Defender Jan Ščotka from Litvínov and attackers Rudolf Červený from Lahti and Hynek Zohorn from Khabarovsk dropped out of the Czech hockey team during the last narrowing of the nomination before today’s departure for the World Championships in Riga. There are six reinforcements from the NHL in the 28-member selection.
In addition, coach Filip Pešán will be waiting for the development of the 1st round playoff series between Washington and Boston, although he considers the chances of one of the players of these teams arriving to be almost zero.
So far, he has NHL defender Filip Hronek with strikers Filip Zadina and Jakub Vrána from Detroit, bek Libor Hájek with forward Filip Chytil from New York Rangers and gunner Dominic Kubalík from Chicago.
“We’re definitely not going to put all the players on the roster right away. Not only will the Washington and Boston series break out today and there’s a chance that someone will come from the NHL. It’s almost nil for me, but I like to keep in mind how to react during the tournament, “Pesan said in an online interview with journalists.
Šcotka and Červený will not see their premiere participation in the World Championships, Hynek Zohorna will not follow up on the start of the last championship in 2019 in Bratislava. “The last cuts were decided by the details that helped us put together the team’s mosaic. We want to be fast and young in some fives, so we decided to keep Matěj Blümel, for example, who played a very good tournament.
“Unfortunately, we had to decide to end the nomination of three players with little difference from the other players, because they played a great match today. I will not discuss the reasons, because the analysis is broader, but we had to make a decision,” added the coach. with assistants Martin Straka and Jaroslav Špaček.
Hynka Zohorn was no longer involved in the attack with his brother Tomáš against Russia today. Only David and Adam Musilová will be in the team with the brotherly pair.
“I tore up the brothers so that the young NHL players have an experienced player at their center and Tomáš offered himself directly. We tried it today and I think it worked very well. We need a different type of player than the fourth and fifth lines. is, for example, Hynek, “said Pešán, who included Zadina and Chytil among the older of the siblings.
Among the three goalkeepers, nine quarterbacks and sixteen forwards are ten players from the home extra league, seven compatriots from the Continental League, four from Finland and the only representative of the highest Swiss competition is Jan Kovář from the championship Zug.
Kovář has the most experience with 133 starts for the national team, as well as six previous participations in the world championships and the Olympic Games in 2018 in Pyongyang. The 31-year-old striker will be the team captain.
“I hope that Honza will take the team under his wing and with Tomáš Zohorná and Filip Hronek, who are his assistants, they will be our right hand in managing the team,” said Pešán.
He is considering the composition of Kovář’s elite formation with Vrána and Kubalík, who did not intervene in the match before the World Cup anyway. “I’m seriously thinking that the elite attack could work like this. We told the boys that they wanted to rest and didn’t have much strength to play this match. They are training and preparing for the first match,” said Pešán.
At the last World Championships in 2019 in Bratislava, where the Czechs finished under the coach Miloš Říha in the older quarter, the goalkeeper was Šimon Hrubec from Omsk, the defenders of Hronek, Michal Moravčík from Tappary Tampere, David Musil from Třinec, David Sklenička from Jokerit Helsinki and the attackers Chytil, Kubalík, Vrána and Tomáš Zohorna from Pardubice.
For the first time, goalkeepers Roman Will from Chelyabinsk, Petr Kváča from Liberec, defenders Hájek, Lukáš Klok from Rauma and forward Zadina, Radan Lenc with Adam Musil from Liberec, Matěj Stránský with Michael Špaček from Třinec, Matěj Blümel from Pardubice can present themselves at the big international event. , Jakub Flek from Karlovy Vary or Jiří Smejkal from Tappary Tampere. The first world championship is also waiting for Andrej Šuster from Kunlun, who has so far only competed at the 2016 World Cup in Toronto.
Hrubec should start the championship in goal “We would like him to enter the tournament as number one. It does not mean that he will start to catch the tournament and catch it whole. It does not even mean that he will start the first match, but it probably will.” “We are glad that we have a balanced trio of goalkeepers and Vítek Vaněček from Washington can still be in the game,” added Pešán.
The Czech team will enter the tournament on Friday, when they will start at 15:15 CEST against Russia, which they defeated 4-0 at the end of the Czech Games in Prague today. In Basic Group A at the Olympic Sports Center, the Czechs will then play against Switzerland (Saturday 22 May at 19:15), Belarus (Monday 24 May 19:15), Sweden (Thursday 27 May 19:15), and the United Kingdom ( Saturday 29 May 11:15), Denmark (Monday 31 May 15:15) and Slovakia (Tuesday 1 June 19:15).
Nomination of Czech hockey players for the World Championships in Riga (May 21 – June 6):
Goalkeepers: Petr Kvaca (Liberec; 1 match), Simon Hrubec (Omsk / KHL; 11), Roman Will (Chelyabinsk / KHL; 10),
defenders: David Musil (Trinec; 36 matches / 0 goals), Ondrej Vitasek (Liberec; 47/2), Libor Hajek (New York Rangers / NHL; 2/0), Filip Hronek (Detroit / NHL; 25/6), Michal Moravčík (Tappara Tampere / Fin .; 45/1), David Sklenička (Jokerit Helsinki / KHL; 45/1), Libor Šulák (Kärpät Oulu / Fin .; 32/2), Andrej Šustr (Kunlun / KHL; 20/3 ), Lukáš Klok (Lukko Rauma / Fin .; 25/2),
attackers: Matěj Blümel (12/4), Tomáš Zohorna (both Pardubice; 103/18), Radan Lenc (35/6), Adam Musil (both Liberec; 13/2), Matěj Stránský (22/4), Michael Špaček ( both Třinec; 10/1), Robin Hanzl (47/10), Lukáš Radil (both Spartak Moscow / KHL; 72/17), Jakub Vrána (9/4), Filip Zadina (both Detroit / NHL; 7/4) Jakub Flek (Karlovy Vary; 14/4), Filip Chytil (New York Rangers / NHL; 23/6), Jan Kovář (Zug / Švýc .; 133/31), Dominik Kubalík (Chicago / NHL; 66/23), Jiří Sekáč (Omsk / KHL; 61/7), Jiří Smejkal (Tappara Tampere / Fin .; 10/1).
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