In 2000 and 2001, the Czechs win back-to-back golds. In 2005, the Czechs beat USA (in what is hailed as a very stacked tournament and the best Team Canada in World Juniors history due to a lockout and everyone being available) for bronze. We had first rounders and amazing prospects. We also had solid NHLers and were not too far from four World Championships, a best on best Olympics (1998), another World Championship in Vienna (which was a rare best-on-best due to the same lockout in 2005), and a bronze medal at another best-on-best Olympics in 2006. Things were good. Things were damn good!
Then it all went to hell. 2006 to 2021 was an absolute wasteland of hockey for the Czechs at the World Junior Championships. Quarterfinal after quarterfinal defeat. Routine touchdown sized losses to Canada, USA, and Sweden. Constant conflict with coaches, agents, players, and even their parents. Nothing went correct. It was almost like a mirror of the Edmonton Oiler’s very own Decade of Darkness: inept management, poor coaching, poor players, and poor decision after poor decision. “Boys on the bus” running sports clubs because they were good players.
The loss of development in Czech players
Czechs were not being drafted. Czechs weren’t cracking NHL rosters. Czechs were busting left, right, and centre. All of this led to the state of Czech hockey today. Not invited to the 4 Nations Face-off (despite being reigning World Champions). The last full time player the Czechs have developed is Martin Necas. No one else has stuck. Our European contingent is getting stronger and stronger as we have so many promising players returning to Europe without making a dent in the NHL. We have become a tremendous AHL/NLA feeder league.
15 years without a medal. 15 years with a handful of quarterfinal wins. 15 years of absolute misery and a once celebrated hockey nation in decline. I would like to say it was bad luck or bias against the Czechs. No, they did this to themselves. Almost no NHL players to show from the 2006 to 2021 drafts. Also, some star ones with various issues that are hurting their careers. Jakub Voracek, Ondrej Kase, and Filip Chytil with concussion issues. Jakub Vrana just not sticking on several clubs now after undisclosed issues.
Are things starting to turn around?
2022 saw a change. 2022 saw the Czechs go on a miracle run to the semi-finals (their second semi-final since 2005) after eliminating a stacked USA roster (it was 1 versus 4 seed and a big upset at the time). Then 2022 was a real breakthrough.
That team was led by some very key Czech cogs. If Czech hockey turns around. That team is the catalyst in my opinion.
First, the coach was Radim Rulik. He had a plan. He had a system. He got promoted to the senior team (he was on the bench for the 2005 Gold team as an assistant in Vienna) as head coach and won gold this spring in Prague. Everything seemed to change with Rulik and a new vision/system. That Czech team was notable for their defence which included Jiricek, Svozil, and Spacek as potential future NHL players. Jiricek recently told Rulik that he thought he would be traded to Edmonton but he ended up in Minnesota/Iowa instead. Rulik also had some players! Jari Kulich, David Jiricek, David Spacek, Tomas Suchanek, Stanislav Svozil, Matyas Sapovaliv, Tomas Hamara, and Eduard Sale may all still become NHL players.
2024 saw the Czechs eliminate Canada in the quarterfinals and winning bronze. 2024 NHL draft saw the most Czechs taken in over a decade as a result. The Czechs have also gone back-to-back finals at the Hlinka/Gretzky tournament in summer (a tournament that should be returned to Europe full time as it is played in empty arenas in August in Alberta despite Canada routinely winning it). Something is brewing. First rounders are becoming normal. 10 players taken is the expected and not the exception.
The new coach, Augusta, is using the Rulik playbook. 2024 saw a good team but most Czech fans likes me kept saying “wait until the next three years, all of those teams will be stacked!” 2024 was notable for Hrabal, Sale, Kulich, Sapovaliv, and future first rounder Adam Jiricek (David’s brother who has been hurt since that tournament). All top 50 picks with great upsides. Czechia are the only nation to make the semifinals three years in a row. They’ve also eliminated the USA and Canada in two of the last three quarterfinals at the World Juniors. This is not an easy thing to do for any nation.
The outlook for this tournament
Simply put. It’s a controversial squad that has left many a Czech Junior fan confused. Let’s start with the easy one.
Michael Hrabal, Jakub Milota, and Jan Kavan. Most would’ve pegged Hrabal the starter and Milota the backup. There is nothing controversial here. I expect Hrabal to start all the games except Kazakhistan. He’s on a small heater in the NCAA and is a top 40 draft pick. Although he is a giant and had some struggles as an 18-year-old, he’s arguably one of the top goalies in this tournament. Hopefully he learned from some mistakes last year and is ready to carry the team above it’s weight! 10/10 and nothing to argue about. Position of strength for sure.
Breaking down the defensive group
Defence: here it gets confusing. Most projected it to be Jakub Dvorak, Tomas Galvas, Adam Jiricek, Badinka (34th overall) and Mrtka on bottom pair. That didn’t happen.
