Photo: Markéta Křížová, hokej.cz collage
NHL badge ≠ invitation to the championship in Prague. The general manager Petr Nedvěd’s earlier statement was captured by the coach Radim Rulík during the final nomination: he omitted several surprising names from the selected group. So who will be expected to grasp and raise the Czech flag under public pressure?
Petr Mrázek (G, 32 years old)
This season: Chicago (NHL), 56 games, 90.8% and 3.05 G/Z
A second year in the Windy City blew him back among the cream of the crop of overseas goaltenders. Positives about the Blackhawks season? You count the fingers of one hand, but… Mrazek would one hundred percent get one of them. Despite the poor team results, he surprised with above-average numbers, and in January, the organization broke the piggy bank and secured him with a new two-year contract for 8.5 million dollars.
His style was illustrated, among other things, by his performance at the Czech Hockey Games against Sweden on Saturday. The national team will rely on the thirty-two-year-old goalkeeper, he can easily think about the prize for the best masked man of the tournament. After all, without a quality goalkeeper, success will not be born.
Radko Gudas (O, 33 May)
This season: Anaheim (NHL), 66 games, 6+12
It only took half a minute from the general assembly in Brno and it clicked for everyone. Radko Gudas shielded the Finnish attacker, waited and… BOOM! As many times before, he put his opponent on his ass with a falling bodysuit. It is not for nothing that the bearded wrecker from Anaheim is nicknamed Butcher.
However, he does not only specialize in hits and blocks. Did you see his hammer blow? Goalkeepers must be able to see her in the blink of an eye. In addition, take into account the influence that Gudas will have on the Czech cabin. Just like in the club scene, he has something to say about everything.
Dominik Kubalík (Ú, 28 years old)
This season: Ottawa (NHL), 74 games, 11+4
The Czechs are calling on all the saints to reawaken the shooting beast in themselves. In the final event, EHT’s offense failed, two goals from three duels represent a sad business card. Kubalík demonstrated his sniper instinct with a 30-goal year in the NHL, last year he was the best scorer in the World Cup with eight hits.
However, even with a numerical advantage, teammates often look for the bombardier originally from Pilsen, as he waits in the circle with his hockey stick raised. He would also need a successful tournament because of the upcoming offseason – his two-year contract with an annual salary of 2.5 million dollars will expire in Ottawa.
❓ What kind of Dominik KUBALÍK will show at the home WC? ? The one who broke Czech shooting records in Riga last year? Or the one who struggled through the club season in Ottawa this year? ??
Published by Hokej.cz News on Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Roman Červenka (Ú, 38 years old)
This season: Rapperswil (Switzerland), 47 matches, 12+28
The virtuoso, criticized disproportionately in the past, is tuning the notes for the eleventh world championship in his career. While in the previous two seasons he put on the national team jersey as the productivity king of the Swiss NL, this year he rather struggled through the league journey. Nevertheless, he crossed off the mark of forty Canadian points.
You won’t find many more seasoned fighters at the domestic championship. But Červenka does not belong to the old iron by any chance – he can still come up with a genius vertical line, knock a tutu out of his sleeve. Especially in powerlifting, the overview of the three-time medalist (gold and two bronzes) is very clear.
Ondřej Palát (Ú, 33 years old)
This season: New Jersey (NHL), 71 games, 11+20
During May and June, he got used to competing for the Stanley Cup. But when New Jersey definitively lost its hopes for the playoffs, he did not hesitate so long and heeded the call of the coaching staff of Radim Rulík. After five years, excited fans will show up at the traditional peak of the national team season.
And don’t be surprised if one of the millimeter fights tilts in the Czech direction. Palát jumps onto the ice when the going gets tough, two years ago he collected almost a point per game in the NHL playoffs. A letter on the chest appears as a matter of course.
??
Published by Hokej.cz News on Wednesday, May 8, 2024
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2024-05-09 13:29:00
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