The national team has already trained. Mašín joined the preparation, Červenka is the captain

The Finnish defender Ilves Tampere missed the morning training because he was waiting for the results of the test for the coronavirus. After learning that he was in good health, he joined the preparation. Coach Kari Jalonen awarded the captain’s badge to the most experienced player of the selection, Roman Červenka, just like at the World Cup.

“We agreed with the coach on one tournament and it worked out in Karjala. Perhaps also because the opening months of the season are more demanding, so I welcomed the possibility of stepping out of the stereotype. In December, the club will have a more busy schedule,” revealed Červenka, who leads the scoring in the Swiss league in Rapperswill (4+22).

Three debutants have also completed their first training session. Spartan David Vitouch was very surprised by the nomination, his teammate Martin Jandus didn’t even believe it and suspected that the congratulators were making fun of him. “For me, it’s a certain milestone in my career, I really value that chance,” said the 24-year-old defender.

Pardubice forward Patrik Poulíček even had to explain to his wife that he would not come to pick her up at the airport when he returned from vacation, because he was additionally nominated for the national team. “We were both pleasantly surprised, but my wife is understanding and supports me in everything.”

In the Budvar arena, the national team will have a total of four training sessions before entering the first Euro Hockey Tour tournament with a duel against the Swedes on Thursday. After flying to Turku on Friday, they will face Finland on Saturday and take on Switzerland on Sunday.

“We had a meeting at the hotel on Monday evening, we still have four training sessions before the match. Today we focused on aggressive forechecking, we want to play hockey again at five. There is no room for more, the matches will be more important,” said the coach.