Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
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So do we put Rulik in the Czech hall of fame today? Or do we wait till summer?
WC: 2024 Czech team in Prague!
- Thread starter Czechboy
- Start date
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
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For sure if the tourney started with Pasta, Zacha and Necas - he isn't getting this nomination. But he was our top line (and killing it) for most the tourney. I totally agree he probably wasn't the guy to win it but I also love that he did. If I were him, i'd retire from NT a god. Sell beer openers for extra cash and enjoy a few more years in the NLA. His comeback tour has been amazing. I seem to recall not being that thrilled he was even on the Olympic team (with Krejci) and now I debate buying his jersey.lol
He might retire from the national team but he is that much of a committed player for our country that I would not be surprised if he remains open to another nomination next year (if his level is still as good as now). He knows that nothing can ever top what just happened, but he is the kind of guy who’d answer the call anyway, if Rulik thinks he can help the team.
novisor
Registered User
When did the Czechs switch back to the crest/coat of arms on their jersey? So much better than that other logo.
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
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This year... Debuted at the youth Olympics. Well, re debuted. If I never see that old logo or jersey again.. I will be fine with it. Something tells me I will though.
DAVID PIČO, DAVID PIČO, PASTRŇÁK !!! DAVID PIČO, DAVID PIČO, PASTRŇÁK !!! ... thats what was cheered yesterday night through the arena, outside in the fanzone, in the subway on the way home, and basically probably everywhere in the republic lol
I am coming a bit late with the winning post here, was celebrating really good yesteray and just now watched all the post game interviews and celebrations, cause I was in the arena yesterday so didnt watch it live in TV. Truly a lifetime experience this, one of the life dreams I can check off the list, winning the gold at home and seeing it live at my own eyes was something I never forget. I am so incredibly happy we did this, amazing team, amazing work and heart in the game, just great succes.
I didnt want to jinx it before the game, but I kinda knew we cant lose this game. Of course eventhough I was a bit nervous at the 0:0 game, at the same time I kinda remained calm, because somehow I kinda knew that regulation or OT we just gonna win this. And of course who else then the f***IN LEGEND the SECOND GOD of czech hockey after Jagr could score the winning goal. We were all discussing it here after QF and then afte SF, Jagr said it before the gold medal game yesterday, and I really think most people believed in it too. That no other then Pasta would score the gold goal. I guess it just was written from the start lol
It was all said already but I will just add to this:
Pasta - so happy for him, you can clearly see how passionate he is about the game, about the national team and about all of that. He deserved to score that winning goal and I am so happy it was him of all people. He is the true "srdcař" and you saw it again after the game when he was hyping it with the crowd in the stands, in the post game interview, in the locker room after that. He trully is a player worthy of become a true hockey legend. Love that guy.
Necas - Showed absolute masterclass there. He came, he dominated and he was flying on the ice. 4 points in the SF, that second line was the most dangerous one and opponents didnt knew what to do about them. I think Voracek said it and I will say it too, if he goes to a club where he gets the prime role, he will be a PPG player in the NHL. Truly an elite player and he showed it.
Dostal - Nothing else left to say here, best czech GK since Vokoun, maybe even since Hasek. He has it tough in Anaheim, but at WCH he trully showed he is a elite gk already. Hopefully he can with some young guns bring Ducks from that slump, so he can get even in the NHL the numbers he deserves. And if not, well then we will have a top GK hopefully coming to the next WCHs forth lol. Anyway we are pretty much set in the net for at least next 10-15 years which is amazing
Kubalik - Another beautifull story of this tournament. After that terrible season in the NHL and that rough start in the NT, where after the Swiss game in the group he maybe even was a candidate for a healthy scratch, he really turned it around, found the lost form and became beast again. Sniping one after another and has a huge portion of us winning the gold. So happy for him and I believe he is not done in the NHL yet. If he gets to the right club, where they can give him a proper PP space and teamates who can find him in those sniping areas, he will still be a very good NHL player
Zacha - He redeemed himself, and I dont know how "diplomatic" his interviews were, but he really seemed like he cares so much and love to be there, play for the NT, so I really hope the czech public misjudget him and from now on he will represent frequently, because he is much needed in those times where czech elite NHLers are hard to find. See you in OG 26 Pavel!
Gudas - He had an exceptional season. He was feared on the ice. He played on edge, maybe sometimes some actions were forgiven to him, but he still showed amazing class and tough defending. It will be very said when he ends his career.
