Jaškin: "I want to go to Canada"

Less than an hour after being drafted by the Moncton Wildcats in the Canadian Hockey League's Import Draft, hokej.cz's Vaclav Jachim is reporting that Slavia Praha's Dmitrij Jaškin has decided to play there next year.

"I've arranged with Slavia to leave. I want to go to Canada," the report says. "I've thought a lot about it. If I play in the CHL, I have a chance to get from there to the NHL. And that's my goal."

His attitude was different a year ago.

"Playing in the Czech professional league is better," is what the hulking winger told me last April at the U18 World Championship in Dresden, Germany. 

And why not? A year ago, Jaškin was coming off an impressive rookie season in the Czech Extraliga, one which led to his second-round selection by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL Entry Draft. At that time, Jaškin seemingly had no interest in jumping to the CHL as he prepared for his sophomore pro season.

However, the disastrous season to follow has apparently changed his mind. After registering only 1 goal and 1 assist in 30 Extraliga games, the snake-bitten 18-year-old was sent back to junior. He seemingly got some of his confidence back at lower levels, registering 17 points in 10 Junior Extraliga games, which led to a loan to Beroun of the First League, where he tallied 8 points in 10 games. Upon returning to Slavia in the play-out round, he recorded a more respectable 4 points in seven games.

A player built in the power-forward mold, Jaškin seems to thrive when the game gets physical, and therefore it was speculated that a move to the more physical CHL might be a good move for him, and he apparently agrees. The only sticking point could have been if Slavia had refused to let him go. However, despite the fact that coach and general manager Vladimír Růžička does not seem to agree with Jaškin's decision, he's not going to stand in his way.

"We've had repeated talks with his agent, Aleš Volek, and I've spoken a lot with Dima and his father (former pro Russian defenceman Alexei Yashkin)," said the man known as "Rosy" in his NHL career. "At first, Lexa Yashkin said it would be better if the boy stayed, but later, that he should leave. Of course, it brings me no joy, but we decided to work with the family and not stand in the way of what he wants."

"I knew that Vladimír Růzička would not be happy with this," said Jaškin, "but I hope this change will get me to where I want to be."

All told, 20 Czechs were taken in Wednesday's draft, although one of them, Planá-born Dominik Kohun, now lives in Germany, whom he represents internationally. Additionally, two other players, Slovak Martin Reway and Slovene Jurij Repe, were drafted from Czech clubs.

  4. Martin Reway (SVK)   LW Sparta          Gatineau

 10. Jan Košťálek         D  Sparta          Rimouski

 14. Patrik Polívka       G  Plzeň           Victoria
 22. Dmitrij Jaškin       RW Slavia          Moncton
 23. Jan Bittner          D  Litvínov        Red Deer
 27. Dominik Kubalík      LW Plzeň           Belleville
 28. Patrik Zdráhal       LW Vítkovice       Acadie-Bathurst
 29. Petr Veselý          LW PZ Kladno       Kootenay

 34. Jurij Repe (SLO)     D  Třinec          Saint John
 35. Richard Nejezchleb   RW Slavia          Brandon

 39. Dominik Kohun        LW Heilbronn (GER) Sudbury
 41. Mikuláš Rimmel       RW Vítkovice       Spokane
 44. Aleš Kilnar          LW Vítkovice       Vancouver
 47. Marek Langhamer      G  Pardubice       Medicine Hat
 51. Ladislav Zikmund     RW K. Vary         Ottawa
 52. Jakub Ižacký         LW Třinec          Saint John
 56. Ondřej Kopta         LW Texas (NAHL)    Niagara
 59. Jakub Procházka      LW Litvínov        Kootenay
 64. Adam Zbořil          LW Kometa          Acadie-Bathurst
 71. Eustathio Soumelidis C  Vaasa (FIN)     Everett 

 96. David Němeček        D  Plzeň           Sarnia
116. David Sysala         C  Vítkovice       Niagara

Czechs set to take on the junior hockey world

The IIHF U20 World Championship began on Monday in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with eight of ten teams in action. The Czech Republic are one of the two teams that waits until Tuesday to get underway, and then will have to play four games in five days against some stiff competition, one of the rewards they get for finishing seventh last year.

After two pre-tournament exhibition games in which they beat Latvia 7-1 and then lost 5-3 to Russia, the Czechs trimmed their roster down to the required 23. For Czech fans, the most disappointing omission is highly-touted winger Martin Frk, who never came to camp. After suffering a concussion in a QMJHL pre-season game in September, Frk returned to the Halifax Mooseheads lineup for a few games in December, but elected to go home to the Czech Republic for Christmas and rest rather than risk re-injury in the highly competitive tournament.

Without Frk, the Czechs are still in better shape than they were last year, as they do have Petr Mrázek, David Musil and Dmitrij Jaškin, who all missed last year's tournament.

Their first game is against Denmark, who opened with an 11-3 loss to the USA on Monday. It should be the Czechs' easiest game in the group stage, though coach Miroslav Přerost is taking nothing for granted.  "The first game in the tournament always brings some nervousness before the players get used to the atmosphere, the ice and the tempo of the play," he told hokej.cz's Václav Jáchim. "The Danes won't be easy. The Americans got 11 goals on them, but in the first period they played very well."

In a group that's tough enough, picking up the full three points against Denmark is imperative, as things get much more difficult after that. After Tuesday's game, which begins at 2am Wednesday in the Czech Republic, they then get Canada, the United States and Finland in quick succession. They will need to beat at least one more of them to avoid a third-straight trip to the relegation round.

As expected, Mrázek will start in goal against Denmark, with Libor Kašík backing him up.

For an in-depth analysis on the team, read my preview at HockeysFuture.com or my contribution to Bruce Peter's preview at Puckworlds.com.

Below is the Czech team's tournament roster, courtesy the Czech Ice Hockey Association, followed by the team's group-stage schedule. Included in the schedule is international television listings.

Goaltenders:

Petr Mrázek (Ottawa, OHL), Libor Kašík (Zlín/Olomouc), Tomáš Král (Oulu, Finland).

Defencemen:

Marek Hrbas (Kamloops, WHL), Bohumil Jank (Poprad, KHL), Daniel Krejčí (Slavia Praha), Vojtěch Mozík (Ml. Boleslav), David Musil (Vancouver, WHL), Jiří Říha (Liberec/Benátky), Petr Zámorský (Zlín).

Forwards:

Jakub Culek, Petr Straka (both Rimouski, QMJHL), Tomáš Filippi (Baie-Comeau, QMJHL), Tomáš Hertl, Dmitrij Jaškin (both Slavia Praha), Petr Holík (Zlín), Tomáš Hyka (Gatineau, QMJHL), Tomáš Nosek (Pardubice), Daniel Přibyl (Sparta Praha), Lukáš Sedlák (Chicoutimi, QMJHL), Jiří Sekáč (Poprad, KHL), Michal Švihálek (Č. Budějovice), Dominik Uher (Spokane, WHL), Radek Faksa (Kitchener, WHL). 

