Czech Republic: 2015-16 WJC Roster and results predictions

[czechcanadian]

Hey guys. Just thought id get this thread started, to follow/discuss the Czech players throughout the season and lead up to the 2015-16 WJC tournament. I cant wait for this year. It should be a good result for our guys. So, Here's my projected line-up, that i had already posted in another thread. And some hm's that i think have an outside chance of making the team.

Karabacek-Zacha-Vrana
Kase/Stransky-Chlapik-Spacek
Vopelka-Soustal-Jasek
Kase/Stransky-Jenys-Zohorna

Zboril-Masin
Pyrochta-Scotka
Hajek-Havlin
Snajnar

Vanecek
Vladar
Vejmelka/Stezka

Hm's - Dufek, Ordos, Smejkal, Tomasek, Kotala, Krenzelok, Rasner, Miklis, Hronek

Click to read more...

 

[Vogel]

Good list but I am missing a few names. In my opinion, defenceman David Sklenicka has a very good chance to make the team. And I would also add Tomas Gres, Jiri Cernoch or Radek Vesely.

 

[Swipes]

It's a pity we probably won't see Pastrnak

 

[Wooren]

It's a pity we probably won't see Pastrnak

Exactly. Having someone like Pastrnak there would be HUGE.

 

[czechcanadian]

Yeah its too bad he won't be there but here are some guys from the WHL to keep an eye on.
WHL
Michael Spacek 6gp 5G 6A 11P
Tomas Soustal 8GP 6G 5A 11P
Simon Stransky 5GP 2G 8A 10P
Libor Hajek 6GP 0G 4A 4P
Vojtech Budik 4GP 0G 0A 0P
Ondrej Vala 4GP 0G 0A 0P
Jiri Smejkal 4GP 2G 2A 4P
Roman Dymacek 4GP 0G 0A 0P

Not all adapting well so far but I havent seen them play. Soustal, Stransky, and Spacek look really good so far though.

 

[Wooren]

Vrana injured and will miss the WJC. That sucks big time, huge loss.

 

[Swipes]

Vrana injured and will miss the WJC. That sucks big time, huge loss.

Oh man, that really really sucks. That reduces our chances this year.....

 

[joey16]

While we're at it.. how about to try make a roster prediction about one month before preliminary roster announcement..

Goalies:
Vitek Vanecek
Daniel Vladar
Karel Vejmelka

Hard to say who should be number one though.. I guess I'd go with Vanecek as for now but anyone of those three can be the guy


Defense:
Jakub Zboril
Dominik Masin
Alex Rasner
Filip Pyrochta
Libor Hajek
Tomáš Havlin
David Sklenicka
Jan Scotka

Weak spot as always.. beside Zboril no real high quality D-man.. maybe also Hajek but so far he's too young to be some kind of difference maker IMO. On the other hand it's still one of the better D crops when compared to previous years.
At least guys like Scotka, Rasner and Sklenicka are playing regularly pretty good minutes in Extraliga.


Forwards:
Pavel Zacha
Vaclav Karabacek
Simon Stransky
Filip Chlapik
Michael Spacek
Pavel Jenys
Lukas Jasek
Lukas Vopelka
David Kase
Radim Zohorna
Dominik Lakatos
David Tomasek
Tomas Soustal
Tomas Gres

It's not THAT good looking group anymore without Vrana and Pastrnak.. still pretty solid though with skilled guys like Zacha, Chlapik, Spacek, Stransky...


Overally, not so bad but for sure I don't see a gold medal contender in this team. Bronze is a reasonable target but realisticly (compared to other team) this is 5-6th place team. Our trump card could be the coaching.

Opinions?

 

[Wooren]

With Pastrnak and Vrana out we have basically lost the best players of the team. Hopefully the less known players can surprise, otherwise as you said this is not that much of medal team. (Which stinks, considering with Pasta and Vrana they would be)

Regarding defense, I expect Zboril to be the main force and hopefully he can make something happen in powerplay. (Last year PP was so bad haha) Curious if they choose Hajek, I would like to see him there. His offensive skills would definitely help. But overall I just really, really hope defense plays active, helps in offense. Not just dumping it away.