Cervus - Again so happy for him. The true captain. After all those years when we failed or missed the medals by ending 4th (except that 2022 of course), when he often was the first to get the blame. Always Cervus thi and Cervus that, not good enough, too old aready etc. etc. I am so happy that as a captain he brought the first gold after 14 years and at home ice none the less. This guy is a true czech hockey legend , and he deserves it so much. So happy for him.
Kase + Sedlak - Amazing performances, both showed they can still easily play in the NHL. Truly an elite euro players I would even say one of the best Europe has to offer right now. Sedlak will probably stay at home by now, but I feel Kase really wants to get back to the NHL, and by this WCH performance he trully showed that he can and he deserves it. Really hope he can make a big return to NHL
Palat - Another true leader at the pitch. Might now blow you away with silky moves and higlight shots and many goals. But boy this guy can do so much for the team, and after that not so good sesaon in NJD, he showed what makes him so great, and was an unreplecable player for the NT. Same goes for Kampf of course, another guy who does his job pefrectly, and another very underated player. So happy for both.
Spacek - Really suprised me in the best possible way. I always love when young guys gets a chance in the NT. Was a bit worried how he can handle this, but he handled it like a pro already. Was stable in the back, maybe did some mistake here and there, but thats cause he is young and agressive and isnt afraid of risk. But he was also really good in the front, very noticable in the PP and the 5 assists speaks for itself. Really enjoyed his game. Add Jiricek, Svozil, Tichacek and maybe younger Jiricek, Galvas and Badinka to this and we are looking for a trully good defense in the few years.
And of course all the other guys all the ELH players and especially Ds I didnt believe in played at the edge of their possiblities and it was awesome. Krejcik, Kempny, Hajek after the rough start and not so good game against Canada, really upped the level of their play and played great to the point where I cheered when I heard that Krejcik would be playing in the finals. The same one I hated in the initional lienup lol. Kundratek was class, really showed that evne not so noticable in the points he may really be the best ELH defender right now. Rutta invisible in the good way, except for that elbow (which I am still pissed about he got the suspension btw) I cant recall him making some big stupid mistake in the back.
And in the fron of course the ELH or euro guys like Beranek, Stransky, Tomasek. Played their role perfectly, even put up some needed pints when we needed them.
Finally we played the style I wanted for so long. With a top 9 where we had three dangerous lines where all of them could score, with a 4th checking line which could also create a lot of problems in the front. Damn our 4th line was Stransky, almost a PPG player in the NLA and Tomasek, the top scorer of SHL. Thats beautifull. No more one scoring lines and three others who will just defend. No, just pure offensive pressure in the attack and thats what I love to see.
And in the end of course Rulik, the right man for the job and we might finally have a good coach who will last more then 2-3 seasons in the NT lol. Apology to him I bitched on him after that initial lineup. He knew what he was doing lol.
Really a great achievment. I would say that since the OG 2014 and Wcup 2016 this was the closest to best on best we got in the international hockey. Really stacked Sweden adn US. Swiss and Slovaks bringing basically the best they had. We also were really close to full strength. And Canada of course no matter who they bring they are always going for gold. They dont have a B team just a A1 - A5 teams lol. Really stacked tournament and we won it. Thats beautifull. I would put it as the biggest Czech (not czechoslovak) win right after Nagano adn Golden hattrick. Truly amazing. Of course the 2005 Wien is there too, were it was also almost best on best, but I would leand a bit much towards this year as a third place, just because it ended that 14yrs old drought we all needed so much here.
And as we said here, the gold and silver goes to the nations who werent invited to that NHL tournament next year. Maybe something to think about NHL? Not saying we or Swiss would won it out of the blue, of course not. US and Canada will be on a whole different level there, but still I think we and Switzerland would be more then a viable opponent there and we should have been invited just out of the pure respect.
Now we have 2023 WJC silver, 2024 WJC bronze, 2024 Hlinka silver and 2024 WCH gold. We still need to work out on that U18 lol, we still seem to flop a lot here. But results are looking promising, future draft years looking promising, youth players looking promising. Really we are in a good spot right now, of course the NHL numbers are scary lol, but it seems to be going in the right direction with the czech hockey and hopefully we will rise more and more back on the top in the future years. Its still a long road and it will take a huge amount of work, but I am optimistic. I am saying it all the way ... 2030 OG is ours lol !!!
Anyway thanks a lot for the great tournament, to all the posters here, living it through together after all those years of dissapointment, we finally got this. Thanks to Rulik to put together this amazing team and espcially thanks to the players to create this beautifull memory and one more lifelong experience for czech hockey.
HOŠI DĚKUJEM !!!