Team Manager: Petr Komers

Head Coach: Miroslav Přerost

Assistant Coaches: Jiří Juřík, Jiří Fischer

Goaltending Coach: Roman Višňák

Team Doctor: Dr. Marcel Hujo

Video Coach: Jan Procházka

Physiotherapist: Radovan Sakaláš

Trainers: Leoš Mitáček, Zdeněk Šmíd

DATE, OPPONENT, MT (CET), TELEVISION

Tuesday, December 27, Denmark, 6pm (02:00 Wed), ČT4, TSN

Wednesday, December 28, Canada, 6pm (02:00 Thu), ČT4, TSN, RDS, Viasat, NTV, Eurosport

Friday, December 30, USA, 1:30pm (21:30), ČT4, TSN, RDS, NHL Network

Saturday, December 31, Finland, 2pm (22:00), ČT4, TSN, Viasat, MTV3

All games above will be streamed online, live or on-demand, within the Czech Republic at ceskatelevize.cz/ct4/zive-vysilani. Elsewhere, the opposition's rightsholder or fasthockey.com may provide online coverage.

Mrázek cleared for WJC, on preliminary roster

The Czech Republic hasn't fared well in recent World Junior Championships, but this year they will have one benefit that they did not have the past two seasons, that being the presence of goaltender Petr Mrázek.

Petr Mrázek will backstop the Czechs at this year's
WJC in Alberta. Photo: ottawa67s.blogspot.com.

In 2009, Mrázek and defenceman Adam Polášek left the Czech Republic and their Vítkovice club to join junior teams in Canada. Vítkovice protested, claiming that the players were not properly transferred and they still retained their playing rights. The club used this power to block the pair from playing for the Czech national junior team at the 2010 and 2011 World Junior Championships.

Polášek is now 20 years old, but Mrázek is 19 and still has another year of tournament eligibility. This time around, the Czech Ice Hockey Association was determined to have him on the team, and negotiated a financial settlement which freed him to play.

"This is an extremely helpful step in the interest of representing the Czech Republic, for which I want to thank both the management of HC Vítkovice Steel and personally (club president) František Černík," said ČSLH President Tomáš Král, upon announcing the news. "An extremely high level of competition awaits us in Canada, and we need a goalkeeper of the quality of Petr Mrázek."

Although goaltending has not been the team's only area of concern the past two years, they failed to qualify for the quarter-finals both times. Having the starting goaltender of the Ottawa 67's and draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings on its roster will give the Czech team a much better chance at advancing.

Five others will battle for the remaining two goaltending roster spots. None of them have WJC experience, but Matěj Machovský played very well for the Czech team at last year's U18 World Champonship in Germany.

Defenceman Bohumil Jank and forwards Jakub Culek, Martin Frk, Petr Holík and Petr Straka are the only returning players from last year's squad. All five are expected to not only make the team, but be leaders. Frk, who, barely aged 17, recorded 6 points in six games at last year's tournament in Buffalo, will again be the player who gets the most attention from scouts.

Additionally, defenceman David Musil and right winger Dmitrij Jaškin were both locks to be on last year's team, but both missed due to injury. Both were taken in the second round of last year's NHL Entry Draft, by Edmonton and St. Louis, respectively.

The European-based players will assemble in Rokycany on December 16 and then rendezvous with the North American-based players in Alberta for a short training camp beginning on the 18th. They play a pair of pre-tournament exhibition games before opening their Group B schedule against Denmark on December 27. Also competing in their group is Canada, the USA and Finland. The top three teams advance to the quarter-finals, with the top team receiving a bye to the semis.

Here is the preliminary roster:

Goaltenders:

Patrik Bartošák (Red Deer, WHL), Libor Kašík (Zlín/Olomouc), Tomáš Král (Oulu, Finland), Matěj Machovský (Brampton, OHL), Petr Mrázek (Ottawa, OHL), Roman Will (Moncton, QMJHL).

Defencemen:
 
Tomáš Bartejs (Chomutov), Marek Hrbas (Kamloops, WHL), Bohumil Jank (Poprad, KHL), Daniel Krejčí (Slavia Praha), Vojtěch Mozík (Ml. Boleslav), David Musil (Vancouver, WHL), Richard Nedomlel (Swift Current, WHL), Filip Pavlík (Třinec/Ústí), Jiří Říha (Liberec/Benátky), Daniel Sobotka (Sparta Praha/Beroun), Petr Zámorský (Zlín).

Forwards:
 
Jakub Culek (Rimouski, QMJHL), Tomáš Filippi (Baie-Comeau, QMJHL), Tomáš Fořt (Zlín), Martin Frk (Halifax, QMJHL), Tomáš Hertl (Slavia Praha), Petr Holík (Zlín), Tomáš Hyka (Gatineau, QMJHL), Dmitrij Jaškin (Slavia Praha), Jan Káňa (Brno), Denis Kindl (Montréal, QMJHL), Tomáš Nosek (Pardubice), Tomáš Rousek (Č. Budějovice), Petr Plaček (Harvard Univ., ECAC), Daniel Přibyl, Tomáš Rubeš (both Sparta Praha), Lukáš Sedlák (Chicoutimi, QMJHL), Jiří Sekáč (Poprad, KHL), David Stach (Lukko Rauma, Finland), Petr Straka (Rimouski, QMJHL), Michal Švihálek (Č. Budějovice), Dominik Uher (Spokane, WHL), Michal Vachovec (K. Vary), Jaroslav Vlach (Liberec/Benátky).

Coaches: Miroslav Přerost, Jiří Kučera, Jiří Fischer.

Pre-tournament exhibition games:

Tue, Dec 20: Czech Republic-Latvia (Okotoks)
Thu, Dec 22: Czech Republic-Russia (Lethbridge)

Group B games (at Edmonton):

Tue, Dec 27: Czech Republic-Denmark (6pm MT, 02:00 CET)
Wed, Dec 28: Canada-Czech Republic (6pm MT, 02:00 CET)
Fri, Dec 30: USA-Czech Republic (1:30pm MT, 21:30 CET)
Sat, Dec 31: Czech Republic-Finland (2pm MT, 22:00 CET)

3 Czech teams in Red Bull Salute

Teams from the Czech Extraliga have acquitted themselves well so far at the 2011 European Trophy. Heading into the final weekend of play, Plzeň 1929 and Pardubice had already clinched spots among the final eight. On Saturday night, České Budějovice joined them, beating Kometa Brno 3-1.

Jakub Kovář has been nearly unbeatable in the Budějovice goal.
Photo: Roman Kantor, hc-kometa.cz.

"I think that is was very good preparation," said Budějovice assistant coach Milan Kupka. "The key for us was surviving the first penalty and scoring the first goal. And of course, we were also helped by a great performance from our goalkeeper."

