Boleslav), Tomáš Franek (Třinec), Jiří Fronk (Chomutov), Jakub Vrána (Linköping, Sweden), Eustathios Soumelidis (Vaasa, Finland), Radek Faksa (Kitchener, OHL), Patrik Machač (Brampton, OHL), Dominik Volek (Regina, WHL), Adam Chlapík (Muskegon, USHL).

Team Manager: Jakub Petr

Head Coach: Jiří Veber
Assistant Coaches: Jakub Petr, Klas Östman
Goaltending Coach: Marek Novotný
Team Doctor: Dr. Daniel Waciakowski
Equipment Manager: Jaroslav Brabec

Preliminary rosters for some other teams have already been posted at the tournament's official website, http://www.u18wc2012.cz/eng/index.asp. The full tournament schedule and ticket information is also available there.

For updates, follow the tournament's official Twitter account, @czechhockey.

15 Czechs taken in CHL Import Draft

The Canadian Hockey League, which is the top tier of junior hockey in North America, held its annual Import Draft on Wednesday. Fifteen Czech players, more than from any other country, were selected.

The draft allows European junior-aged players to join teams in the CHL, which is divided into the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The 60 total CHL teams, nine of which are based in the United States, are limited to two import players (non-North American) each.

Petr Šidlík (right) at the 2011 UI8 World Championships. Photo:
hockeyfans.ch.

The first Czech player chosen was defenceman Petr Šidlík of Dukla Jihlava of the Czech First League. He also played for the Czech U18 team at the Five Nations Tournament in Hradec Kralove and the World Championships in Dresden last year. He was taken fifth overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who then traded his rights to the Victoriaville Tigre. 

Then a trio, Tomáš Hyka, Dominik Volek, and Patrik Machač were taken eighth, ninth, and tenth. Hyka, from Mladá Boleslav, was expected to be taken in the recent NHL Draft, but was passed on. Lukáš Sedlák, who was chosen 14th, is the only Czech player who has already been drafted by an NHL team. Sedlák was taken in the sixth round this year by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
 
Most of the players selected played on either the Czech U18 or U17 national teams last season. Inevitably, some of the players drafted will choose to leave the Czech Republic and play for the CHL team that picked them. If they leave, it weakens the talent pool that the Czech national teams have to choose from.

"We would obviously like to see the players stay, but it is not easy to convince them. Likewise, their parents or agents," Czech U18 national team coach Jiří Veber told hokej.cz's Václav Jáchim. "Our desire is the opposite, but some departures are inevitable. We're stuck with it," he says.

Convincing its top young players to remain at home is an ever-increasing challenge in the Czech Republic.
 
Here are the 15 Czech players chosen:

 5. Petr Šidlík        D    Victoriaville Jihlava
 8. Tomáš Hyka         RW   Gatineau      Ml. Boleslav
 9. Dominik Volek      LW   Regina        Sparta Praha
10. Patrik Machač      C    Brampton      Kladno
14. Lukáš Sedlák       C    Chicoutimi    Č. Budějovice
22. Radek Faksa        C    Kitchener     Třinec
26. Tomáš Pavelka      D    PEI           Vítkovice
29. Roman Will         G    Moncton       Ml. Boleslav
35. Matěj Beran        C    PEI           Lulea (SWE)
36. Lukáš Králík       F    Victoria      Olomouc
48. Michal Plutnar     D    Tri-City      Liberec
52. Jaroslav Pavelka   G    Niagara       Hradec Králové
54. Adam Řehák         C    Medicine Hat  Vítkovice
57. Jiří Sekáč         L/C  Sudbury       Youngstown (USHL)
59. Patrik Bartošák    G    Red Deer      Vítkovice

Draft Picks by Country:

Czech Republic – 15
Russia – 11
Sweden – 9
Slovakia – 7
Germany – 5
Switzerland – 5
Norway – 4
Latvia – 3
Finland – 2
Belarus – 1

Finland 3-0 at 5 Nations, meet USA for 1st on Sunday

On Day Four of the U18 Five Nations Cup in Hradec Králové, Finland beat Russia 4-3 to stay perfect at 3-0. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Russians have been a big disappointment, dropping to 0-3, but they played their best game so far.