I am coming a bit late with the winning post here, was celebrating really good yesteray and just now watched all the post game interviews and celebrations, cause I was in the arena yesterday so didnt watch it live in TV. Truly a lifetime experience this, one of the life dreams I can check off the list, winning the gold at home and seeing it live at my own eyes was something I never forget. I am so incredibly happy we did this, amazing team, amazing work and heart in the game, just great succes.
I didnt want to jinx it before the game, but I kinda knew we cant lose this game. Of course eventhough I was a bit nervous at the 0:0 game, at the same time I kinda remained calm, because somehow I kinda knew that regulation or OT we just gonna win this. And of course who else then the f***IN LEGEND the SECOND GOD of czech hockey after Jagr could score the winning goal. We were all discussing it here after QF and then afte SF, Jagr said it before the gold medal game yesterday, and I really think most people believed in it too. That no other then Pasta would score the gold goal. I guess it just was written from the start lol
It was all said already but I will just add to this:
Pasta - so happy for him, you can clearly see how passionate he is about the game, about the national team and about all of that. He deserved to score that winning goal and I am so happy it was him of all people. He is the true "srdcař" and you saw it again after the game when he was hyping it with the crowd in the stands, in the post game interview, in the locker room after that. He trully is a player worthy of become a true hockey legend. Love that guy.
Necas - Showed absolute masterclass there. He came, he dominated and he was flying on the ice. 4 points in the SF, that second line was the most dangerous one and opponents didnt knew what to do about them. I think Voracek said it and I will say it too, if he goes to a club where he gets the prime role, he will be a PPG player in the NHL. Truly an elite player and he showed it.
Dostal - Nothing else left to say here, best czech GK since Vokoun, maybe even since Hasek. He has it tough in Anaheim, but at WCH he trully showed he is a elite gk already. Hopefully he can with some young guns bring Ducks from that slump, so he can get even in the NHL the numbers he deserves. And if not, well then we will have a top GK hopefully coming to the next WCHs forth lol. Anyway we are pretty much set in the net for at least next 10-15 years which is amazing
Kubalik - Another beautifull story of this tournament. After that terrible season in the NHL and that rough start in the NT, where after the Swiss game in the group he maybe even was a candidate for a healthy scratch, he really turned it around, found the lost form and became beast again. Sniping one after another and has a huge portion of us winning the gold. So happy for him and I believe he is not done in the NHL yet. If he gets to the right club, where they can give him a proper PP space and teamates who can find him in those sniping areas, he will still be a very good NHL player
Zacha - He redeemed himself, and I dont know how "diplomatic" his interviews were, but he really seemed like he cares so much and love to be there, play for the NT, so I really hope the czech public misjudget him and from now on he will represent frequently, because he is much needed in those times where czech elite NHLers are hard to find. See you in OG 26 Pavel!
Gudas - He had an exceptional season. He was feared on the ice. He played on edge, maybe sometimes some actions were forgiven to him, but he still showed amazing class and tough defending. It will be very said when he ends his career.
Cervus - Again so happy for him. The true captain. After all those years when we failed or missed the medals by ending 4th (except that 2022 of course), when he often was the first to get the blame. Always Cervus thi and Cervus that, not good enough, too old aready etc. etc. I am so happy that as a captain he brought the first gold after 14 years and at home ice none the less. This guy is a true czech hockey legend , and he deserves it so much. So happy for him.
Kase + Sedlak - Amazing performances, both showed they can still easily play in the NHL. Truly an elite euro players I would even say one of the best Europe has to offer right now. Sedlak will probably stay at home by now, but I feel Kase really wants to get back to the NHL, and by this WCH performance he trully showed that he can and he deserves it. Really hope he can make a big return to NHL
Palat - Another true leader at the pitch. Might now blow you away with silky moves and higlight shots and many goals. But boy this guy can do so much for the team, and after that not so good sesaon in NJD, he showed what makes him so great, and was an unreplecable player for the NT. Same goes for Kampf of course, another guy who does his job pefrectly, and another very underated player. So happy for both.
Spacek - Really suprised me in the best possible way. I always love when young guys gets a chance in the NT. Was a bit worried how he can handle this, but he handled it like a pro already. Was stable in the back, maybe did some mistake here and there, but thats cause he is young and agressive and isnt afraid of risk. But he was also really good in the front, very noticable in the PP and the 5 assists speaks for itself. Really enjoyed his game. Add Jiricek, Svozil, Tichacek and maybe younger Jiricek, Galvas and Badinka to this and we are looking for a trully good defense in the few years.