Great performances from the goalkeeper have become commonplace in České Budějovice. Last season, Jakub Kovář was voted the top goaltender in the Czech Extraliga and earned a spot on the Czech national team. This year, he has so far played in all seven of his club's games at the European Trophy and surrendered only 12 goals. His 1.63 goals-against average and .940 are the best in the tournament among goaltenders that have appeared in more than four games.

Bílí Tygři Liberec entered the weekend with an outside shot of advancing, but dropped both games on home ice and will finish fifth in the South Division. On Saturday, they were finished when they lost 3-2 to Luleå HF. Then on Sunday, they were edged 5-4 by Eisbären Berlin in the last game for both teams.

Slavia Praha also played its last game of the tournament on Sunday in Mannheim. Though they were locked in last place in the North Division, they had a chance to play spoilers against Adler, who could have advanced to the Red Bull Salute with a win. Slavia picked up just its second win of the tournament, however, knocking Adler out with a 5-3 win. They were led by 3 goals and 1 assist from Tomáš Svoboda, whose 4-point effort gives him 9 for the tournament; tied for sixth in overall scoring.

The game was a rough affair, in which 290 minutes in penalties were racked up by both teams. The final few minutes were marred by multiple fights in which resulted in the banishments of Jiří Vašiček,  Michal Poletin and Dmitrij Jaškin of Slavia.

The melée at the end of the game was captured by a few fans in Mannheim, who posted their videos to youtube:

 

There are still two more games to be played in the group stage of the European Trophy on Tuesday. They both involve only Czech teams, but neither will have any effect on who adances to the Red Bull Salute. Sparta Praha visits České Budějovice and Pardubice visits Plzeň. Plzeň can still eclipse Budějovice in points and finish atop the division, but both teams will advance, regardless.

The Red Bull Salute will be played December 16 to 18 in Salzburg and Vienna, Austria. It is a three-round single-knockout involving eight teams. This is the schedule, which will be finalised after Tuesday's games:

Friday, December 16:
17:15 Jokerit Helsinki - Plzeň / České Budějovice (quarterfinal, Vienna)
17:15 Frölunda Indians - Linköpings HC (quarterfinal, Salzburg)
20:30 Plzeň / České Budějovice - Luleå HF (quarterfinal, Vienna)
20:30 HC Pardubice - EC Red Bull Salzburg (quarterfinal, Salzburg)

Saturday, December 17:
17:15 Winners of quarterfinals in Vienna (semifinal, Vienna)
17:15 Winners of quarterfinals in Salzburg (semifinal, Salzburg)
20:30 Losers of quarterfinals in Vienna (qualification, Vienna)
20:30 Losers of quarterfinals in Salzburg (qualification, Salzburg)

Sunday, December 18:
14:00 Losers of qualification games (7th/8th place, Salzburg)
17:15 Winners of qualification games (5th/6th place, Salzburg)
17:15 Losers of semifinal games (3rd/4th place, Vienna)
20:30 Winners of semifinal games (championship game, Vienna)

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.

Late collapse vs Finland sends Czech U18s to relegation round

When Lukáš Sedlák converted a set up by Martin Frk with 8:39 to play in their last round-robin game against Finland, the situation for the Czech U18 team looked pretty good. After all, they needed only a single point to secure a spot in the quarterfinals and, with a 3-2 lead, could afford to surrender a goal and still advance.
 
So when Joel Armia tied the game for Finland with 5:17 on the clock, it wasn't the end of the world. But the Czech team, which had played disciplined hockey in a pre-Championship tournament and when faced with pressure in games against Sweden and Norway, suddenly seemed to panic. The offensive stars for Finland jumped all over that, and Olli Maatta set up Toni Kallela for the go-ahead marker just 33 seconds later. At that point, they couldn't right the ship, and Markus Hannikainen finished them off when he tipped Markus Grandlund's shot past Matěj Machovský with 31 ticks on the clock. It ended a run that began so well.
 
When the Czech Republic opened the 2011 U18 World Championship with a 2-1 victory over Sweden, it gave them an important leg up in getting a coveted spot in the medal round; no easy task in a group that included some very stiff competition. Though a tired team dropped a 5-0 decision to Canada, they were expected to beat Norway and keep their playoff spot in good standing. They did so, but it took a power-play goal in the second-to-last minute by Dmitrij Jaškin to do so. The slight margin of victory combined with the 5-goal loss hurt their chances of gaining any position in a tie-breaker, so they would have to earn at least one point in the last game against Finland. 

They could have won the last game outright or they could have sent it to overtime, either would have gotten the job done. So to lose a game where they outshot their opposition and didn't trail until the final few minutes of the game is a difficult pill to swallow.

"We couldn't do it. We made stupid mistakes, which we can't do," a dejected Jaškin said to the media after the game. "We skated around like idiots and didn't play positionally. We're terribly disappointed."

The result was also terribly disappointing for the hundreds of Czech fans who watched all of the team's games in Dresden over the past week. They had, by far, the most fan support of any of the five teams in the group.

The Czechs will now have to regroup and get ready for their Relegation Round games against Slovakia and Switzerland on Thursday and Saturday. Neither team is exactly a pushover and if they don't win at least one of them they will be relegated to Division I for 2012.

Czech U18s dodge a bullet against Norway

The Czech U18 team entered their game against Norway on Sunday knowing that they could have a spot in the quarterfinals secured by the time the day was over. A win combined with a Finnish victory over Sweden in the evening would accomplish that result.

Beating the 0-2 Norwegians, however, proved to be easier said than done.

The Czechs seemed disorganized off the bat, and surrendered a goal in the third minute to Andreas Heier. "We have to be better prepared at the start of the game," Czech defenceman David Musil would say later.

For the rest of the first, the Czechs dominated, but goaltender Steffen Soberg turned away all 15 shots that he faced, and the Norwegians led 1-0 after a period.

Martin Frk equalized the game 18 seconds into the second period, as he one-timed a nifty pass from Tomáš Hyka on a rush into the zone. Afterward, the Czechs seemed to start playing with greater confidence, and made Soberg come up with some of his best stops of the night. However, with under seven minutes remaining in the middle frame, Norway's Jorgen Karterud picked off a pass and went in alone on Marek Machovský. He buried it to give the lead back to Norway. Tomáš Rousek then tied the game back up late in the period.

The Czechs came at the Norwegians in waves in the third period, with full knowledge that not getting the full 3 points would do serious damage to their chances of advancing. Frk had some of their best chances, getting stopped by Soberg in close and later firing a backhander off the goalpost. In the game, the Czech Republic outshot Norway 51-18, but as the game grew later, the score remained tied.

Finally, with 2:32 to play, the linesman blew down the play in front of the Norwegian bench and signalled that they were guilty of too many players. The Norwegians were not happy with the call, as neither player had played the puck. Nonetheless, the Czechs went to the power play and, in the midst of a scramble in front of the goal, Dmitrij Jaškin grabbed control of the loose puck and shot the puck into a wide open net. With 1:48 remaining, the Czechs had taken their first lead of the game and their players and fans went wild.

