WC: 2018 - Team Czech Republic

[Artorius Horus T]

Yes I agree. In addition, we have a lot of quality goalies in the Extraliga and another young hopeful goalkeepers (Bartošák, Kašík, Svoboda, Hrubec, Kořenář, Škarek, Pavelka...)

No offence...Liiga >>>> Extraliga
I know KHL is better than Liiga.

 

[Wooren]

No offence...Liiga >>>> Extraliga
I know KHL is better than Liiga.

If that was the case, Sulak and Hrachovina would have been core players of the Czech national team this past season. Both have been elite players at their position in league you suggest is like four tiers above Extraliga (lol). And yet, Sulak failed to make the OG roster, Hrachovina wasn't even invited to any camp.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Liiga really isn't that much above Extraliga, if at all. I since Hrachovina's competition for that 2nd spot would be Salak and Kovar whom I do see a lot, I would highly doubt he is really 2nd best among those. Also, you can talk about "winning" and all but he plays on a super stacked team. Also hunting for the 3rd gold is a bit of exaggeration as he was Karhunen's backup when they won the first one.

I do understand goalie can look really good on a winning team but give Tappara Salak and see if they do any worse. While give Hrachovina to Sibir and see what happens.

 

[Pixie]

Goalies are not a problem of Czech hockey = strong competition. And I am convinced that there are many good goalkeepers and it's hard to score here.
I have not seen many Liiga´s matches so I'm not able to judge her quality and you probably did not see much Extraliga matches. And I'm convinced that you can judge the quality of any league only if you are watching it enough.

 

[Voodoozz]

No offence...Liiga >>>> Extraliga
I know KHL is better than Liiga.

It's definitely not >>>> Lmao

Yes Liiga is probably a "better" league but the difference is not that big. The skating and overall skill is higher in Finland and it's a much better enviroment for youngsters to grow their game but Extraliga is very competitive and very physically demanding, especially some playoff/rivalry games offer some pretty good hockey. The league might have been little bit "old-fashioned" in terms of playstyle in the recent years but i believe it's getting better.

The goaltending is Extraliga's biggest asset imo, there have been a lot of talented young goaltenders who have the potential to play in KHL or even battle for an NHL job. ( e.g. Svoboda, Kašík, Will, Bartošák, Machovský, Rittich, Mazanec)

Hrachovina should get to play at some EHT next year so we could see what he is like but it's not like he's head'n'shoulders above everyone else.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Liiga really isn't that much above Extraliga, if at all. I since Hrachovina's competition for that 2nd spot would be Salak and Kovar whom I do see a lot, I would highly doubt he is really 2nd best among those. Also, you can talk about "winning" and all but he plays on a super stacked team. Also hunting for the 3rd gold is a bit of exaggeration as he was Karhunen's backup when they won the first one.

I do understand goalie can look really good on a winning team but give Tappara Salak and see if they do any worse. While give Hrachovina to Sibir and see what happens.

Do you think SHL is much above Extraliga?

 

[SoundAndFury]

Do you think SHL is much above Extraliga?

Yeah, SHL is a significant step above. Liiga was really hurt by both their expansion and KHL expansion (teams like Kunlun or Donbass being half-Finnish and obviously Jokerit).

 

[Czechboy]

I'd rank it as KHL, SEL, Liiga/Extraliga/Swiss League in a tie for 3rd. I wouldn't say the difference is staggering between the Finnish and Czech league and both have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm not sure where I would put the AHL in there though as that league has some very good players including some of our most promising Dmen (Sulak, Hronek, Masin, Zboril, Simek).

Hrachovina, to me, should've at least got a look by now in Euro games at some point.

Having said that, I think Czech goaltending is weak right now as we don't have any NHL starters for next year. I don't remember who it was but he was a Czech goaltending legend. They interviewed him a few years ago and he said the difference between Salak and Pavelec (I think it was those 2) was very small and it didn't matter because neither was a star. This upset a lot of people (including the wife of the goalie compared to Pavelec who suggested the legend should start the next game.lol). Problem is, the man was right. If I were to rank goalies on a scale of 1 to 10 (note I'm just putting random names beside the number for illustration)

10 - Price, Lundqvist, Rinne, Hasek, Roy
9 - Bobrovsky, Holtby
8 - Vasilievsky, Anderson, Rask
7 - Talbot, Grubauer, Vokoun
6 - rest of NHL goalies and the absolute best Euro goalies
5 - NHL Backups, strong AHL and Euro goalies
4 - Aging goalies that are on decline - Al Montoya
3 - never stood a chance at the NHL

Well, the Czechs currently have a dozen or more of 5's and 6's but we don't have a 8, 9 or 10 to come in and save the day. I made the scale up quickly so I do realize it isn't perfect... Another way of saying it is that I don't see any Czech winning the Vezina in the next 5 years OR being the starter of a Stanley Cup winning team.