After being physically dominated by the USA and Sweden in their first two games, the Russians obviously felt that they had to come out more physical against Finland. However, their undisciplined play put them in a hole in the early going.

Markus Granlund. Photo: Joona-Pekka Hirvonen,
www.jphirvonen.net.

Toni Kallela scored at the 2:11 mark to give Finland the early lead, and then he was immediately drilled into the end boards by Nikita Kucherov. On the ensuing power-play Kallela set up linemate Markus Granlund to give Finland a 2-0 lead.

After that, Russia seemed to settle down and play a more disciplined game. At 8:19, Sergei Smurov slid in a rebound to get them on the board. Then on the power play, Kucherov atoned for his earlier over-excitement by picking the near corner behind goaltender Niklas Kekki to tie the score.

Russia took the lead at 12:41 of the second period, when defenceman Alexei Shamin one-timed Kucherov's pass past Kekki on another power play. The lead was short-lived, however. Finland tied the game on a power-play of their own when Granlund scored his second of the game on a wrist shot off the post that Joe Sakic would have been proud of.

In the first minute of the third period, Granlund completed his hattrick on a set up from Kallela to give the lead back to Finland, and there was no further scoring.

Rasmus Ristolainen (left) and Konstantin Vorshev duke it out as
the game ends. Photo: Stanislav Souček, hockeynews.cz.

As time expired, Russia's Konstantin Vorshev and Finland's Rasmus Ristolainen engaged in a fight. It's not clear how the players will be disciplined, but it wouldn't be surprising if both players will be suspended for their teams' last games tomorrow. That doesn't mean much to Russia, but for Finland, who will be playing for first place, the loss of one of their top six defencemen could hurt.

With Finland and the United States both 3-0, their game on Sunday, which begins at 13:00 CET (UTC +1) will be for first place in the tournament.

In Saturday's nightcap, the Czech Republic hosted Sweden.

Traffic in front of goaltender Patrik Bartošák on Saturday night.
Photo: Lukáš Souček, hockeynews.cz.

In their last game of the tournament, the Swedes struck early, with Mika Zibanejad finishing off a beautifully-executed two-on-one with Ludwig Blomstrand at 3:01. Less than a minute later, they nearly connected again, but failed to finish.

In the second period, the two teams began furiously trading scoring chances, with each team guilty of multiple miscues that gave their opponents odd-man rushes. Both goaltenders Oscar Dansk and Patrik Bartošák bailed their teams out more than once, before Sweden's Filip Forsberg sprung Gustaf Bjorklund on a breakaway, and he scored at 6:34 to make the score 2-0.

"It was a good pass," Bjorklund said after the game. "I saw the D going to the bench on the change and then I waited at the bench for the pass and I went in."

After that goal, the Czechs came back to play perhaps their best hockey of the game. They put on good pressure on a power play midway through the period, with their best chance coming when defenceman Petr Šidlík fired a slapshot that loudly rang off the goalpost, causing the crowd to groan in unison. A couple of minutes later, Michal Švihálek had a glorious chance from a Swedish giveaway, but was denied by Dansk. The Czechs continued to put on the pressure until Tomáš Pavelka blew a tire at the attacking blueline, giving William Karlsson a breakaway across two thirds of the ice. He buried his chance to make it 3-0 and quiet the energized crowd. Less than a minute later, Viktor Arvidsson scored on a deflection to seemingly put the game away.

The Czechs managed to make a game of it in the third period, however. They got a pair of goals in the third period from Lukáš Kříž and Lukáš Sedlák, but Bjorklund scored his second of the game on a backhander to make it 5-2 with three minutes left, and that's how the game ended.

"We were very tired today because yesterday was a very difficult match with USA," said Šidlík after the game. Referring to his goalpost in the second period, he added, "No luck today."

Sweden lost its first two games but then won its last two to claim third place in the tournament. When asked about his team's performance, coach Rikard Grönborg said, "We're always aiming to get the gold. You know, there was a loss to the USA first game and also a close one in the second with Finland. But then, we got better as the tournament went on. We knew there will be the Czechs and also the Russians, both very tough teams to play. But we're always trying to win the tournament we're at."

After Sunday's USA-Finland game for first place, the Czech Republic will play Russia, with the winner claiming fourth.