Norway never seriously threatened after that, and the Czech Republic got the 3 points they desperately needed.

After winning their game, the Czechs could have clinched a berth in the Playoff round if Finland had beaten Sweden. "Of course we're interested but we can't worry too much about that," said Musil. "We still have another game (against Finland), not tomorrow but the next day, so we have to make sure we're ready for that one."

They will have to be ready for that one, indeed, because Sweden beat Finland 5-2. The Czechs are 3 points ahead of Finland, meaning a single point in what will be each team's last game of the group stage will be enough for the Czechs to advance. If they lose in regulation, they will head to the Relegation Round, as they will have lost the head-to-head game against Finland and would come out on the short end of any three-way tie scenario involving Canada or Sweden

The Czechs play Finland on Wednesday at 15:30 CET (UTC +1). Following that is Canada against Sweden at 19:30, with first place in the group at stake.

Czechs open U18 World Championships with win over Sweden

The word on this year's Czech U18 team is they are not the deepest team and may have some problems scoring goals, but they are hard working and play a strong defensive game as a team. Based on the team's first game of the IIHF U18 World Championship against Sweden, that forecast seems accurate.

It was also stated that the players added to the team's roster since the Five Nations Tournament in Hradec Králové in February would help improve some of the team's shortcomings. Boy, is that ever true.

In the Czech Republic's 2-1 win over Sweden, two of the biggest stories were goaltender Matěj Machovský of the Brampton Battalion and right winger Dmitrij Jaškin of Slavia Praha. Neither played in Hradec Králové.

In the first period, Sweden, who has one of the deepest rosters in the tournament and is projected as a medal favourite, had the Czechs back on their heels for most of the time. The 15-6 edge in shots was indicative of the play, with Machovský stopping 14 of them. It seemed like they would play well enough to keep the score low, but might not generate enough offense to win.

The second period was more wide open, but the flow still heavily favoured Sweden. Marachovský and Niklas Lundstrom were both perfect, and the score remained 1-0 Sweden.

The Swedes didn't help themselves by taking six straight penalties, though. Early in the third, the Czechs finally converted on one. A couple of CHL imports, David Hrbas of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Martin Frk of the Halifax Mooseheads set up Tomáš Kvapil of Swedish club Lulea, whose point shot beat Lundstrom to tie the score. A couple of fouls later, Frk and Hrabas again teamed up to feed Jaškin, who gave the Czechs their first lead of the game with 8:27 remaining.

A physical presence as well as a goal scorer, Jaškin was a bit overzealous at times, and took a couple of penalties, including one for holding with 2:33 remaining. The Swedes were unable to convert, however, and the Czech Republic held on for the win.


The win against a team expected to be at or near the top of the group does wonders for the Czech team's chances of advancing to the quarterfinals. If they can manage another win on Friday against Canada, or even at least a point, it would all but assure them a spot in the top three. Friday's game begins at 19:30 CET (UTC +1). Games against Norway on Sunday and Finland on Tuesday follow. All games in the group are played in Dresden.

For my preview of the IIHF U18 World Championship tournament, check out:

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/12986/several_teams_in_the_mix_at_u18_worlds/

Czechs ready for U18 World Championship

The Czech U18 team has its work cut out for it in the upcoming World Championships in Crimmitschau and Dresden, Germany. Over the past few years, the program has taken some hits and they are placed in a tough group that will make it difficult to advance to the quarterfinals. However, unlike the U20s that played in the USA in December and January and couldn't buy any breaks when assembling their team, the U18s have got all the breaks they could ask for. And they seem ready to prove the nay-sayers wrong.

David Musil is ready to play. Photo:
http://dubnation-news.blogspot.com/.

Back in December, the U20s' top goaltender and top defenceman were declared ineligible, and they lost their two of their most promising 17 year olds, defenceman David Musil and right winger Dmitrij Jaškin, to injuries.

For the U18s, they have no apparent eligibility issues or injury problems so far, and have assembled what is believed to be their best possible roster of players. All five overseas players that were named to the preliminary roster have been eliminated from their leagues' playoffs, and are currently with the team.

Goaltender Matěj Machovský finished the season as a backup for the OHL's Brampton Battalion, and may have a chance to battle for the starting job next season. He's expected to be the starter on this Czech team.  A pair of WHL defencemen, Vancouver's Musil and Edmonton's Marek Hrbas, were both eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and are expected to be key contributors. Also available are forwards Martin Frk of Halifax and Petr Beránek of Barrie.

As well, with the elimination of Slavia Praha from the Extraliga semifinals, Jaškin will be present for the full camp as well. Had Slavia advanced to the finals, he would have been forced to join the team either right before the start of the tournament or even after it started, depending on how long the series lasted.

These players will be welcome additions to a group that competed together at a tournament in Hradec Králové in February. In that tournament, the Czechs went 1-3, and though they were a hard-working group that played a disciplined system under coach Jiří Šolc and didn't get blown out in any game, they were lacking on offence. Jaškin was originally named to that team, but sat out with the Extraliga playoffs looming. When asked at the time about his absence, defenceman Petr Šidlík commented, "Jaškin is a very good shooter, and right now we don't have a goal-scorer like that on the team. It's a problem."

Besides Jaškin, Frk was impressive in the U20 championship, and is expected to be a dominant offensive player at the U18s. And Musil, who is the highest-ranked Czech that is eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, gives them a power-play quarterback and some pressure coming from the back end. 


Joining the Czech Republic in Group B, which plays in Dresden, are Canada, Finland, Norway and Sweden. As only three teams from each group advance, they don't have an easy task ahead of them, as they will need to finish higher than somebody else other than Norway. The team that has been assembled, however, gives them their best chance to do so. The fact that Dresden is only about 30 kilometres from the Czech border might also be a factor in their favour, as they should get better crowd support than any other team in the group.

They play a pre-tournament exhibition game against Slovakia in Litoměřice. The team then travels to Dresden to open the tournament against Sweden on Thursday. Before then, the team still has three more cuts to make; either two forwards and one defenceman or the reverse.

Goaltenders:
 
Patrik Bartošák (Vítkovice), Jaroslav Pavelka (Hradec Králové), Matěj Machovský (Brampton, OHL).

Defencemen:

David Musil (Vancouver, WHL), Marek Hrbas (Edmonton, WHL), Tomáš Kvapil (Lulea, Sweden), Štěpán Jeník, Antonín Růžička (both Slavia Praha), Petr Šidlík, Vojtěch Zadražil (both Jihlava), Tomáš Pavelka (Vítkovice), Ondřej Starý (Pardubice).

