WJC: Czech Republic 2020 Roster Talk

[Wooren]

According to the coach, Dobes had travel difficulties getting back to the Czech Republic for the camp. Ultimately decided to stay with his USHL team as result.

Unfortunate, I think he could have even been in consideration for the starter position.

My assumption is Parik is the defacto starter, Malik was on the team last year and Dobes will be on it next year but that is a total guess]

This is the last WJC that Dobes is eligible for (he was drafted as an overager.)

 

[Czechboy]

According to the coach, Dobes had travel difficulties getting back to the Czech Republic for the camp. Ultimately decided to stay with his USHL team as result.

Unfortunate, I think he could have even been in consideration for the starter position.


This is the last WJC that Dobes is eligible for (he was drafted as an overager.)

Thanks... my hunch says we'll see all 3 goalies by the time this tourney is over.

 

[czechcanadian]

Bednar was second in European goalies behind Askarov. Got drafted in Round 4 by the Wings. Not sure how many goalies were taken between him and Askarov (maybe 2?).

Parik was the first Czech taken in the 2019 draft by LA in round 3. Also, quite highly rated.

Malik was on the team last year. He didn't get drafted but is pretty solid.

Goalies won't be the issues for the Czechs. They are pretty weak overall this tournament.

Compared to other Big 5 sure.
But they are certainly better than last year.
Just compare the rosters and its very obvious.
Last year we heavily relied on Jenik. There was literally no one else that was somewhat promising.. Pekar?, but thats a big maybe.
We also have a good amount of returning players this year. Teply, Raska, Mysak, Has, Klikorka, Kucerik, Kubicek.
I dont see them attaining much, but I can see a tough team to beat if coached properly.
I think theyre good enough to potentially beat one of the big teams in the group.
I am very very excited to see Svozil and Jiricek play.

 

[Wooren]

Compared to other Big 5 sure.
But they are certainly better than last year.
Just compare the rosters and its very obvious.
Last year we heavily relied on Jenik. There was literally no one else that was somewhat promising.. Pekar?, but thats a big maybe.
We also have a good amount of returning players this year. Teply, Raska, Mysak, Has, Klikorka, Kucerik, Kubicek.
I dont see them attaining much, but I can see a tough team to beat if coached properly.
I think theyre good enough to potentially beat one of the big teams in the group.
I am very very excited to see Svozil and Jiricek play.

If Jenik is the only player you consider promising from last year's squad, who are those promising players from this year? He would clearly be the top forward this year again if he was eligible. You also completely left out Dostal, who, just like Jenik, is better than any player Czechs will have this year.

 

[czechcanadian]

If Jenik is the only player you consider promising from last year's squad, who are those promising players from this year? He would clearly be the top forward this year again if he was eligible. You also completely left out Dostal, who, just like Jenik, is better than any player Czechs will have this year.

He probably would be.
My main point is that there’s more depth and experience this year.

 

[Czechboy]

He probably would be.
My main point is that there’s more depth and experience this year.

I'd also argue Lauko is better than anyone we have this year... maybe he's tied with Mysak but I'd put him ahead of Pytlik or Teply?

So Dostal, Lauko and Jenik were not replaced.

I agree that having 10 guys coming back is a real nice bonus.

Reality is that we only have about 8 drafted players on this team. 1 of them will be a backup on the bench so we'll have 7 drafted players from round 2 to 7 on the ice (assuming Malik doesn't start). That's assuming Krutil makes the cut and I think I'd rather see Jiricek and Svozil get the chances.

Has might be the only drafted D man. Counter argument being that Svozil and Jiricek could be first rounders in 1 and 2 years and, when we look back, we'll see that we had 3 future NHL D on the roster as I think Has might make it in a few years.

I love how Klikorka and Kubicek played last year so, a year later, they should be better.
I thought Teply was excellent last year.

Still, I see a weaker squad. I'll watch every game and cheer to the end though!

 

[czechcanadian]

I'd also argue Lauko is better than anyone we have this year... maybe he's tied with Mysak but I'd put him ahead of Pytlik or Teply?

So Dostal, Lauko and Jenik were not replaced.

I agree that having 10 guys coming back is a real nice bonus.

Reality is that we only have about 8 drafted players on this team. 1 of them will be a backup on the bench so we'll have 7 drafted players from round 2 to 7 on the ice (assuming Malik doesn't start). That's assuming Krutil makes the cut and I think I'd rather see Jiricek and Svozil get the chances.

Has might be the only drafted D man. Counter argument being that Svozil and Jiricek could be first rounders in 1 and 2 years and, when we look back, we'll see that we had 3 future NHL D on the roster as I think Has might make it in a few years.

I love how Klikorka and Kubicek played last year so, a year later, they should be better.
I thought Teply was excellent last year.

Still, I see a weaker squad. I'll watch every game and cheer to the end though!

