What's wrong with the Czech Republic?

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Leo Naphta

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Anyone knows? Going in to the tournament they were my favourites for the gold. But so far they've looked far worse than any big 7-team. And now they are being destroyed by Canada.

Are they deliberately tanking and saving energy for the elimination rounds? They've done that in the past - last World Cup being a prime example.

Or are they really this bad? They've tanked big time in some tournaments - the 1996 World Cup being the most infamous.
 

Epsilon

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Leo Naphta said:
Anyone knows? Going in to the tournament they were my favourites for the gold. But so far they've looked far worse than any big 7-team. And now they are being destroyed by Canada.

Are they deliberately tanking and saving energy for the elimination rounds? They've done that in the past - last World Cup being a prime example.

Or are they really this bad? They've tanked big time in some tournaments - the 1996 World Cup being the most infamous.

Two words:

Thomas Vokoun
 

SwisshockeyAcademy

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Vokoun is awful and there is no help behind him( Hnlincka and Salficky). If he plays like this they are going out no matter what any else on the team does. No sense of urgency on their side either. Maybe they will find it tomorrow, especially if it is against the Slovaks.
 

GuloGulo

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Elias gone, Fischer gone, Hasek gone, Hlinka (coach) gone... how many more regulars are they missing? Elias especially is a huge hole to fill, it's basically Sweden without Forsberg/Sundin or Finland without Koivu/Selänne. It can still work, but it's much harder.

Anyway, I never count the Czechs out until they definiely are OUT. This might be a down tournament for them, we'll see soon, but they've proven a few times they can still pop up when least expected.

Edit:
Corto said:
I've been saying this for a while. Look at the roster. Point the real goalscorers.
Without Havlat, Elias, Sykora and Prucha, you're only really down to Jagr and the struggling Hejduk.
Kotalik could help, but not playing with Olesz.
No offense, but Erat, Bulis, Cajanek, Olesz and Co., don't really scare anybody in this tournament.
Frantisek Kaberle and Kuba certainly don't help on D.
A guy like Vasicek could have also helped, they're horrible on faceoffs, and the only guy that actually hits is Kotalik.

Look at that!!! no wonder they're struggling.
 

Assasin05

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When Marek Malik is considered :clap: one of their top defencemen you know there's going to be problems.
 

Jazz

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Leo Naphta said:
Anyone knows? Going in to the tournament they were my favourites for the gold. But so far they've looked far worse than any big 7-team. And now they are being destroyed by Canada.

Are they deliberately tanking and saving energy for the elimination rounds? They've done that in the past - last World Cup being a prime example.

Or are they really this bad? They've tanked big time in some tournaments - the 1996 World Cup being the most infamous.
They would not tank the entire Olympic tournament.

I think they are simply coasting this game...
 

btn

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They should have selected Ryan Miller and Sydney Crosby :sarcasm:

If JD is right in the broadcast, their coaches decision to not matchup lines is probably part of the problem.

Was Holik going to be on the team before his injury?
 

McJadeddog

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Sep 25, 2003
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their goalie has been quite bad this game, other than that i dont think there is anything wrong with this team.... any goalie can have a bad game, doesnt mean anything
 

GuloGulo

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btn said:
They should have selected Ryan Miller and Sydney Crosby :sarcasm:

If JD is right in the broadcast, their coaches decision to not matchup lines is probably part of the problem.

Was Holik going to be on the team before his injury?

I think Holik can't play for Czechs anymore because he once played under foreign flag - or? I might be wrong.
 

Corto

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In short, IMO:

- too soft

- wrong choice on D... I wouldn't put money on anybody but Kubina and, up to a point, Tomas Kaberle and Malik, to make the smart defensive play... Frantisek Kaberle and Kuba are not guys you want facing a team like Canada

- weak down the middle and HORRIBLE on faceoffs (Vasicek could have helped, had he been healthy)

- Vokoun's not himself... or he is? Whatever, he's playing horrible

- NO scorers... Jagr, the struggling Hejduk, the newly arrived Kotalik.. the rest are either primary set-up guys (Straka, Prospal, Cajanek), skilled guys who overhandle the puck a lot (Hemsky, Erat), two-way guys (Bulis, Rucinsky), someone who I honestly don't know what he's doing there, even though he's having a decent rookie season (Olesz), and a couple of well-rounded guys, but certainly not born scorers (Lang, Vyborny)

- injured/not picked players are something they lack.... scorers or physical guys... Havlat, Prucha, Sykora, Elias, Vasicek, Hamrlik, Klesla... Varada would have been a better pick than Olesz too :dunno:
 

Master Kush

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This thread sums it up pretty much. Too many injuries... (and some debateable selections)

Hasek, Elias, Havlat, Hamrlik (why wasnt he chosen?), Prucha, Fischer, Sykora, Vasicek.