Forwards:
 
Martin Frk (Halifax, QMJHL), Petr Beránek (Barrie, OHL), Dmitrij Jaškin, Tomáš Hertl, Tomáš Moravec (all Slavia Praha), Michal Švihálek, Lukáš Sedlák, Tomáš Rousek (all České Budějovice), Matěj Beran (Lulea, Sweden), Jakub Matai (Litvínov), Ondřej Hampl (Sparta Praha), Tomáš Hyka (Mladá Boleslav), Radek Faksa (Třinec), Petr Koblasa (Karlovy Vary).

Head Coach: Jiří Šolc
Assistant Coach: Martin Hosták

Team Manager: Martin Hosták 
Goaltending Coach: Marcel Kučera
Physicians: Dr. Petr Čech, Dr. Tomáš Madrý 
Custodian: František Ptáček
Masseur: Josef Toma

Pre-Tournament Exhibition:

Mon, April 11: Czech Republic - Slovakia (Litoměřice, 17:00)

IIHF U18 World Championship, Group B:

Thu, April 14: Czech Republic - Sweden (Dresden, 19:30)
Fri, April 15: Czech Republic - Canada (Dresden, 19:30)
Sun, April 17: Czech Republic - Norway (Dresden, 15:30)
Tue, April 19: Czech Republic - Finland (Dresden, 15:30)

Třinec beats Slavia, advances to final

And then there were two.

Oceláři Třinec, who trailed their semifinal series with Slavia Praha 3-1, came back with three straight wins to take the series. This sets up an all-Silesia final series between the aforementioned Třinec and Vítkovice Steel, which begins Monday.

Byan McGregor (far left) and Lukáš Zíb are among the Třinec
players congratulating Slavia on a long, hard-fought semifinal
series. Photo: Marian Ježowicz, hcocelari.cz.

On Friday night, Třinec hosted Slavia in game 7 of the semifinal and got off to a quick start, when David Květon scored after only 47 seconds of play. That was the only goal of the opening period, but Třinec busted it open with three goals in a 3:13 span midway through the second that chased goaltender Miroslav Kopřiva from the game. After being given much of the credit for Slavia's 3-1 lead early in the series, Kopřiva was pulled from two of the last three games, and was criticized for allowing two bad goals in game 6. Two of  Třinec's goals in that span were power-play markers by defenceman Lukáš Zíb, the second coming after Slavia rookie Dmitrij Jaškin was assessed a major and game misconduct for checking from behind.

Slavia scored twice in the third, but that wasn't enough to get them back into the game, and it finished 5-2. Though they were heavy underdogs going into the series, the loss is a bitter pill to swallow after holding a 3-1 lead in games, and also leading by a score of 3-1 in game 6 on home ice. "It is a pity that we could not win the sixth game at home," said coach Vladimír Růžička after the game. "But I must admit that in the previous two home games we were very lucky. The sixth game, unfortunately, we made a lot of mistakes with promising lead."

Růžička went on to speak about his team's shortcomings on specialty teams, their lack of a game-breaker like Martin Růžička (no relation), who had an incredible 16 points in the series, and general lack of experience. "Nevertheless, I would like to thank the players for what they showed in the playoffs."

While Martin Růžička was the star of the series, it was Zíb's two big goals that made him the hero of the decisive game. "This series we showed great character and strength of the team," the veteran blueliner told Dnes's Martin Stebel after the game. "We have a great group. We showed great resilience when the series wasn't going well. Although we were down 1-3, I didn't feel like we were the worse team. We were really the better squad, but unfortunately we weren't converting on our chances. By no means did we pack it in. The series also showed our fantastic fans who have helped us much."

Třinec has two days off without travel before the final starts Monday. They will host a Vítkovice club that will have had six days of rest. After games Monday and Tuesday in Třinec, the series moves 50 kilometres northwest to Ostrava for the third and fourth games next Friday and Saturday. A possible seventh game would go on April 16.

Wild finish to Jr Extraliga quarterfinals

After the weekend's events, the eight remaining teams in the Junior Extraliga have been reduced to four. Sparta Praha, Slavia Praha, and Energie Karlovy Vary all completed sweeps of their best-of-three quarterfinal series on Saturday. Meanwhile, Orli Znojmo beat out PSG Zlín in a series where the road team won each game, despite the efforts of Zlín star Petr Holík, who gave Bill Mosienko's hat-trick record a challenge.

After needing overtime to beat Oceláři Třinec in game 1, Slavia was completely dominant at home in game 2, winning easily 9-3. The Slavia junior team possesses an impressive group of 17-year-old players on its roster, many of whom will be seen at next month's U18 World Championships, and the most impressive of them all is Dmitrij Jaškin. Despite his age, he truly looked like a man among boys on the ice at Eden Arena on Saturday. Tomáš Hertl and Pavel Klhůfek both notched 4 points. For Třinec, 17-year-old defenceman Filip Pavlík is their most noticeable player, quarterbacking the power-play, killing penalties, and seemingly always on the ice.

At the north end of the city, in Holešovice, Sparta needed overtime to eliminate Benzina Litvínov 2-1. Litvínov actually led a fast-paced game 1-0 until Daniel Přibyl tied the score with 4:07 left in regulation time. In the first minute of overtime, Tomáš Rubeš finished off a goalmouth scramble by shovelling in the loose puck. Přibyl and Rubeš assisted on each other's goals, and the 18 year olds are both candidates to play in next year's World Junior Championships.

In the surprise of the first round, seventh-ranked Karlovy Vary finished off a two-game sweep of second-ranked Vítkovice Steel on Saturday. Vítkovice had a 2-0 lead on home ice and was 20 minutes away from extending the series, but they were outscored 4-1 in the third period and lost 4-3. Michal Vachovec scored the winning goal with 5:34 remaining, to go along with 2 assists.

Wild scramble in front of the Znojmo (red) goal. Photo: Petr
Sagner, Zlín Press, hokej.zlin.cz.

In the most interesting series of the Junior Extraliga quarterfinals, Zlín won the opening game in Znojmo and went home with a chance to wrap up the series. With game 2 tied 2-2 with 8 minutes remaining in regulation time, Znojmo scored 3 times in 4:29 to seemingly wrap up the game. At that point, Petr Holík took matters into his own hand and produced a natural hat trick on one shift, 51 seconds to be exact, and tied the score to send it to overtime. However, in overtime, Znojmo's Martin Plánek scored his second of the game to force a third and decisive game on Sunday.

On Sunday, Znojmo scored twice in the second and held that lead until late in the third, when Holík scored for Zlín with 2:11 left in regulation time. In the dying seconds, there was a wild goalmouth scramble in which Holík and Jakub Šlahař both took whacks at the puck and it eventually ended up in the net, a fraction of a second after the expiration of time. Ondřej Kacetl kept the puck out of the net long enough to preserve the victory for Znojmo, and send them into the semifinals.

The semifinals begin Tuesday, with Sparta at Karlovy Vary and Slavia at Znojmo. Both series return to Prague on Thursday and then Friday, if necessary. Times are yet to be announced.