 

[afrobomber11]

I'd rank it as KHL, SEL, Liiga/Extraliga/Swiss League in a tie for 3rd. I wouldn't say the difference is staggering between the Finnish and Czech league and both have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm not sure where I would put the AHL in there though as that league has some very good players including some of our most promising Dmen (Sulak, Hronek, Masin, Zboril, Simek).

Hrachovina, to me, should've at least got a look by now in Euro games at some point.

Having said that, I think Czech goaltending is weak right now as we don't have any NHL starters for next year. I don't remember who it was but he was a Czech goaltending legend. They interviewed him a few years ago and he said the difference between Salak and Pavelec (I think it was those 2) was very small and it didn't matter because neither was a star. This upset a lot of people (including the wife of the goalie compared to Pavelec who suggested the legend should start the next game.lol). Problem is, the man was right. If I were to rank goalies on a scale of 1 to 10 (note I'm just putting random names beside the number for illustration)

10 - Price, Lundqvist, Rinne, Hasek, Roy
9 - Bobrovsky, Holtby
8 - Vasilievsky, Anderson, Rask
7 - Talbot, Grubauer, Vokoun
6 - rest of NHL goalies and the absolute best Euro goalies
5 - NHL Backups, strong AHL and Euro goalies
4 - Aging goalies that are on decline - Al Montoya
3 - never stood a chance at the NHL

Well, the Czechs currently have a dozen or more of 5's and 6's but we don't have a 8, 9 or 10 to come in and save the day. I made the scale up quickly so I do realize it isn't perfect... Another way of saying it is that I don't see any Czech winning the Vezina in the next 5 years OR being the starter of a Stanley Cup winning team.

Ok where do you place your current goaltenders like mrazek pavelec neuvirth furch and francouz

 

[Czechboy]

Ok where do you place your current goaltenders like mrazek pavelec neuvirth furch and francouz

They are all 5 to 6 ... We have a dozen of them

 

[Maluk11]

Not very good news for today. Good is Radko Gudas pass his medical checkup, thus he is going to join NT at WHC. But Jakub Voráček and Pavel Zacha are not going, Zacha didn't pass his medical and Voráček is tired. Jiří Sekáč also declined, he is still injured, as was expected.

 

[Maluk11]

Also info for Sweden Hockey Games. Vojtěch Mozík, Ondřej Vitásek, David Kaše and Martin Nečas are not going to play there, they will rest in Czech Republic in the meantime. Jaškin and Polášek are another who probably won't play there.

 

[Rexor]

Czech players who spent significant time in Sweden or Finland usually say that these leagues and Extraliga are in the same tier. Top leagues in Sweden and Finland are played in a faster pace, Czech Extraliga is relatively physical and a bit more defensive. Obstruction is quite common and tolerated, at least by today's standards. It's not an easy environment for young players who're not yet fully developed physically and are prone to tactical mistakes.

 

[Jablkon]

Goalies are not a problem of Czech hockey = strong competition. And I am convinced that there are many good goalkeepers and it's hard to score here.
I have not seen many Liiga´s matches so I'm not able to judge her quality and you probably did not see much Extraliga matches. And I'm convinced that you can judge the quality of any league only if you are watching it enough.

You see it on Champions league and on the way they produce talent. We all know quality of european leagues and programs. How can you come with such attitude again? There are 6-8 good teams in extraleague. His point is valid. Hrachovina is great in finnish league and doesnt even have one EHT start. I believe his time will come but to say we are ok is exaggerating. We dont even have one Vokoun calibre guy. So in lower standarts we dont have problems, on elite level we still have issues becuae there is nobody.

As to leagues, even among rich ones there still teams like Hradec Kralove with its “eastern” style managers and Sparta which has structural problems. Clubs are also responsible for development and there is a gap between us and Finnland. No need to cover such obvious fact.

 

[Jablkon]

Czech players who spent significant time in Sweden or Finland usually say that these leagues and Extraliga are in the same tier. Top leagues in Sweden and Finland are played in a faster pace, Czech Extraliga is relatively physical and a bit more defensive. Obstruction is quite common and tolerated, at least by today's standards. It's not an easy environment for young players who're not yet fully developed physically and are prone to tactical mistakes.

Sorry, you might have some inside info but who said that? There are basically no czechs in that leagues. Extraleague is good league but with massive differences among clubs in economy, hockey style, managing, coaches etc. This all leads to 6-10 drafted guys every year. Sure we can evaluate just A teams but they have same development system which relies upon clubs and we dont produce. I guess if we are on same level as them we would show some results.

I mean I understand to your point but my problem is with hockey we produce in extraleague. When I watched Flyers-Pneguins, only team which seems to follow it is Liberec imo. I liked game Sparta produced against Frolunda in CHL final but generally extraleagu games are strange and I am not sure whether it helps to youngs. This is where we all probably agree. I would rather play modern lower quality hockey with youngs than to produce 28 years old guys like Zatovic or Hanzl. I like them both but this shouldnt be a target imo

Vincour comes to my mind. He was great when he played in CHL for Brno but once he jumped to that strange tick tack toe puck possision extraleague system, he is grinder in fourth line.But thats just maybe my amateur perception.