1. OK but, how many drafted players were there last year? The same.. and 3 are on this years team (Teply, Has, Parik).

2. I understand that maybe nobody can FULLY replace Jenik, but that is yet to be seen. Teply has been very good this year and i can see him being that guy.

If Teply doesnt step up, then theres other guys that have the ability to step up to some degree ie. Mysak, Pytlik, Novak, Svozil, Jiricek, Has..
Last year, if it wasnt Jenik, it was nobody, and we saw that in the quarters against Sweden. Dostal was the only guy who could make a real impact at that point.

So again, my main point here is, that theres more depth in all areas.

Defence is much more experienced (Klikorka, Kucerik, Kubicek, Has) and adds big talents Svozil, Jiricek who can actually play offence and also not just dump the puck out of the zone and make great breakout passes. Add Krutil.

Offence has good and imo underrated drafted guys (Teply, Mysak, Pytlik, Raska, Novak), and on top of that some very good supplemental players ie, Rysavy(solid numbers in Czech2) , Gut(same), Prikryl(recent Hattrick in Extraliga), Muzik (solid big player getting minutes in SHL this year).

Goaltending I think we have all agreed is going to be fine this year. Parik or Bednar im fine with starting.

Laying it out like that, to me its pretty clearly a better team.

Not saying theyll have a better result (likely a quarterfinal exit), but i do think they will be a tougher opponent for the Big 5.

 

[Czechboy]

1. OK but, how many drafted players were there last year? The same.. and 3 are on this years team (Teply, Has, Parik).

2. I understand that maybe nobody can FULLY replace Jenik, but that is yet to be seen. Teply has been very good this year and i can see him being that guy.

If Teply doesnt step up, then theres other guys that have the ability to step up to some degree ie. Mysak, Pytlik, Novak, Svozil, Jiricek, Has..
Last year, if it wasnt Jenik, it was nobody, and we saw that in the quarters against Sweden. Dostal was the only guy who could make a real impact at that point.

So again, my main point here is, that theres more depth in all areas.

Defence is much more experienced (Klikorka, Kucerik, Kubicek, Has) and adds big talents Svozil, Jiricek who can actually play offence and also not just dump the puck out of the zone and make great breakout passes. Add Krutil.

Offence has good and imo underrated drafted guys (Teply, Mysak, Pytlik, Raska, Novak), and on top of that some very good supplemental players ie, Rysavy(solid numbers in Czech2) , Gut(same), Prikryl(recent Hattrick in Extraliga), Muzik (solid big player getting minutes in SHL this year).

Goaltending I think we have all agreed is going to be fine this year. Parik or Bednar im fine with starting.

Laying it out like that, to me its pretty clearly a better team.

Not saying theyll have a better result (likely a quarterfinal exit), but i do think they will be a tougher opponent for the Big 5.

All good points. I wish I shared your optimism on this team. I'm positive they will fight hard and do their best. Not having a big go to star might be an advantage as they might gel. If you look at our last medal in 2005, that team didn't turn out too many NHL stars either and that was a stacked tourney.

It's true the D is more experienced but I'm not sure three guys returning who weren't drafted means 'better'.

My other concern, due to all the issues in Czech, our guys have not played very many games at all. Czech2 is also a very poor league so having players from Czech2 is a bit scary. Even worse is players who are struggling in Czech2.

Of our entire group I'm not sure if any are having great seasons or played many games at all? I think I saw Teply had 3 points in 3 games. Pytlik has 0 points in 4 games. Mysak has 1 point in 11 games (extraliga). Raska has 13 games and 1 point in 11 games in Czech2. Novak has 4 points in 9 games in Czech2. Has has 1 point in 4 games. Klikorka has 14 games split between the 2 leagues. Kubicek is in Czech2... 9 games, 4 points.

It's all pretty underwhelming to me. Pistek has played a lot so that might give him an edge.

I will cheer to the end as always.

 

[Czechboy]

1. OK but, how many drafted players were there last year? The same.. and 3 are on this years team (Teply, Has, Parik).

2. I understand that maybe nobody can FULLY replace Jenik, but that is yet to be seen. Teply has been very good this year and i can see him being that guy.

If Teply doesnt step up, then theres other guys that have the ability to step up to some degree ie. Mysak, Pytlik, Novak, Svozil, Jiricek, Has..
Last year, if it wasnt Jenik, it was nobody, and we saw that in the quarters against Sweden. Dostal was the only guy who could make a real impact at that point.

So again, my main point here is, that theres more depth in all areas.

Defence is much more experienced (Klikorka, Kucerik, Kubicek, Has) and adds big talents Svozil, Jiricek who can actually play offence and also not just dump the puck out of the zone and make great breakout passes. Add Krutil.