 

[wings5]

Has any contact been made with Adam Musil?

 

[czechcanadian]

First of all not having Vrana is a gigantic loss yes. But... Is it really that bad guys?

Pastrnak was never going to play anyways and Vrana is only one guy. I think he(Vrana) would of been more of an asset than Pastrnak actually but it doesnt matter anymore.

I disagree to say that this team is not a medal contending team. Look at what Slovakia did last year! Yes, the overall competition is greater this time around, but our team is still way better then in previous years!

I like how Joey16 said that Jakub Petr could be our trump card. ABSOLUTELY. Coaching goes a long way. And Petr won a bronze medal with the 96's in U-18's and back to back silvers with the 97's. He knows these guys and the players know him. There's respect there. Something that was non-existent with Prerost. And it really does/will make a difference.

Honestly if everyone stays healthy from now on we still have a big chance to get something out of this tournament.
If this years team had Prerost coaching, then i would have little to no faith in them.
But with Petr it changes everything. Just think about all the bad decisions Prerost made last year!!! Cutting some of our best players from the beginning, playing the ones he kept very little minutes(Kostalek,Masin), and made very little changes when things didnt go well!! Like the powerplay!! He single handedly ruined that teams shot at winning a medal in every possible way.
Now this years team is much more experienced and the older players(96's) are more talented then in years past. Offense is much better, Defense is much better, as well as goaltending(amazing depth).
So what are we worried about? Seriously.
Oh and Zboril isnt the only good defenseman. Dominik Masin is better. Boy can he ever play. I watched him live not too long ago, as i live in Ottawa, and his team came to play us. check out his plus/minus rating compared to the rest of his terrible team. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/stats/show/type/skaters/ls_season/54/ls_team/6
Number 1 rating on the team above even all the forwards with a +14. next best defenseman is a +4. Thats a very underrated statistic.
Great vision, Puck moving ability, skating, and extremely defensively responsible. (obviously)

Conclusion: Jakub Petr trumps Jakub Vrana. Team is still loaded with talent. Actually most talented team we've ever had. Masin is our MVP.

 

[Wooren]

Has any contact been made with Adam Musil?

He already represented Canada so I am not even sure it's possible, but even if it was, I doubt he would want to play for Czechs. He feels himself as Canadian, not czech.

I disagree to say that this team is not a medal contending team. Look at what Slovakia did last year! Yes, the overall competition is greater this time around, but our team is still way better then in previous years!

Well to be fair, what Slovakia did was a fluke. No disrespect at all, but I just have hard time believing they will repeat it anytime soon. If Czechs are about to win a medal, I want it to be because of the skill of all players, not to be carried by a goalie who has a career tournament.

I like how Joey16 said that Jakub Petr could be our trump card. ABSOLUTELY. Coaching goes a long way. And Petr won a bronze medal with the 96's in U-18's and back to back silvers with the 97's. He knows these guys and the players know him. There's respect there. Something that was non-existent with Prerost. And it really does/will make a difference.

Honestly if everyone stays healthy from now on we still have a big chance to get something out of this tournament.
If this years team had Prerost coaching, then i would have little to no faith in them.
But with Petr it changes everything. Just think about all the bad decisions Prerost made last year!!! Cutting some of our best players from the beginning, playing the ones he kept very little minutes(Kostalek,Masin), and made very little changes when things didnt go well!! Like the powerplay!! He single handedly ruined that teams shot at winning a medal in every possible way.

Very true. Last year team could have done much more, Prerost decisions about leaving good players (Left out Karabacek..seriously??) and his impact on the team was just bad. I have big expecations for Petr, let's see how he does.