 

[Czechboy]

Vincour comes to my mind.[/B] He was great when he played in CHL for Brno but once he jumped to that strange tick tack toe puck possision extraleague system, he is grinder in fourth line.But thats just maybe my amateur perception.[/QUOTE]

Vincour is a perfect example of a guy that was good, left for North America, never made it and came back as a worse player. If he had stayed for a few years, he may have made the NHL as a 22 year old. There are a lot of Tomas Vincour's in Czech hockey. Matej Stransky comes to mind.

Someone above pointed out a good argument about SEL vs Extraliga... SEL has a lot of guys drafted to the NHL, Extraliga has a handful at best. Kase, Vrana and Pastrnak all went there for a reason. I don't think the Finnish League has that many drafted though?

Hope this works... click on 'amateur league' if it doesn't...

Draft 2017

 

[Czechboy]

Not very good news for today. Good is Radko Gudas pass his medical checkup, thus he is going to join NT at WHC. But Jakub Voráček and Pavel Zacha are not going, Zacha didn't pass his medical and Voráček is tired. Jiří Sekáč also declined, he is still injured, as was expected.

Radko will help a lot, that is very good news. Surprised by Voracek but he has always shown up before. Zacha is no surprise at all. He never comes and has a reason.

So Zacha can't make it and we didn't ask Neuvirth or Mrazek to come.

 

[Maluk11]

Radko will help a lot, that is very good news. Surprised by Voracek but he has always shown up before. Zacha is no surprise at all. He never comes and has a reason.

So Zacha can't make it and we didn't ask Neuvirth or Mrazek to come.

I want to corrent myself, as it turns out Gudas is not officialy confirmed yet. He must go at exit interview first, but it should be just formality, hopefully. Voráček always came before, he deserve some rest now. We will see how the Krejčí/Pastrňák situation turns out, they will be great help to our lineup.

 

[Czechboy]

I want to corrent myself, as it turns out Gudas is not officialy confirmed yet. He must go at exit interview first, but it should be just formality, hopefully. Voráček always came before, he deserve some rest now. We will see how the Krejčí/Pastrňák situation turns out, they will be great help to our lineup.

Something tells me he is being traded and his exit interview will sound like 'good luck in Europe and we're trading you to the West this summer'.

 

[Czechboy]

If Boston loses, I can't see Krejci coming because of injuries all season. I'd love it though. I could see Pastrnak coming as he's young and he might even have some friends on this team. Going the other way, I can't see Polak coming (I would like him there) as no contract. I can't see Plekanec coming for the same reason (I would like him there as well). So basically, I see 1 of those 4 guys coming if his team loses. I hope I'm wrong! Plekanec was getting smashed in the Toronto Media for the first 2 games... everything from his turtleneck to goatee were being criticized... now he is being hailed a key player on the team and everyone likes him.

 

[Maluk11]

If Boston loses, I can't see Krejci coming because of injuries all season. I'd love it though. I could see Pastrnak coming as he's young and he might even have some friends on this team. Going the other way, I can't see Polak coming (I would like him there) as no contract. I can't see Plekanec coming for the same reason (I would like him there as well). So basically, I see 1 of those 4 guys coming if his team loses. I hope I'm wrong! Plekanec was getting smashed in the Toronto Media for the first 2 games... everything from his turtleneck to goatee were being criticized... now he is being hailed a key player on the team and everyone likes him.

We will see. I still think Boston will defeat Toronto. Agree about Plekanec, he's playing great right now. He is still fantastic shutdown centre.

Also on previous posts, I now read Neuvirth need procedure on both hips, so he wouldn't be coming even if he was invited.

 

[Czechboy]

We will see. I still think Boston will defeat Toronto. Agree about Plekanec, he's playing great right now. He is still fantastic shutdown centre.

Also on previous posts, I now read Neuvirth need procedure on both hips, so he wouldn't be coming even if he was invited.

When Neuvirth is 40, he will be in a wheel chair. I feel bad for him.

 

[Maluk11]

Line-up for tommorow
Rittich
Jordán - Pavlík, Červenka - Faksa - Frk
Moravčík - Sklenička, Stránský - Hanzl - Nestrašil
Hrbas - Pyrochta, Kubalík - Horák - Řepík
Klok - Pláněk, Chytil - Chlapík - Zadina

 

[Czechboy]

Line-up for tommorow
Rittich
Jordán - Pavlík, Červenka - Faksa - Frk
Moravčík - Sklenička, Stránský - Hanzl - Nestrašil
Hrbas - Pyrochta, Kubalík - Horák - Řepík
Klok - Pláněk, Chytil - Chlapík - Zadina

That first pair is beautiful... playmaker, shutdown guy and shooter. Might just work.

 

[Maluk11]

That first pair is beautiful... playmaker, shutdown guy and shooter. Might just work.

I agree. It's similiar to Červenka-Faksa-Zadina line we talked before. It can be good.