Action-packed Saturday in Czech hockey

For hockey fans in the Czech Republic, Saturday is a busy day. In particular, for the cities of Prague and Ostrava, which each host two big games.

Of Prague's two Extraliga clubs, one is long gone and the other is waiting to begin its semifinal series on Monday. However, the Junior Extraliga counterparts of those clubs are at home on Saturday, hosting big playoff games.

Zlín goaltender Libor Kašík kicks away a shot in Znojmo
Thursday in Junior Extraliga playoff action. Photo: hcorli.cz.

At 16:00, Slavia Praha hosts Oceláři Třinec at Zimní stadion Eden, and they can advance to the semifinals with a win Saturday or on Sunday. The series opened Thursday in Třinec, where Slavia won 4-3 in overtime, with Michal Barák scoring the winning goal with 24 seconds to play in the period. The biggest surprise was the presence of Dmitrij Jaškin in Slavia's lineup, after he had played game 7 in Liberec for Slavia's pro team the night before. He scored a goal and added 2 assists. Presumably, Jaškin will be in the lineup again at home Saturday, before re-joining the pro club in Třinec on Monday, so hockey fans in Prague who want a chance to see the possible first-round NHL draft pick in action for free should head to Eden.

At 19:00, Sparta Praha hosts Benzina Litvínov at Tesla Arena. Top-ranked Sparta can also earn a spot in the semifinals with a win, thanks to a 4-1 road victory on Thursday. Like Slavia, Sparta's lineup was bolstered by the presence of a pro. David Tůma, who played in the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, NY, played in the game, though he recorded no points. Sparta was led by 2 goals from Daniel Přibyl, both assisted by Tomáš Rubeš.

For real hockey junkies in Prague, there are a variety of public transportation options that could take a fan from Kubánské náměstí to Výstaviště (tram stops for the respective arenas) in 35 to 40 minutes. Check jizdnirady.idnes.cz/praha/spojeni for details.

Slavia and Sparta weren't the only junior clubs that received reinforcements from the big league. Dalibor Řežniček and Petr Holík, both WJC participants and regulars in the professional Extraliga, skated for PSG Zlín's junior squad and contributed to their 3-1 victory in Znojmo. Řežniček assisted on a goal by Holík in the last minute of the first period. The addition of these two players greatly improves fourth-ranked Zlín's chances, and makes them a serious contender for the junior national championship. Saturday's game gets underway at 12:30.

Game 1 action between Karlovy Vary (white) and Vítkovice (blue)
in the Junior Extraliga quarterfinals. Photo: Jan Čech, Karlovarský
deník, hokejkv.cz.

Ostrava's ČEZ Arena will be the site of two playoff games on Saturday. At 13:00, the junior Vítkovice Steel club will host Energie Karlovy Vary. Unlike the other three teams that are hosting Junior Extraliga quarterfinal games on Saturday, Vítkovice dropped its first game, so it will be looking to even the series on home ice. Martin Rohan led Karlovy Vary with 2 goals.

Hockey fans in Ostrava don't have to worry about transportation. Later on Saturday, ČEZ Arena will host the main event, as the professional Extraliga's semifinals get underway. Vítkovice hosts Eaton Pardubice at 17:00. The game can be viewed live online at www.ct24.cz/sport or tv.hokej.cz, but the television broadcast on ČT4 Sport will be tape-delayed until 19:30, following the AC Sparta Praha-FC Zbrojovka Brno football match. Game 2 will be televised live on Sunday at 18:10.

Sweden and USA win on Day 3 of 5 Nations Cup

Friday was the third day of the Five Nations Cup in Hradec Králové, and it featured a couple of interesting match-ups.

Pontus Aberg. Photo: eliteprospects.com.

In the early game, Russia took on Sweden, two teams that were expected to challenge the USA for tournament supremacy, but both failed miserably in their games against that team. Russia led 2-1 after a period, but then Sweden took over the game by scoring 4 straight goals. They appeared bigger and stronger than their Russian opponents, dishing out some big hits and winning most of the key battles for the puck. They then held on to win 6-3 and upped their record to 1-2. Pontus Aberg, who assisted on 2 of Sweden's goals was their only multiple-point getter. Nikita Kucherov picked up a goal and an assist for Russia, and now has 4 points in 2 games.

Friday's late game was the showcase event of the tournament, as the Czech Republic hosted the United States. After outscoring Sweden and Russia 16-6 in the first two games, the Americans were expected to have little trouble with the Czechs, who were perceived to be weaker. However, the Czech team had a boisterous crowd behind them, and it made for an emotional and physical first period.

J.T. Miller. Photo: ushl.com.

The USA's big line of Reid Boucher, Rocco Grimaldi, and J.T Miller opened the scoring at 8:10 when Boucher snapped a shot inside the post that beat goaltender Patrik Bartošák. Then the Czechs started putting on pressure, however, and when Matt Van Voorhis took down Ondřej Hampl as he was going to the net with the puck, the Czechs got the game's first power-play. It took only six seconds for Radek Faksa to put the puck over the goal line and even the score at 9:57.

Things got even more physical in the second half of the opening frame, as Tyler Biggs knocked down Petr Šidlík behind the play and wasn't penalized, which drew the ire of the home crowd, and later, on a US power-play, Miller was cross-checked hard in front of the net, which also drew no call. The Czechs then killed off a 2-man disadvantage to the crowd's delight, and escaped the period tied.

The Czech team then came out flying in the second period, putting on all kinds of pressure and forcing John Gibson to make some of his best saves of the night. The Czechs out shot the US 11-9 in the middle frame, but couldn't beat Gibson. Bartošák came up big too, stopping Miller on a breakaway, but he couldn't stop Blake Pietila a couple of minutes later, as the left winger scored on a short-handed breakaway to give the Americans the lead.

"Travis Boyd, the guy I was penalty-killing with, made a nice play," Pietila said after the game. "He sent me on a breakaway and I ended up scoring."

Four minutes later, Nicolas Kerdiles stripped the puck off a Czech defenceman at the side of the net and quickly snapped the puck top shelf to make the score 3-1.

From that point, the Czech Republic didn't fold its tent, but at the same time they weren't able to cut into the US lead, and the game ended 3-1. Though they weren't expected to win the Czech Republic gave the Americans a scare, which is especially impressive considering their best player, Dmitrij Jaškin wasn't playing. Jaškin, the Czech team's only prospect rated to be picked in the first round of this year's NHL draft, is sitting out the tournament at the request of his club team, Slavia Praha, to give him a chance to rest his knee for the upcoming Extraliga playoffs.

"They were a lot better than I actually expected," Kerdiles said after the game of the Czechs. "They actually did a lot more (physically) than I expected. I guess that was their game plan."

