World Junior Preview: The Czechs May Be On to Something

By now, the Czechs have got to be sick with mediocrity. When they won their only World Junior tournament back in 2000, Jarmoir Jagr was the NHL’s best player, still in the midst of one of the greatest career’s hockey has ever seen. Now, Jagr is nearly 46 and has played on eight different teams. If you look at the roster that won gold that year, the team’s top scorer, Milan Kraft, was out of the NHL by 2004 and only one player, Martin Havlat, really had much of an NHL career.

So now we’re heading into 2018. The Czechs haven’t won a medal since 2005 and finishing in fifth or sixth is as common as Canada hosting the tournament. Last year, they fell behind Denmark, who were able to win their first regulation game EVER at the top World Junior level.

But two years removed from an unlikely Hlinka Memorial Tournament championship over the United States, there’s finally a bit more hope for a Czech team trying to turn their fortunes around.

Goaltending: Having played on various Czech national junior teams over his career, many without much to work with, Jakub Škarek’s stats when playing internationally may not look all that impressive. When you dig a bit deeper, however, it’s clear Škarek looks prepared to lead a Czech team with a bit more promise than usual. Škarek represented his nation at the juniors a year ago, during a season that saw him win the most Czech division two league wins and push his team into the top division for the current campaign, on top of an impressive Hlinka Memorial gold medal. He's had good stats in his first season in the top Czech league, beating out former Boston Bruins prospect and Norwegian national team goalie Lars Volden for the starting role on HC Dukla Jihlava. He’ll be counted upon as an 18-year-old to lead the Czechs as far as they can go, and if he does return next year, he has the potential to be one of the best goalies in the tournament. That’s a lot of pressure for a young guy, though, so the Czechs will need to do a good job of protecting their net.

Defensemen: The influx of young stars looking to have their name called at the NHL Draft in June are expected to lead this young team over the next two years. Filip Kral is one of those players. Currently in his first season with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs, Kral was given lots of ice time and his offensive nature has been able to flourish. Kral has had a busy year, having played for three different teams in three different leagues, as well as two Champions Hockey League contests.

The lone NHL-drafted prospect on the blue line is Jakub Galvas, a defender Chicago hopes will blossom into a useful player down the line. A strong, two-way defenseman with the ability to be aggressive on a forecheck, Galvas was instrumental in helping the Czechs win the 2016 Hlinka Memorial tournament, leading all defenders in scoring with two goals and five points in five games. Galvas is currently in his second season with HC Olomouc of the Czech league, where he has already seen his production rise from a season ago. Galvas has looked good against men and may be their best bet on the blue line.

After that, though, the Czechs start to thin out. In terms of shutdown defenders, Ondrej Vala, who played in three games with the AHL's Texas Stars a year ago after signing with the club back in September of 2016, has been good for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. Offensively, he doesn't put up much, but the Czechs have used him at every international level, including last year's World Juniors. Vala will get lots of ice time for the Narodnitym, so expect him to be busy.

HC Plzen defenseman David Kvasnicka is also returning, helping the experienced back end, even if he only played one game with the team a year ago. Kvasnicka was also apart of the dream Hlinka Memorial team back in 2016 and a few months later, he would be the Czechs best defender at the World Junior A Challenge in Canada. With lots of experience on the international stage, Kvasnicka knows what every emotion feels like when donning his nations colors, but will that translate into any form of success for him and his teammates? They’ll be worked rather hard, after all.

Forwards: The Czechs, for once, appear to have a very strong forward group to choose from, meaning they’ll have more weapons than usual. Leading the charge is Filip Zadina, a prospect that’s expected to be one of the first five picks in the upcoming draft. The third top scorer at the Hlinka Memorial two years ago, Zadina has done everything right in his young career and is simply a scoring machine. One of the QMJHL's best players, Zadina transferred over from the Czech league, where he had just two points in 25 games, and has become one of the best imports the CHL has seen in years (something Halifax is really good at). Zadina has been a polarizing figure wherever he's played and had a whopping 31 points in 22 games with the Czech U18 team last year. If all goes well, Zadina will be the team’s top left winger throughout the tournament and be counted on for big goals throughout his first World Junior tournament.

One of the biggest question marks was whether or not Filip Chytil would be able to play following an injury in early December. After missing just a few games, Chytil was ready to represent the Czechs just months after getting drafted 21st overall by the New York Rangers. In his first season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the dynamic offensive player was playing at nearly a point per game in the AHL and has even seen a few games with the Rangers, too. Chytil was one of the Czech's best players at both the Under-18's and Hlinka Memorial last season while also playing a full season in the Czech league. Chytil has done everything right at a young age and it's hard to believe the team should be able to retain him next season unless he makes the jump up to the NHL.

Carolina Hurricanes prospect Martin Necas is one of the better European prospects right now, and it's hard to believe the team will get him for what could be three tournaments overall, especially after being one of the tournament's best draft-eligible prospects a year ago. Necas has been magnificent any time he's represented his nation and the Czechs clearly value him, having made him captain at the 2016 Hlinka Memorial tournament. Necas made the Hurricanes out of training camp but was returned to HC Kometa Brno where he's currently playing in his second season of professional hockey in the Czech Republic. Necas continues to impress on a team that includes former NHLers Martin Erat and Tomas Vincour and should be a fascinating prospect to follow in Buffalo.

Edmonton Oilers prospect Ostap Safin has been around the point-per-game mark all season long with the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs and has proven that coming to North America was smart for his future. A big offensive contributor at the U18 level for the Czechs, Safin has always been among the best against his peers and his shot is one of the scariest in the tournament. You typically won't have to worry about Safin getting too fancy with the puck, but he gets the job done and is always a factor in his own zone.

The Czechs have some great depth up front, including centreman Kristian Reichel. The son of former NHLer Robert, Kristian has been good at every international level for the Czechs, including the past two World Junior A Challenge tournaments. This will be his second World Junior tournament, and with the experience he has, the Czech’s won't hesitate to use Reichel, even if it’s mainly in a bottom six role. Then there's Albert Michnac, who, out of nowhere, became the Mississauga Steelheads best player by the time training camp opened up. A 19-year-old with limited experience with the Czechs, this will be the biggest tournament of his international career, which is fitting given how good he's been with the defending OHL finalists.

Projection: If the Czechs are to surprise anybody, they’ll need a near-perfect tournament. This is as good of a squad as they’ve brought, with great depth up front and a solid goalie to work with. Their only glaring concern looks to be their weak back end, but the team has enough talent and chemistry to be a true contender, at least more than in recent years. Expect them to actually compete for a medal this year, but don’t expect anything better than the bronze medal game at best.

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