Jakub Dvorak is a giant in the Los Angeles system playing in the AHL as a 19-year-old (round two pick). Adam Jiricek is stylistically different than David Jiricek but is a first round right-hand defenceman. He has been hurt a lot and has only played four hockey games since last year’s tournament. He is coming to camp after playing two games in the CHL this weekend. His best case scenario is two healthy games in the CHL followed by a mini camp in Ottawa. Then two exhibition games and then four real games before the all important quarters. He is key to any Czech success. That brings us to Dominik Badinka.
Badinka is a very recently turned 19-year-old and plays full time in the Swedish top league. He’s played 55 games. He’ll, most likely be in the AHL next year on his way to the NHL for Carolina. He is exactly what every NHL clubs wants. Mobile, right-handed defenceman, coming from a league known for producing elite, and mobile. The coach/federation and the player clearly have some things to work out. It’s a glaring and controversial omission. That could’ve been a top four of three players taken in the first two rounds which is unheard of for Czech standards in the 2000s.
Amazingly, there is one more RHD that needs mentioning. Radim Mrtka. He recently joined Seattle in the CHL and is playing around 24 minutes a night while also scoring near a point per game. A 6’6” defenceman who projects to go in round one this year. He was also cut. He plays in North America and is a first-round projected prospect. He’s huge. The second Badinka was not invited, he should’ve replaced him on roster.
Tomas Galvas was thought to be a top prospect last season (by some) but went undrafted. He is an exceptional skater and should stand out when the tourney starts but he is below 6’0” tall. He may never become an NHLer but he will be very comfortable at this U20 level and his skating should really stand out.
Losing Badinka to politics, Mrtka to coaching decisions, and Jiricek to injury could really derail Czech hopes of a fourth semifinal in a row. Two of those are self inflicted wounds. The rest of the roster will be filled out by Port, Koci, Rocak, and Fibigr. Port and Fibigr were drafted players in the later rounds. This could have been a stacked defence. Even worse, Badinka/Fibigr/Jiricek/Mrtka are all eligible for next year. I’d advise the Czech federation and Badinka to sit down and talk. 6/10 but could’ve been a 9/10 with a healthy Jiricek, Badinka, and Mrtka.
How the forwards stack up
The forwards went from a bit of a weakness to a strength. Eduard Sale is a first round pick who had a very underwhelming D + 1 year. He came back and most assumed OHL again in his D + 2. He scored against the Oilers in a exhibition game and was “temporarily” sent to AHL. He was near point-per-game after a month in the AHL and had clearly made some progress. Then Seattle GM, Ron Francis, said he may not be released at all. He’s back for this third tournament (has a silver and bronze from the last two) and will be the key forward offensively.
After that he will be surrounded by 12 very solid forwards that play all over the world. Some play pro in top leagues (Kos, Sikora, Mestalarsky, Sale, Cihar, Novotny) and some play in the CHL (Holinka, Jecho, Petr, Zidlicky) around a point-per-game pace. Many are drafted. There were a few omissions.
One glaring one is Adam Benak. Benak is a very polarizing player. He has sublime skill and hockey IQ. He just set the all time scoring record at the Hlinka/Gretzky cup. He is currently in the USHL and projects to be a first rounder by many scouting outlets. Unfortunately, he has one major flaw. Like Galvas, he is very small. He was not invited in a, I think, poor decision. He easily could’ve been on the qing on the Sale line (most likely with Stancl). He also could’ve joined the Edmonton Oil King duo of Holinka/Jecho who are big boys with more pro like games.
I love this forward group but there is no Kulich type game breaker. The strength is that there is not that huge a difference between the second best forward and the 12th best forward. Most are drafted. Most are very good players at the U20 level. At least half play pro against men all over the world. 7.5/10.
Predictions for this tournament
Due to good results the Czechs are in a favorable pool with Sweden, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, and Switzerland. Being send in the pool is a reasonable outlook. The problem with a nice pool is the crossover. Canada, USA, and Finland are in the other pool and could be nightmare quarter finals opponent. Czech need to finish first or second, and try and avoid either North American country in the quarters. Not an easy ask. No guarantee we could beat Finland (on a down year) even if we did avoid Canada/USA.
My prediction is we finish with a bronze. Sale leads us in scoring. Jiricek returns healthy and plays very well. The world realizes they should’ve drafted Galvas and he goes in the redraft (like David Spacek did). I’m expecting scoring to come from Sale, Dvorak, Stancl, Kos, Galvas, Sikora, Holinka, Jecho, and undrafted Dominik Petr.
Parting thought as an Oiler fan: I have not had much fun hockey to cheer for. Oilers had the decade of darkness at the same time the Czechs had a decade and a half of darkness. Last spring saw the Oilers go to Game 7 and the Czechs win the World Championship in Prague. More of that please!
If you told me I would type this in 2024 I’d believe you to be crazy but:
- Czechs have eliminated Canada and USA in two of their last three quarters
- Czechs are the only nation to make the semis three years in a row
- Czechs are back-to-back medalists at this tournament
