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)

Mrázek's confidence infects Czechs

Petr Mrázek is excited to be at this year's WJC. Photo: Larry Wong,
Edmonton Journal, sports.nationalpost.com.

Tomáš Král looks like a genius right now.

After watching the last two World Junior tournaments, where the Czech Republic got mediocre-at-best goaltending while they had a world-class goalie on the sidelines, the president of the Czech Ice Hockey Association saw that he had to intervene. And so he helped negotiate a settlement with HC Vítkovice, the club that held the playing rights to Petr Mrázek, which would release the Detroit Red Wings draft pick and make him available for the 2012 championships.

Helping to make Mrázek available might have actually denied Král's son, Tomáš Král Jr., the opportunity to play in the tournament; the younger Král is currently the third-string goalie. But obviously Král's duties as association president overrided nepotism.

"This is an extremely helpful step in the interest of representing the Czech Republic," he said back in late November at the announcement that Mrázek would be available. "An extremely high level of competition awaits us in Canada, and we need a goalkeeper of the quality of Petr Mrázek." How right he was on both counts.

For those that missed it, Mrázek was nothing short of incredible on Friday in Edmonton, stopping 52 of 54 shots in a 5-2 victory over the United States, a win that vaulted the Czechs into the quarterfinals and, incredibly, dropped the Americans into the relegation round. About the only thing more he could have done for his team was score a goal, and in the 59th minute, he almost did that too. 

"I tried it last year too, in Ottawa," he said to hokej.cz of his attempt. "I saw the puck heading toward the net, then it skipped and went a bit wide. But that's okay." He added: "Defeating the Americans in this game, it's an unbelievable feeling. I am very happy."

A lot of people are happy, and a lot more are surprised. The fact is, though, an upset seemed possible for a while against Canada, as well. Although they seemed overmatched in the first period, the goaltending of Mrázek held them in, particularly his penalty shot save in the dying seconds. In the second period, the Czech team was playing with more confidence, and if not for a lapse late in the period that allowed Canada to score twice and open up a three-goal lead, they could have made it a battle to the end. As Mrázek said after the Canadian game, "It's a game of inches."

As anyone who's watched the Czech team last year and this year at the World Juniors, a big difference is the confidence on the team. Although being critical of goaltending is not often done publicly by players, as it can be seen as a cop-out, the amount of confidence a team has in its own goaltending is often evident in how the team plays in front. Though goaltending was far from the team's only problem last season, they didn't seem to be confident that either Marek Mazanec or Filip Novotný would hold them in there. All of that has changed this year, and it shows. It shows in the exuberant goal celebrations, and in particularly it shows in how physical the team is playing; they're not afraid that every minor penalty will result in the puck going into their net.

"When a goalie plays like that, it becomes infectious and affects the whole team," said coach Miroslav Přerost.

Not only his play, but his enthusiasm. Mrázek has twice denied opponents on penalty shots, which were followed by fist-pumping theatrics. In the last half of the third period, when the Czechs broke a 2-2 tie with three straight goals, the celebrations around the USA goal were only part of the story; Mrázek couldn't control his excitement in front of his goal either. He didn't even try.

“He’s showman. He’s a real funny guy," defenceman Daniel Krejčí told Postmedia News. "He’s awesome. When you have him in back, you’re feeling great. You can’t lose with him."

How can this team not be confident heading into its final group game against Finland on Saturday? It's a big game, too. Although both teams will play in quarterfinal games in Calgary on Monday, the winner will get second place, which will earn them a game against Switzerland or Slovakia, rather than Russia or Sweden. "We're going right after the Finns," said defenceman David Musil. "We're going to fight for second place."

As hard as it was for Král to watch those last two tournaments, it was even more difficult for Mrázek, and now he's making the most of his opportunity. "I'm happy that I'm able to play in the World Juniors. I would like to thank the Vítkovice club and Mr. Král for allowing that to happen." 

Surely all Czech hockey fans would like to thank them as well.

