“I miss Jakub Vrána there, who wanted to play, but it seemed to me that the coach didn’t care about him,” says Burkert, according to whom a position and role for the St. Louis forward should have been sought. “There was probably a problem with how Vrána he already approached following the system last year, and Kari Jalonen is not the type of coach who gives the player absolute freedom,” reminds Kézr, knowing that only five reinforcements from the NHL for the World Cup are the smallest number in the last seven years.
“It is a great pity that the injury prevented the participation of the talented defender David Jiříček. I was really looking forward to him, because he has grown a lot during the last year abroad,” reveals Burkert. “He is a player with great potential. At the tournament in Brno, he showed all hockey positions against the Swedes, had a lot of excellent moments, but he was also responsible for the first goal in the Czech net by losing the puck on the offensive blue line during the power play,” explains Kézr.
“It is known about Jiříček that he plays on the edge of risk, but then again, you need to have a full-back available who can go one-on-one even against the toughest opponents, and I don’t know who of the eight in the nomination can do this,” Burkert objects.
The editors also consider which of the goalkeepers will be trusted in Friday’s opening game of the World Cup, and they agree that the oldest of them, Hrubec, should go in goal. “Given that Karel Vejmelka caught both defeats at the Brno tournament and Šimon Hrubec shone in the entire preparation, including the duel with the Swedes, so I think it’s him,” says Burkert.
The podcast also talks about who will score the goals in the Czech jersey, how the defense will hold up with five debutants at the World Cup and what the first five matches in the group will be used for. There will also be tips on whether there will be a victorious Czech track at this year’s Stanley Cup.
