Snapshot from the Slovakia – Czech Republic match at the Under-20 Hockey World Cup Source: iihf.com
PRAGUE – Olympic champion from Nagano and former excellent defender Jiří Šlégr was enthusiastic about the performance of the Czech juniors at the World Championships in Sweden.
The team led by head coach Patrik August made him happy not only by winning the bronze, but also by the performances with which he made his way to the podium. According to him, the initial lesson in the form of a heavy loss against the Slovaks helped to achieve success. As he stated after the team’s return from Gothenburg, when he welcomed the successful expedition from the position of a member of the executive committee of the hockey association, he firmly believes that Czech hockey is gradually taking the right course again.
The fifty-two-year-old member of the prestigious Triple Gold Club watched the Czech youngsters throughout the tournament. “And I think that, paradoxically, the first defeat helped the team the most,” reminded Šlégr of the 2:6 debacle with the Slovak team. “It opened the eyes of the players and suddenly the approach was different. You could see right away in the second game that there was a different commitment, a different taste, they went more into the goal, there were more shots, more of everything. I think that’s where everything started.” said Slégr.
Bad start, good end
He admitted that entering the tournament was not easy for the team, especially from the mental side. “The guys were in a very difficult situation as the defenders of the silver. Of course, you have that in your head. There was a change of coaches, but at the same time everyone tried to maintain the style that the team played last year and it bore fruit. I think that all tied them together at the beginning .
But when you see how they played then, in addition to all the strong opponents, they played a very worthy role. I evaluate it very positively and see many players who can make it far in their hockey career.” declared the former Czech defender.
In his eyes, the bronze is even more valuable because the team faced strong opponents. Not counting the beating with the Slovaks, the Czechs lost only one game in the regular season in the confrontation with the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland – the semi-final against the home team, and that was because of the unmanageable last third.
Photo gallery (3) Source: SITA/AP/Bjorn Larsson Rosvall/TT News Agency
“You always feel it. When evaluating, you know that you have matched your strength with big teams. And here it was definitely not the case that we only beat the weaker ones and maybe we managed to beat one strong one.” emphasized Šlégr.
“I think that, for example, against Canada, the boys played brilliantly and responsibly. They went against the luck they had at the end with their performance. And even though they lost the semi-final against the Swedes, I really liked that match, it was up and down, you could see how the team gained self-confidence with a successfully managed quarterfinal.
Let Canada say what they want, in my opinion the boys deservedly made it to the semi-finals. They also played a worthy role in it and it was about who would score the third goal at 2:2. We had great chances, unfortunately, it came on the other side,” he added.
The future of Czech hockey
He was then impressed by the approach of the players in the fight for third place. “It was great how the boys went into the match for the bronze medal. It was obvious how much they wanted a medal. I haven’t seen that for a long time, including how proud they were of the jersey they were wearing. I see the future of Czech hockey in that.” praised Šlégr.
He believes that the third consecutive participation in the semifinals of the Junior World Championships is not a coincidence, but also not a reason for boundless euphoria. “It is an indication that we have quality and good players. We just have to work with them. I hope this is a signal to all of us that we should give them a chance at clubs, as we have been saying for years, so that they do not leave us. It goes here too.
Just remember Jirka Ticháček in Kladno, now Tomáš Galvas in Liberec from that team. I believe that the clubs also perceive it. I consider this to be the most important thing – to keep those players here, to be able to work with them and give them a chance to give it back to us, rather than just watching them leave to play for any foreign juniors.”
Photo gallery (3) Source: SITA/AP/Bjorn Larsson Rosvall/TT News Agency
“At the same time, I understand that when there are no results, he looks up to the others. When we won years ago, Canada came to see us again, how we play hockey and what makes us win. It was a dark period here, but I hope that now it’s getting better again, and maybe from my point of view as an offensive defender, I’m very happy that I see a lot of such players who can then make us happy in the senior category.” said Slégr.
Young people deserve a chance
But he is also well aware that the last successful team was clearly dominated by players from overseas junior competitions. “We have to take slow steps, it is not possible to take such a drastic step as to take all players from only Czech competitions. But it is important to think about it.
That’s why I say that we should give a chance to those guys in the extra league. Give them space even at the age of sixteen or seventeen. I am convinced that this is the way. Our generation got that chance and we also gave it back. That should be a message for all of us. I will go back to Jirk Ticháček in this regard – just look at what he is showing this season.” he added.
He believes that the number of players that NHL clubs will reach for in the draft will gradually increase. “It’s always about medals and some kind of success. Scouts and managers go to the junior championship and follow it closely. I believe that we will move somewhere completely different in terms of numbers. I’m convinced of that.
But at the same time, I agree with the idea that we are still at the beginning. However, in my opinion, it is very important that we are really there and not looking at everything only from the bottom of the table to be afraid of whether we will advance to the playoffs at all.” concluded Šlégr.
- Author: © List/
- Source: CTK
2024-01-08 11:02:25
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