Czechs confident against Americans

It’s two down and two to go for the Czech Republic in the group stage of the 2012 World Junior Championship. While they got the results they expected in the first two games, a win against Denmark and a loss to Canada, it is now the next two games that will determine what they will be playing for after the New Year.

The Czechs play the United States on Friday and Finland on Saturday. All three teams are tied at 1-1. Two of the teams will advance, while the third will go to the relegation round. The good news is, because they play the two teams they are tied with, the Czechs are in a position to control their own destiny. The bad news is, it won’t be easy. Owing to their victory against the Americans that they already have in the bank and the fact they still have a game remaining against Denmark, the Finns are probably in the best position of the three teams. The Americans, meanwhile, still have to play Canada, who have looked invincible so far.

The fact is, they will need to win at least one of their two remaining games to advance, however, the nearly endless possibilities of points distribution in the remaining games make it impossible to try to figure out exactly what they need. Head coach Miroslav Přerost wouldn’t have it any other way.
"It is good that the situation is tangled in the group," he said. “The Finns defeated the US, lost 8-1 to Canada, who beat us 5-0. Canada is through, but the other teams have equal chances. I am confident that we can advance to the quarterfinals. We just want to avoid any distractions from the games."

Focusing his attention on the next game, Přerost doesn’t expect much difference in the style of play from the game against Canada.

"The Americans have built their team the same way as the Canadians, so the playing style will not be materially different," he said. “We have enough information about them. They have fast forwards who go hard to the net, but on the other hand, are not as compact as the Canadians. We have to be aware of where they are on the ice as they have many skilled players."

Awareness is exactly the thing that cost the Czechs against Canada. They trailed 1-0 late in the second period, before Freddie Hamilton snuck behind the Czech defence, wide open, and received a breakaway pass from goalie Wedgewood, which led to the 2-0 goal.

"For 37 minutes we played well, but then we made an error and it changed the course of the game," said goalie Petr Mrázek, who stopped Hamilton before Ryan Strome scored. “It’s a game of inches. If we had managed to score a goal when down 1-0, it could have been entirely different."
Mrázek, who opened the tournament with a 12-save shutout against Denmark, was a lot busier against Canada, and his goaltending kept them in the game for almost two periods. He will make a third straight start on Friday.

The rest of the lineup with stay in tact, as well, other than the possible return of Tomáš Hyka, who was injured against Denmark and didn’t play against Canada.

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.

WJC roster trimmed from 40 to 27

The management and coaching staff of the Czech national junior team has decided to take a smaller number of players overseas than orignally planned, and has therefore cut its roster from 40 to 27 players.

"We have limited selection, it wouldn't be very good to take a large number of players overseas, which would hurt their clubs," coach Miroslav Přerost explained to hokej.cz's Václav Jáchim. "That does not mean that the selected players should be over-confident. Anything can happen, and we will respond to what develops."

Přerost's words seem to indicate that this list of 27 players is only a rough draft, and that if a player who is currently on the list of reserves proves to the staff that he deserves a spot more than anyone who is currently on the preliminary roster, he might get the nod ahead of them.

The trimming of the number of players, particularly in the area of goaltenders, seems to reaffirm Petr Mrázek's position as the starter. "Mrazek is the clear starter for us, his participation was crucial," said Přerost.

Only three will be on the final roster, so it seems that Libor Kašík and Tomáš Král will get the other two positions, unless Patrik Bartošák or Matěj Machovský, who are still on the reserve list, are brought back for another look. Roman Will of the Moncton Wildcats has apparently been cut.

The remaining list of 24 will have to be reduced to 20 by the start of the tournament. That will probably mean two more defencemen and two more forwards getting cut from camp.

Radek Faksa of the Kitchener Rangers was not originally on the list, but has apparently impressed the coaching staff enough with his rookie OHL season, in which he has recorded 27 points in 27 games, to make his way onto the list.

Tomáš Hertl is confident about making the Czech U20 team. 