Offence has good and imo underrated drafted guys (Teply, Mysak, Pytlik, Raska, Novak), and on top of that some very good supplemental players ie, Rysavy(solid numbers in Czech2) , Gut(same), Prikryl(recent Hattrick in Extraliga), Muzik (solid big player getting minutes in SHL this year).

Goaltending I think we have all agreed is going to be fine this year. Parik or Bednar im fine with starting.

Laying it out like that, to me its pretty clearly a better team.

Not saying theyll have a better result (likely a quarterfinal exit), but i do think they will be a tougher opponent for the Big 5.

On a totally different note.. watching Praha and Brno play... Brno's D has Filip Kral, Ondrej Nemec, Jakub Zboril and Libor Hajek. These are some of my fav Czech D and I'm hoping 3 of them eventually make the NHL.

 

[czechcanadian]

On a totally different note.. watching Praha and Brno play... Brno's D has Filip Kral, Ondrej Nemec, Jakub Zboril and Libor Hajek. These are some of my fav Czech D and I'm hoping 3 of them eventually make the NHL.

How are you watching that? Don’t you live in Edmonton? Haha
But yes I agree. I remember Hajek being very good for Czechs in this tourney. He’s looked pretty good overall.
Nice to see Zboril finally get that contract. Hope he can stay up now

 

[czechcanadian]

All good points. I wish I shared your optimism on this team. I'm positive they will fight hard and do their best. Not having a big go to star might be an advantage as they might gel. If you look at our last medal in 2005, that team didn't turn out too many NHL stars either and that was a stacked tourney.

It's true the D is more experienced but I'm not sure three guys returning who weren't drafted means 'better'.

My other concern, due to all the issues in Czech, our guys have not played very many games at all. Czech2 is also a very poor league so having players from Czech2 is a bit scary. Even worse is players who are struggling in Czech2.

Of our entire group I'm not sure if any are having great seasons or played many games at all? I think I saw Teply had 3 points in 3 games. Pytlik has 0 points in 4 games. Mysak has 1 point in 11 games (extraliga). Raska has 13 games and 1 point in 11 games in Czech2. Novak has 4 points in 9 games in Czech2. Has has 1 point in 4 games. Klikorka has 14 games split between the 2 leagues. Kubicek is in Czech2... 9 games, 4 points.

It's all pretty underwhelming to me. Pistek has played a lot so that might give him an edge.

I will cheer to the end as always.

Definitely a good argument but sadly its still better than last year imo.

I think im just excited to watch hockey. Nothing to watch here in Canada atm.

I also believe im just more excited for the future. If you really think about it, Svozil and Jiricek are the first legitimate/1st round talent defence we have had in many many years.... Hamara as well (which I think could have been invited this year), (yes he's that good).
Really hope they make the team. Would be very disappointed to see one of them cut. Has is probably the only one that might be better than them... Excited to see what they can do stacked up against the best teams. They both just have so much talent at both ends of the ice and we just havent seen anything like that in Czech hockey for a VERY long time! (15 years or so)(please dont mention Zboril lol).

anyways, Go Czechs go. Sweden losing players so maybe we can give them a ryun for their money

 

[Czechboy]

How are you watching that? Don’t you live in Edmonton? Haha
But yes I agree. I remember Hajek being very good for Czechs in this tourney. He’s looked pretty good overall.
Nice to see Zboril finally get that contract. Hope he can stay up now

I'm in Ontario. Born in Brno.

VPN is your friend. I even thought about buying the extraliga pass so I could watch more games on hokejka.tv (legal service).

Hajek was looking great, then got injured and hasn't looked the same.
Zboril is on a one way contract.. if Chara doesn't come back he is on roster. They can't send him down without explosing him to waivers I believe so another team would, hopefully, claim him (I hope Edmonton but our D pipeline is quite strong for the first time since the 80s).
Kral is a longshot but he did lead his league in points by D I believe (WHL I think).

 

[Czechboy]

Definitely a good argument but sadly its still better than last year imo.

I think im just excited to watch hockey. Nothing to watch here in Canada atm.

I also believe im just more excited for the future. If you really think about it, Svozil and Jiricek are the first legitimate/1st round talent defence we have had in many many years.... Hamara as well (which I think could have been invited this year), (yes he's that good).
Really hope they make the team. Would be very disappointed to see one of them cut. Has is probably the only one that might be better than them... Excited to see what they can do stacked up against the best teams. They both just have so much talent at both ends of the ice and we just havent seen anything like that in Czech hockey for a VERY long time! (15 years or so)(please dont mention Zboril lol).

anyways, Go Czechs go. Sweden losing players so maybe we can give them a ryun for their money

Has was considered a first rounder for awhile too. He does look like he'll battle out an NHL career but not anytime soon.

