The attacking star of the Czech Olympic team in Beijing will be David Pastrňák.
Brian Fluharty, Reuters
The individual participants of the tournament announced their names last month to the International Hockey Federation IIHF, the NHL and the NHLPA Players’ Association due to the planned media activities. It was originally supposed to remain secret, but in recent days the trio of nominees have been published by Canadians and subsequently by the Swedes and Finns.
“All three have been giving excellent performances in the best competition in the world for a long time. They are the leaders and one of those we will rely on a lot during the tournament,” said Petr Nedvěd, the general manager of the national team, in a press release.
???? The first three confirmed names for ZOH 2022! Coaches should not miss the three attackers David Pastrňák, Ondřej Palát and Jakub Voráček at the Winter Olympics in Beijing! ????????#narodnitym #jakolev pic.twitter.com/fC1gu24W3L
– Hockey National (@narodnitym) October 7, 2021
The unions have until 15 October to select a wider Olympic staff. “Both variants will be considered in it, should it happen that the NHL players will not be at the Olympics. I can say that there will be about 140 names on it,” Czech hockey spokesman Zdeněk Zikmund told ČTK. The wider staff will not be public and its eventual declassification will be coordinated by the IIHF. The final nominations will not be until January 11, because by January 10, the NHL can still withdraw from the participation of players from the overseas league.
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Thirty-year-old Palát has won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in the last two years. In the NHL, the offspring of Frýdek-Místek has 551 games and 374 points for 125 goals and 249 assists. He scored 73 points (37 + 36) in 115 playoff duels.
He presented himself under five circles in 2014 in Sochi, he also started at the World Cup in Toronto in 2016 and at the World Championships in Bratislava two years ago.
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Five years younger Pastrňák won the Maurice Richard Trophy for the best scorer in the 2019/20 season in the NHL, and with 48 goals from 70 games, he shared the championship with Russian gunner Alexander Ovechkin from Washington. In the basic part of the NHL, he has a balance of 427 points for 200 goals and 227 assists in 438 matches. In the battle for the Stanley Cup, he scored 68 points in 63 duels (27 + 41).
Havířov’s offspring can look forward to his premiere participation in the Olympics. So far, he has represented at three world championships from 2016 to 2018 and was also present at the World Cup in 2016.
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The 32-year-old Voráček, who returned to Columbus after ten years spent in Philadelphia this season, has the richest national history of the entire trio. He is the world champion from 2010. He competed in a total of six world championships. He won bronze in 2011 and in 2015 in Prague, two years later in Paris and the year before last in Bratislava he was captain. He did not miss the Olympics in Sochi or the last World Cup.
In the NHL, he can beat the 1000 base game this season. In 968 duels so far, he has collected 738 points for 216 goals and 522 passes. He scored 28 points (9 + 19) in 49 playoff matches.
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