Now this years team is much more experienced and the older players(96's) are more talented then in years past. Offense is much better, Defense is much better, as well as goaltending(amazing depth).
So what are we worried about? Seriously.
Oh and Zboril isnt the only good defenseman. Dominik Masin is better. Boy can he ever play. I watched him live not too long ago, as i live in Ottawa, and his team came to play us. check out his plus/minus rating compared to the rest of his terrible team. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/stats/show/type/skaters/ls_season/54/ls_team/6
Number 1 rating on the team above even all the forwards with a +14. next best defenseman is a +4. Thats a very underrated statistic.
Great vision, Puck moving ability, skating, and extremely defensively responsible. (obviously)

I hope you are right... When I checked his stats not so long ago I was dissapointed by his point total though. But I have hard time believing Masin is better than Zboril. Zboril is the best czech defenseman in years, he is something this team was lacking for a long time.

Conclusion: Jakub Petr trumps Jakub Vrana. Team is still loaded with talent. Actually most talented team we've ever had. Masin is our MVP.

''Actually most talented team we've ever had'' - This is true
''Masin is our MVP'' - Not sold on this

 

[Sipak4]

Has any contact been made with Adam Musil?

I donť like his decision. He should play for czech national team

On the other side we can use Klima's sons. http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=283908

Also I read article about Jenys' linemate Lyszczarczyk and he said he'll decide if he'll play for Poland or Czechia. It isn't actuall for WJC. He is 98. http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=219769

 

[Sipak4]

Even without Vrana-Pastrnak duo we will have good team.

NA:
Karabacek-Zacha-Spacek
Stransky-Chlapik-Jenys
Soustal-Smejkal-Dufek

Masin-Pyrochta
Hajek-Zboril

Vanecek
Vladar


EU:
Vesely-Lakatos-Kase
Jasek-Tomasek-Vopelka
Gres-Andres-Ordos

Rasner-Hronek
Scotka-Miklis
Havlin-Sklenicka

Vejmelka

 

[Wooren]

I donť like his decision. He should play for czech national team

On the other side we can use Klima's sons. http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=283908

Also I read article about Jenys' linemate Lyszczarczyk and he said he'll decide if he'll play for Poland or Czechia. It isn't actuall for WJC. He is 98. http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=219769

He was born in Canada and he feels like canadian. I can understand his decision, though it's no secret I would like him to play for czechs.

Where did you find Klima's sons would play for us? Both are quite small, but they have fine numbers in QMJHL, they could be definitely useful.

Lyszczarczyk has no czech roots, am I right? If he can really choose, it's basically choice between representing the real home team and maybe even becoming a polish star (Too early for that though), or go with Czech republic, because it's much more likely you will do some success there and also, he did spend a lot of time in czech leagues where by the way he dominated (And so far he is doing pretty good in OHL). I will be happy if he chooses us, but I won't be surprised if he chooses otherwise.

 

[czechcanadian]

I have a friend who's a scout for the Montreal Canadiens. He scouts in Europe, mainly Slovakia and Czech. I recently asked him about Filip Hronek who has done well statistically with the Czech national team.
This is how he replied. "best prospect here in SVK and CZE so far..seems to me 2-3 round at this moment..WJC are going to be very important for him..so skilled and great offensive HS..has playmaking abilities and can play PP."
Interesting to hear.. I kind of hope that he makes the team now haha. Since he plays in Czech, then it'd be great exposure for him. And I would get to see him play. Hronek and Zboril manning the power play?

 

[joey16]

He was born in Canada and he feels like canadian. I can understand his decision, though it's no secret I would like him to play for czechs.

Where did you find Klima's sons would play for us? Both are quite small, but they have fine numbers in QMJHL, they could be definitely useful.

Lyszczarczyk has no czech roots, am I right? If he can really choose, it's basically choice between representing the real home team and maybe even becoming a polish star (Too early for that though), or go with Czech republic, because it's much more likely you will do some success there and also, he did spend a lot of time in czech leagues where by the way he dominated (And so far he is doing pretty good in OHL). I will be happy if he chooses us, but I won't be surprised if he chooses otherwise.