I think 'potential Czech first round D' is a bit of a misnomer. We haven't had a great Czech first rounder in a long time. Zboril went in round 1. Masin was near round 1. Smid was round 1. Musil was near round 1. Hajek was a first rounder. Only one thats busted out is Hronek. I guess I'm skeptical given we have so few NHL dmen (or even dmen that are doing great in KHL). I'd love to think that Svozil and Jiricek go in round 1 and Masin, Zboril and Hajek all etch out good NHL careers... but I am a bit skeptical.

With Kempny out for awhile (Achilles) I'm not sure how many Czech D will we have this season.. Gudas, Simek and Hronek.

Rutta is unsigned. Zboril is signed on a 1 way. Masin is in KHL. Kempny is out for season. Polak is done with NHL. Hajek needs to make big club (what a great core to be a part of going into future). Kral is very far away. Salda is very far away. Krutil is very far away. Has is far away.

 

[czechcanadian]

Hajek was a first rounder.

He was actually a 2nd rounder.
But yeah i get your point. None of those guys have shown much at the NHL really.
Masin is the biggest surprise for me. He was so dominant in Peterborough, I really thought he'd quickly turn into a solid guy for Tampa by now.
You just never know.
But tbh, Svozil for example, has extremely high hockey IQ. That gets you really far these days. And he really doesnt have any weaknesses compared to all the other D you mentioned.
Jiricek is very similar.
They just have this certain swagger that i havent seen in any other Czech D.
But hey, im no pro scout so we'll see.

 

[czechcanadian]

https://thehockeywriters.com/2021-world-junior-championship-czech-republic-preview/
Pretty lame preview overall.
I should apply to write for them.
Anyways Svozil is the main talking point. Really hope he shows up

 

[Czechboy]

He was actually a 2nd rounder.
But yeah i get your point. None of those guys have shown much at the NHL really.
Masin is the biggest surprise for me. He was so dominant in Peterborough, I really thought he'd quickly turn into a solid guy for Tampa by now.
You just never know.
But tbh, Svozil for example, has extremely high hockey IQ. That gets you really far these days. And he really doesnt have any weaknesses compared to all the other D you mentioned.
Jiricek is very similar.
They just have this certain swagger that i havent seen in any other Czech D.
But hey, im no pro scout so we'll see.

Masin got himself buried on a really strong Tampa team. He might still have a chance. Same with Zboril.

I'm excited about Svozil too and hope we see the hype. Lots of room to step up and show the world on our D.

 

[Czechboy]

https://thehockeywriters.com/2021-world-junior-championship-czech-republic-preview/
Pretty lame preview overall.
I should apply to write for them.
Anyways Svozil is the main talking point. Really hope he shows up

I'm writing mine soon but it's pretty negative so I don't think you'll like it.lol

 

[czechcanadian]

I'm writing mine soon but it's pretty negative so I don't think you'll like it.lol

Haha all good. Where will it be posted?
The article just lacked depth. If you read the Slovak one its actually very well done and 3 times as long lol.

 

[Czechboy]

FTR.. kometa got destroyed 6-1... however, Kral, Zboril and Hajek led the D in minutes so at least they're playing.. mind you, 6 goals against doesn't look very good at all.lol

 

[Czechboy]

Haha all good. Where will it be posted?
The article just lacked depth. If you read the Slovak one its actually very well done and 3 times as long lol.

Did you hear the Slovak's lost their best player... he was injuring other Slovaks in an camp game and sent home.lol

Maxim Cajkovic Removed From Slovakia WJC Camp

 

[czechcanadian]

Did you hear the Slovak's lost their best player... he was injuring other Slovaks in an camp game and sent home.lol

Maxim Cajkovic Removed From Slovakia WJC Camp

Yeah i did. Its a big blow to the team considering what theyre going to be facing this year but it had to be done.
But I actually think Slovaks are being underrated this year. I believe they'll beat germans and the swiss and get 3rd in the group. That will be tougher without Cajkovic now though.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Anyone have an idea of potential lines?

 

[Czechboy]

Anyone have an idea of potential lines?

Top 6 - Teply, Pytlik, Mysak, Novak and Raska (yes, I know that is 5)
Top 4 D - Kucerik, Kubicek, Has and Klikorka
Goalie - Parik

However, knowing the Czechs, they'll cut a few guys that have been drafted in favor of a few guys who'll never go overseas.

 

[Czechboy]

Sorry about lousy quality... Bukac questioning why no Dobes. Pointing out how good he is on small ice and that the tourney is on small ice. Comments are mostly about how Dobes has the wrong agent.lol

 

[czechcanadian]

View attachment 378285

Sorry about lousy quality... Bukac questioning why no Dobes. Pointing out how good he is on small ice and that the tourney is on small ice. Comments are mostly about how Dobes has the wrong agent.lol

Love Bukac. So good to have someone call out stuff like that.
It’s a real shame Dobes couldn’t make it.