Two names that remain on the list despite injuries are 18-year-old forwards Martin Frk and Tomáš Hertl. Frk suffered a concussion in a pre-season game and has yet to play in the QMJHL yet this season, but is expected to return soon. Hertl is the leading rookie scorer in the Czech Extraliga with 15 points in 23 games, but has missed the last five with a shoulder injury. He, too, appears close to returning, and expects to be on the team.

"Last week I began training, gradually getting into it. The important thing is that I did not feel the injured shoulder, so I think it's good to go," he said in a recent interview. "I've thought the whole time that I was going to be in the U20 tournament, and occasionally chatted with (Slavia teammate) Dmitrij Jaškin about it. Now that it's even closer, the topic comes up more."

Unless further changes are made, the 27 players listed below will begin a mini-camp in Lethbridge, Alberta on December 18 to determine the final tournament roster.

Goaltenders:

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

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

Forwards:
 
Jakub Culek, Petr Straka (both Rimouski, QMJHL), Tomáš Filippi (Baie-Comeau, QMJHL), Martin Frk (Halifax, 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).

Reserves:

Patrik Bartošák (Red Deer, WHL), Matěj Machovský (Brampton, OHL), Daniel Sobotka, Tomáš Rubeš (Sparta, Beroun), Tomáš Fořt (Zlín), Michal Vachovec (K. Vary), David Stach (Lukko Rauma, Finland), Jan Káňa (Brno), Tomáš Rousek (Č. Budějovice), Denis Kindl (Montréal, QMJHL), Jaroslav Vlach (Liberec/Benátky).

General Manager: Petr Komers
Head Coach: Miroslav Přerost
Assistant Coaches: Jiří Juřík a Jiří Fischer 
Goaltending Coach: Roman Višňák 
Team Doctor: Dr. Marcel Hujo
Video Technician: Jan Procházka 
Physiotherapist: Radovan Sakaláš
Custodians, Masseurs: Leoš Mitáček, Zdeněk Šmíd

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)

Mrázek and Polášek barred from Czech WJC roster

Petr Mrázek (top) and Adam Polášek, playing for Ottawa and PEI,
respectively.

Playing in a group with Canada, Russia, and Sweden, the Czech Republic was thought to be in tough to make the quarter-finals at the upcoming World Junior Championships in Buffalo, NY. Now, with two of their top prospects being excluded from their roster, their challenge just became more difficult.

Expected starting goaltender Petr Mrázek of the Ottawa 67s and defenceman Adam Polášek of the PEI Rocket have both been barred from participating on the team by the Czech Ice Hockey Association after protests from HC Vítkovice Steel over their unauthorized departures to Canada in 2009.

Both players played for the club's junior team before bolting to the OHL and QMJHL, respectively, over a year ago. Without a transfer agreement, Vítkovice was not compensated financially and therefore claims to own the playing rights to both players. As such, they must release the players to allow them to compete internationally, which they refused to do for last year's tournament in Ottawa and are refusing to do again. The ČSLH was hopeful that a compromise could be reached and Vítkovice would waive its objection, but it didn't happen.

Mrázek currently has a 15-7-1 record in Ottawa with a 2.87 GAA and a .919 save percentage. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Polášek was also taken in the fifth round in this year's draft, four picks later by the Vancouver Canucks. The defenceman had 41 points in 66 games last year, and has 12 in 25 games so far this year. They were two of only four drafted players on the Czech Republic's current 28-man roster and were expected to be top players on the team if allowed to play.

In their places, coach Miroslav Přerost has named goaltender Tadeáš Galanský of the OHL's Saginaw Spirit and defenceman Bohumil Jank of HC Mountfield České Budějovice. Galanský, who will turn 18 during the tournament, is a backup goaltender in Saginaw and will probably end up as the third-stringer behind Marek Mazanec of HC Plzeň 1929 and Filip Novotný of HC Sparta Praha. As the 10th defenceman added to the roster, Jank will hope to earn a depth spot in the team's pre-tournament camp in Michigan and New York.

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