Missing talent like that would severely hurt any team in this type of tournament, including Canada. Starting goalie, three of your top 4 wingers, two of your top 4 Dman...etc
 

Leo Naphta

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Well, we can close this thread now. They have only been coasting so far. They will be lethal as usual in the elimination round. Any chance that they'll go with Hnilicka?
 

Corto

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Master Kush said:
Hasek, Elias, Havlat, Hamrlik (why wasnt he chosen?), Prucha, Fischer, Sykora, Vasicek.

I honestly have no idea.

At the time the original rosters were named he had his first injury of the season, but was expected to be out for a week, maybe too.
Why they named Frantisek Kaberle, Malik, and especially Kuba, ahead of him... I'm not sure there's a logical explanation to that, unless he was at odds with the coach or the national association. :dunno:
 

shawn_kemp*

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they have outplayed Canada for most of the 2nd and the entire 3rd period. I'm not sure, but I think Canada got like 2 shots in the 3rd.
 

thebodyczech

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In a nutshell: no Prucha and no Hasek. Prucha, if I'm not mistaken, has great chemistry with Jagr. Hasek is, well, Hasek. Many teams have injuries, and I'm not making excuses, but that's the truth.

Regardless, the Czechs will need to overcome these difficulties if they wish to (start to) dominate. The team has the skill, make no mistake about that. A little momentum is all they need. And, somehow, I think the 3-2 loss gave the Czechs more (genuine) confidence than it did the Canadians.
 

thebodyczech

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Master Kush said:
This thread sums it up pretty much. Too many injuries... (and some debateable selections)

Hasek, Elias, Havlat, Hamrlik (why wasnt he chosen?), Prucha, Fischer, Sykora, Vasicek.


Missing talent like that would severely hurt any team in this type of tournament, including Canada. Starting goalie, three of your top 4 wingers, two of your top 4 Dman...etc

Wow, I didn't know the list was that long. Forgot about Elias and Havlat. I'm not sure, however, if Fischer would have made it.
 

Leo Naphta

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thebodyczech said:
In a nutshell: no Prucha and no Hasek. Prucha, if I'm not mistaken, has great chemistry with Jagr. Hasek is, well, Hasek. Many teams have injuries, and I'm not making excuses, but that's the truth.

Regardless, the Czechs will need to overcome these difficulties if they wish to (start to) dominate. The team has the skill, make no mistake about that. A little momentum is all they need. And, somehow, I think the 3-2 loss gave the Czechs more (genuine) confidence than it did the Canadians.

Yepp. They pretty much dominated the Canadians in the 2nd and 3rd.
 

Corto

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Leo Naphta said:
Well, we can close this thread now. They have only been coasting so far. They will lethal as usual in the elimination round. Any chance that they'll go with Hnilicka?

I doubt it. I don't think they can hold Russia/Slovakia/Sweden to 4 shots per period, like they did in the latter two periods vs Canada, and give him an easy job.

Then again, no point in keeping Vokoun in there if he's playing like this. It's not only this game, Selanne's GWer was as ugly as the Richards goal. And he wasn't exactly stellar in the Swiss game either.
 

busybuzz

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I think losing Prucha was a significant blow to the Czech team. They need a sniper and Prucha definitely fits that role perfectly (not to mention, Prucha's really tough for a little guy so he could bang in some garbage goals down low). It is also too bad that Elias and Havlat are hurt. These three guys would make a huge difference on the Czech team.

Anyway, I would not count the Czech team out. They totally outplayed Canada for 2/3 of the game today. They just need to put some more pucks in the net and get solid goaltending.
 

Archijerej

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thebodyczech said:
I think the 3-2 loss gave the Czechs more (genuine) confidence than it did the Canadians.

I agree. Chechs will have a very strong next game unless their goaltending will blow them.
 
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