The goalies have been doing great this year and there is one more that I would throw in, Vlado Kováč. He has been briliant in the VHL.
Jakub Gasparovic from Dukla Trencin to Medvescak Zagreb. Can anybody tell me how good is he ?
Pretty good, one of the best players in Extraliga and still young. 15+19 in 45 games so far this season. Medveščak also signed veteran Roman Tomas from HK Poprad. 24 +14 in 48 games in Extraliga.
Hey people! It's less than a month to the beginning of the World Championship and the situation with our NT looks even "worse" than last year Maybe it means we will get gold medal this time
Seriously it's bad considering about 13 players refused to join NT for various reasons On the other side this year it's perfect time to give a chance on youngsters Then add some veterans and it can be quite a good Championship (Hopefully they won't be relegated )... especially for the future of Slovak hockey.
There's nothing to envy to Mr. Vůjtek, but I believe he has got "balls" to do some tough decisions once again. Maybe they won't reach quarter-final this WC, but It's not such a big tragedy for me. Not this time .
Call me crazy, but I would like to see a team like this on the WC. This is the best scenario for me, considering all the circumstances:
GáborÃk - Bližňák - Pánik
Záborský - Kopecký - Radivojevič
Šatan - Kukumberg - Hudáček L.
Vandas - Stűmpel - Haščák
Šťastný - Daňo
Jurčina - Sekera
Graňák - Marinčin
Štajnoch - Sersen
Hraško - Ďaloga
Janus
Laco
Hudáček J.
What do you thing about it?
I'd be surprised if Zaborsky agrees to play for Slovakia, in recent years it seems he always finds a reason to say no to NT.
And Panik will likely be back down the Syracuse in the AHL for a playoff run since they are a good team so I would think he wouldn't be coming to WC.
Is ViÅ¡ňovský no longer retired from the national team? Or is this simply an invitation that he's unlikely to accept?
No invite for either of the Hudáček brothers? Eh?
Thinking the same thing, TBH. I get that Dano is there for the future, but Libor Hudacek is still only 22/23 and a much better player RIGHT NOW. Thought he should at least be invited to a summer camp. He is pretty on level with Kukumberg and Miklik right now, could be better as soon as next season. Odd to me.
List of players invited to the Olympic hockey summer:
Goalies: Peter Budaj, Jaroslav Halák, Jaroslav Janus, Ján Laco, Rastislav Staňa.
Defencemen: Ivan Baranka, Marek Ďaloga, Dominik Graňák, Zdeno Chára, Milan Jurčina, Martin Marinčin, Andrej MeszároÅ¡, Andrej Sekera, Michal Sersen, Tomáš Starosta, ĽubomÃr ViÅ¡ňovský, René Vydarený.
Forwards: Milan Bartovič, Mário Bližňák, Marko Daňo, Marián GáborÃk, Michal HandzuÅ¡, Marel Hossa, Marián Hossa, Marek HrivÃk, Tomáš Jurčo, Tomáš Kopecký, Roman Kukumberg, Michel MiklÃk, Juraj Mikúš, Richard Pánik, Branko Radivojevič, Tomáš Surový, Miroslav Å atan, Tomáš Tatar, Tomáš Záborský.
@Harv: Halak not at all! He's just too weak for me and can't forget how he ruined us at home IIHF WC two years ago. Simply I like goalies like Laco, Janus, Staňa, Hudáček much more than him.
There is maybe a reason but there is also something like current form. And playing in KHL doesn't mean Laco or Staňa aren't capable of playing against TOP players at all!Halak will be the starter, Budaj will be backup.
The Olympics will be played against the best in the world. Halak can play against the best in the world.
There is a reason Laco, Staňa, Hudáček, etc don't play in the NHL. They are good goalies in the leagues they play in, but not against the most elite players. You can not risk playing a goalie who has played against 4th and 5th tier players for years and expect them to play in the Olympics. It doesn't work like that.
@xyzed: I must agree with Panik, even MiklÃk is better than Hudáček.
I like Hudacek. He has good hands but he is very weak, loosing his balance too often IMO. Maybe he is going to surprise us next season.