The Czech-USA game can be seen in its entirety at:
http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/10127552941-hokej/21147129152/

After three days, the USA leads the tournament with a 3-0 record. The only other unbeaten team is Finland, at 2-0. Sweden is 1-2, and Russia and the Czech Republic are both 0-2. On Saturday, Finland plays Russia at 15:00 CET, followed by the Czech Republic and Sweden at 18:30.

Hradec Králové to host 5-team U18 tournament in February

The IIHF World U18 Championships will run April 14 to 24 in Crimmitschau and Dresden, Germany. For hockey fans in Northern Bohemia, they will have a wonderful opportunity to see some of the world's top prospects play in the nearby German state of Saxony, and cheer for their national team as well. Before that tournament takes place, however, fans in Eastern Bohemia will have a chance to witness a tune-up event.

From February 9 to 13, Hradec Králové will play host to a 5-team, round-robin tournament. The host Czech team will welcome the U18 national teams from Finland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.

Dmitrij Jaškin. Photo: Pavel Vrtiška, hc-slavia.cz.

The most notable name on the Czech roster is Dmitrij Jaškin, the only member who plays regularly in the Czech Extraliga. Jaškin was named to the preliminary roster of the country's U20 team, but was injured in late November and forced to miss the World Junior Championships in late December and early January. He returned to the Slavia Praha lineup last week.

At the World Championship tournament in April, all teams will have the opportunity to augment their rosters with players from North American junior teams who have been eliminated from their respective leagues' playoffs. Some Czechs who might have the opportunity to play are defenceman David Musil of the Vancouver Giants and right winger Martin Frk of the Halifax Mooseheads. In that tournament, the Czech Republic will play in a group based in Dresden against Canada, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

From the Czech Ice Hockey Association's website, cslh.cz, here is the roster of the Czech team that will compete in the tournament, February 9 to 13 at ČEZ Stadion in Hradec Králové:

Goaltenders: Patrik Bartošák (Vítkovice), Jaroslav Pavelka (Hradec Králové), Jiří Sýkora (Kladno).

Defencemen: Tomáš Pavelka (Vítkovice), Štěpán Jeník, Antonín Růžička (both Slavia Praha), Petr Šidlík, Vojtěch Zadražil (both Jihlava), Tomáš Kvapil (Lulea, Sweden), Ondřej Starý (Pardubice).

Forwards: Michal Švihálek, Tomáš Rousek, Lukáš Sedlák (all České Budějovice), Dmitrij Jaškin, Tomáš Hertl, Tomáš Moravec (all Slavia Praha), Matěj Beran (Lulea, Sweden), Petr Koblasa (Karlovy Vary), Radek Faksa (Třinec), Tomáš Hyka (Mladá Boleslav), Jakub Matai (Litvínov), Ondřej Hampl, Zdeněk Doležal (both Sparta Praha).

Substitutes: Marek Červený (Hradec Králové), Václav Tomek (Slavia Praha), Michael Janota (Zlín), David Březina (Pardubice), Michal Gutwald (Kladno), Jakub Šrámek (Litvínov), Jakub Faschingbauer, Martin Váchal (both Plzeň), Lukáš Kříž (České Budějovice).

Coaches: Jiří Šolc, Martin Hosták

Team Manager: Martin Hosták 
Goaltending coach: Marcel Kučera 
Physician: Dr. Petr Čech 
Treasurer: František Ptáček

Here is the schedule of the tournament in Hradec Králové:

Wednesday, Feb 9:
15.00 Czech Republic – Finland
18.30 USA – Sweden

Thursday, Feb 10:
15.00 Russia – USA
18.30 Sweden – Finland

Friday, Feb 11:
15.00 Sweden – Russia
18.30 Czech Republic – USA

Saturday, Feb 12:
15.00 Finland – Russia
18.30 Czech Republic – Sweden

Sunday, Feb 13:
13.30 USA – Finland
17.00 Czech Republic – Russia

Sparta wins Prague derby, 2 points for Kůrka in Pardubice debut

Regardless of the standings, a Sparta-Slavia match-up always
has feeling. Photo: Jan Beneš, www.sporting-photo.com.

For hockey fans in Prague, there is nothing more exciting than a match-up between the capital city's two Extraliga clubs, Sparta and Slavia. Ever since Slavia returned to the country's top league in 1994, it's been a spectacle, reaching its peak when the teams met in the 2006 Final, which was won by Sparta. When the teams met at Tesla Arena on Friday night, there wasn't as much at stake, but as the league enters its stretch-run, both clubs still viewed it as a must-win game.

For visiting Slavia, who currently sit in seventh place, they want to finish in the top six and avoid the play-in round. As well, with the tightness of the standings, a playoff spot was still not guaranteed. For Sparta, the situation was more critical. Trailing the final playoff spot by 13 points with 11 games to play, they need to put together a substantial run if they want to have a chance at the playoffs and salvage a season that has been, to this point, a disaster.

Tesla Arena has been a lonely place for much of the season, with crowds in the 3-5,000 range being the norm for much of the past couple months. Of course, the derby meant a healthy number of Slavia supporters and more Sparta fans who want to be part of the atmosphere, and the crowd swelled on Friday night to 10,108. Possibly charged by the atmosphere, Michal Broš scored the winning goal for Sparta in the game's first minute and Tomáš Pöpperle stopped all 23 shots he faced, as the home side prevailed 3-0.

If there was any good news for Slavia, it was the return to the line-up of 17-year-old phenom Dmitrij Jaškin. He injured his knee on November 21, causing him to miss two months of action, which included the World Junior Championships. Jaškin saw limited action during the game, but didn't look out of place.

The three points may give Sparta a glimmer of hope in its bleak playoff chances. With 10 games to play, they trail Kometa Brno and Plzeň 1929 by 10 points and hold a game in hand, but Benzina Litvínov stands in their way.

Litvínov went into Pardubice on Friday night looking to atone for Tuesday's dreadful 7-1 loss on home ice to Kometa Brno. The team, led by general manager Jiří Šlegr and head coach Robert Reichel, was so embarrassed by their performance in such a big game that they issued a public apology to their fans.

Tomáš Kůrka in his Eaton Pardubice debut.
Photo: www.hcpce.cz.

Meanwhile, Pardubice fans were buzzing about the debut of Tomáš Kůrka, who was cut loose by Sparta on January 9. After recording 41 points in 43 games for Slavia last season, the 29-year-old right winger had only 12 points for Sparta in 38 games this season. Kůrka played on a forward line with Tomáš Zohorna and Adam Pineault of Holyoke, MA, and the trio led Eaton Pardubice's attack.

After a scoreless first period, Kůrka set up Zohorna, who made a nifty move from behind the goal line to stuff the puck into the open side and give the home team the lead. Five minutes later, Zohorna scored his second of the game on a long shot from the point, assisted by Pineault. After Litvínov struck twice to tie the score, Pardubice regained the lead late in the middle frame when Pineault and Kůrka combined to set up defenceman Jan Kolář, who fired a bullet past goaltender Martin Volke. In the first minute of the third period, a forward who is also named Jan Kolář (a different, unrelated player) restored the 2-goal cushion. There was no further scoring and the game ended 4-2.