New Tyler Johnsons

It would be cool if they decided to play for us.. to be honest I didn't even know they existed.. and their stats look pretty good..

 

[joey16]

I have a friend who's a scout for the Montreal Canadiens. He scouts in Europe, mainly Slovakia and Czech. I recently asked him about Filip Hronek who has done well statistically with the Czech national team.
This is how he replied. "best prospect here in SVK and CZE so far..seems to me 2-3 round at this moment..WJC are going to be very important for him..so skilled and great offensive HS..has playmaking abilities and can play PP."
Interesting to hear.. I kind of hope that he makes the team now haha. Since he plays in Czech, then it'd be great exposure for him. And I would get to see him play. Hronek and Zboril manning the power play?

Always great to hear something like this. I remember Czechexpert last year already saying that the kid has a potential..
now it looks like he's been progressing even better than supposed...

 

[Wooren]

This is how he replied. "best prospect here in SVK and CZE so far..seems to me 2-3 round at this moment..WJC are going to be very important for him..so skilled and great offensive HS..has playmaking abilities and can play PP."

Offensive Defensemen are a real need. How does his defensive game look like though?

When was the last time Czech republic had so many defense talents? Hajek, Budik, Hronek, Vala, Doudera. All in one draft year. Great stuff. I read Hronek used to play as a forward just a few years ago.

 

[Sipak4]

He was born in Canada and he feels like canadian. I can understand his decision, though it's no secret I would like him to play for czechs.

Where did you find Klima's sons would play for us? Both are quite small, but they have fine numbers in QMJHL, they could be definitely useful.

I'm sorry. It could be confusing. I wanted to say Klima twins are available. On Petr's place I'd contact them. They have czech citizenship.

 

[Swipes]

Offensive Defensemen are a real need. How does his defensive game look like though?

When was the last time Czech republic had so many defense talents? Hajek, Budik, Hronek, Vala, Doudera. All in one draft year. Great stuff. I read Hronek used to play as a forward just a few years ago.

Perhaps CLSH's idea of shifting some forwards to defense may have some merit.

 

[czechcanadian]

''Actually most talented team we've ever had'' - This is true
''Masin is our MVP'' - Not sold on this

Masin is not an offensive defenseman. And because he's not, doesn't mean he can't be our MVP. His defensive statistics are sensational. And he still gets some points from time to time. His puck moving skills are great as well. Which is important on the power play. Trust me I've watched him. You'll see on December 26th

Going up against the offensive likes of Finland and Russia in our group, don't you think a defensive defenseman is important? I would say extremely. And he's the best one I've ever seen come through the Czech ranks in a long time.

 

[czechcanadian]

Also, has anyone seen David Kase play this year? Statistically it doesn't look too great. At least in Extra league. Is he not getting much ice time? I hope he is still progressing because normally he'd be one of our main go to guys on the team.

 

[czechcanadian]

http://www.hokej.cz/zacha-zboril-stransky-a-dalsi-o-ms-dvacitek-bude-bojovat-34-junioru/5011786

So heres the 34 players they chose to battle for team spots. Actually surprising how many CHL guys were selected. But they missed some for me.

Jenys
Hajek
Vala

Could have been much worse though. Now we just have to hope they dont cut them all like last year

 

[joey16]

http://www.hokej.cz/zacha-zboril-stransky-a-dalsi-o-ms-dvacitek-bude-bojovat-34-junioru/5011786

So heres the 34 players they chose to battle for team spots. Actually surprising how many CHL guys were selected. But they missed some for me.

Jenys
Hajek
Vala

Could have been much worse though. Now we just have to hope they dont cut them all like last year

I wonder why Jenys was omitted.. I guess Petr has never been a big fan of him.. well, he's not having such a good year anyway
And too bad Hajek won't be there, I thought he would make it, could have gotten at least a chance in a camp but I can live with it..
Other than that pretty much as expected..