After ending their losing streak on Tuesday, Kometa Brno was looking for more on Friday against PSG Zlín. The game was tied 2-2 in the third period, but Zlín's Martin Hamrlík broke the tie with 6:42 on the clock and an empty-netter made it a 4-2 final. Failing to get any points means that Kometa remains tied for ninth with Plzeň, who won in Liberec on Thursday. 

In other action, Oceláři Třinec held its lead on first place with a  6-4 victory on home ice over Vagnerplast Kladno, and Vítkovice Steel took advantage of the Liberec loss and returned to second place by doubling Energie Karlovy Vary 4-2. And in their first game after releasing Scott Barney, last-place BK Mladá Boleslav edged Mountfield České Budějovice 3-2.

Defenceman Musil questionable for WJC

The news just keeps getting worse for the Czech national U20 team.

Since naming their 28-man camp roster last week, two of their best players have been declared ineligible by the Czech Ice Hockey Association and now two of their top prospects for next years draft have gone down with injuries.

Dmitrij Jaškin, a 17-year-old right winger for HC Slavia Praha, injured his knee on November 21 and is not expected to return to action until some time in January.

David Musil of the Vancouver Giants.
Photo courtesy
http://dubnation-news.blogspot.com/.

Then on December 7, defenceman David Musil of the Vancouver Giants suffered a hairline fracture in his right leg when he blocked a shot while killing a penalty in a WHL game against the Kamloops Blazers. His status was originally stated rather vaguely as "week to week", and now it is no more clear whether or not he will be ready to play when the Czechs open the World Junior Championships on December 27 against Norway.

“I'm going to go on the ice (today) to see if I can skate or not,” Musil told Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun on Monday. “I feel every day it's getting a bit better and I can kind of walk on it right now, so that's pretty good. I was only on crutches the first day. So I'm going to go to the camp in Detroit (on Wednesday) and stay there for three days. They said if I can skate, they'll keep me there. If not, they'll probably send me home.”

Like Jaškin, Musil will be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft for the first time in 2011, and has been mentioned as a potential first rounder. He was born in Calgary, AB while his father, defenceman František Musil, was a member of the Flames. He carries both Canadian and Czech citizenship.

For a Czech team with concerns about depth, the loss of Musil from their blueline would be the latest of many blows they have received recently. In addition to Jaškin's injury, they will also be without the services of goaltender Petr Mrázek and defenceman Adam Polášek. Both of these players are being blocked from joining the national junior team by HC Vítkovice Steel, the Czech club that claims their playing rights, due to their unauthorized departures to Canada in 2009.

The World Junior Championships run from December 26 to January 5 in Buffalo, NY. The Czech Republic plays in a group that includes Canada, Sweden, Russia, and Norway.

On Wednesday, 15 players based in Europe will fly from Prague to Detroit, where they will meet up with 13 North American-based players, including Musil. The 23-man tournament roster will be named on December 23.

Czech WJC roster trimmed to 28

Martin Frk of the Halifax Moosheads is on the Czech national
junior team's 28-man roster.

Czech national junior coach Miroslav Přerost has trimmed the original 41-man roster, named last month, to 28. It will be down to 23 by the start of the IIHF World U20 Championships in Buffalo, NY on December 26.

The roster now includes three goaltenders, 10 defencemen, and 15 forwards. It is expected that two more defenceman and three more forwards will yet be trimmed, although three defenceman and two forwards is also possible.

Of the 28 remaining, 14 play in the Czech Republic and 14 in North America. Of the 14 domestic players, 10 play in the Tipsport Extraliga and four play in the First National League. Of the 14 North American players, seven play in the QMJHL, five in the WHL, and two in the OHL.

One player remaining on the roster is Martin Frk of the Halifax Mooseheads. Frk, who isn't eligible for the NHL Entry Draft until 2012, wasn't a consideration early on, but earned a spot onto the Czech preliminary roster when Dmitrij Jaškin pulled out with an injury. Frk is currently the leading rookie scorer in the QMJHL.

There are five returning players from last year's tournament still on the roster. They are goaltender Filip Novotný, defencemen Jakub Jeřábek and Oldřich Horák, and forwards Andrej Nestrašil and Michal Hlinka. Michal Poletín of Slavia Praha was on last year's team that finished 7th, but has now been cut to the team's reserve roster.

Of the remaining players, only four have been drafted by NHL teams. Nestrašil in the third round by Detroit in 2009, and taken in 2010 were Petr Mrázek by Detroit in the third round, Jakub Culek by Ottawa and Adam Polášek by Vancouver, both in the fifth round.

The players will convene in Detroit for a brief camp starting on December 15 and will play in two pre-tournament games in Rochester, NY before the final 23-man roster is named on December 23. The Czech Republic will open the tournament against Norway on December 27.

Here is the 28-man roster as posted at the Czech Ice Hockey Association's website:

Goaltenders:

Marek Mazanec (Plzeň), Filip Novotný (Sparta Praha), Petr Mrázek (Ottawa, OHL).

Defencemen:

Jakub Jeřábek (Plzeň), Petr Šenkeřík (H. Brod), Dalibor Řezníček, Martin Matějíček (both Zlín), Adam Polášek (P.E.I., QMJHL), Adam Sedlák (Ottawa, OHL), Martin Pláněk (Znojmo), David Musil (Vancouver, WHL), Oldřich Horák (Hradec Králové), Marek Hrbas (Edmonton, WHL).

Forwards:

Robin Soudek (Chilliwack, WHL), Roman Horák (Chilliwack, WHL), Andrej Nestrašil (P.E.I., QMJHL), Ondřej Palát (Drummondville, QMJHL), Martin Frk (Halifax, QMJHL), Petr Holík (Zlín), Jakub Orsava (Třinec), Michal Hlinka (Vítkovice), David Tůma (Sparta Praha), Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, WHL), Jakub Culek, Petr Straka (both Rimouski, QMJHL), Tomáš Rachůnek (Znojmo), Tomáš Filippi (Quebec, QMJHL), Radim Heřman (Č. Budějovice).

Reserves:

Tadeáš Galanský (Saginaw, OHL), Tomáš Král (Lillehammer, Norsko), Bohumil Jank (Č. Budějovice), Michael Zacpálek (Sparta Praha), Petr Kousalík (Litvínov), Michal Poletín (Slavia Praha), Rostislav Marosz (Třinec), Adam Havlík (Znojmo), Jakub Šlahař (Zlín).

General Manager: Petr Komers
Head Coach: Miroslav Přerost
Assistant Coaches: Jiří Fischer, Terry Christensen 
Goaltender Coach: Roman Višňák
Video Coach: Jan Procházka 
Physician: Dr. Jaroslav Budín
Treasurer, Masseur: Leoš Mitáček, Vladimír Malý