And of course all the other guys all the ELH players and especially Ds I didnt believe in played at the edge of their possiblities and it was awesome. Krejcik, Kempny, Hajek after the rough start and not so good game against Canada, really upped the level of their play and played great to the point where I cheered when I heard that Krejcik would be playing in the finals. The same one I hated in the initional lienup lol. Kundratek was class, really showed that evne not so noticable in the points he may really be the best ELH defender right now. Rutta invisible in the good way, except for that elbow (which I am still pissed about he got the suspension btw) I cant recall him making some big stupid mistake in the back.
And in the fron of course the ELH or euro guys like Beranek, Stransky, Tomasek. Played their role perfectly, even put up some needed pints when we needed them.
Finally we played the style I wanted for so long. With a top 9 where we had three dangerous lines where all of them could score, with a 4th checking line which could also create a lot of problems in the front. Damn our 4th line was Stransky, almost a PPG player in the NLA and Tomasek, the top scorer of SHL. Thats beautifull. No more one scoring lines and three others who will just defend. No, just pure offensive pressure in the attack and thats what I love to see.
And in the end of course Rulik, the right man for the job and we might finally have a good coach who will last more then 2-3 seasons in the NT lol. Apology to him I bitched on him after that initial lineup. He knew what he was doing lol.
Really a great achievment. I would say that since the OG 2014 and Wcup 2016 this was the closest to best on best we got in the international hockey. Really stacked Sweden adn US. Swiss and Slovaks bringing basically the best they had. We also were really close to full strength. And Canada of course no matter who they bring they are always going for gold. They dont have a B team just a A1 - A5 teams lol. Really stacked tournament and we won it. Thats beautifull. I would put it as the biggest Czech (not czechoslovak) win right after Nagano adn Golden hattrick. Truly amazing. Of course the 2005 Wien is there too, were it was also almost best on best, but I would leand a bit much towards this year as a third place, just because it ended that 14yrs old drought we all needed so much here.
And as we said here, the gold and silver goes to the nations who werent invited to that NHL tournament next year. Maybe something to think about NHL? Not saying we or Swiss would won it out of the blue, of course not. US and Canada will be on a whole different level there, but still I think we and Switzerland would be more then a viable opponent there and we should have been invited just out of the pure respect.
Now we have 2023 WJC silver, 2024 WJC bronze, 2024 Hlinka silver and 2024 WCH gold. We still need to work out on that U18 lol, we still seem to flop a lot here. But results are looking promising, future draft years looking promising, youth players looking promising. Really we are in a good spot right now, of course the NHL numbers are scary lol, but it seems to be going in the right direction with the czech hockey and hopefully we will rise more and more back on the top in the future years. Its still a long road and it will take a huge amount of work, but I am optimistic. I am saying it all the way ... 2030 OG is ours lol !!!
Anyway thanks a lot for the great tournament, to all the posters here, living it through together after all those years of dissapointment, we finally got this. Thanks to Rulik to put together this amazing team and espcially thanks to the players to create this beautifull memory and one more lifelong experience for czech hockey.
HOŠI DĚKUJEM !!!
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Watching the parade with the team live from Old Town Square in Prague. The square is full, all players are holding Pilsner Urquell glasses. I would happily kill all my friends and at least 50% of my children for the opportunity to be there right now!
FinPanda
Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
Feels like the hardest thing for people who are not Czech is to pronounce Pastrnak's name correctly. Isn't it like Pastrnjak more than Pastrnak 
The fans hated the redesigned logo so much that the federation had to backtrack and bring back the old one! I agree with that!
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
- 22,354
In the end he was the biggest GOAT of all, he came, he played and immediately won the gold lol
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
- 22,354
He's undefeated in gold medal games.
Jokes aside.. he did a great job and played his game very well. He was benched in third which made sense to me personally.
Spacek stepped up well. Kundratek stepped up exceptionally well. Gudas did it perfect and saved his best for last.
We won gold with 1 stay at home NHLer, 1 decent AHL prospect and stay at home Euros. Just amazing to me.
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
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novisor
Registered User
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
- 22,354
Yup... And we hated it. I think it might be a sponsorship thing. Eg. If it's sponsored by Nike than it's the shit jersey and if is sponsored by adidas it is the good ones. I made up Nike and Adidas btw. But I think it is something to do with that. Happy to be corrected.
I hope its not gonna be another 14 years lol. But seriously with all I have written I meant it. I feel like czech hockey is finally after that long dark age going in the right direction. Everything seems to have an upright trajectory right now.
At this WCH its always hard, basically you are always 6:1 to win it no matter who anyone brings. Those teams on the top are so close, its always about what lineup each team can muster, and who lands the best current form for the three important games. Then you always have nations like Germany, Latvia, Slovaks etc. who can suprise and steal some medal, especialy in those lesser stacked WCH.
So we might win another one next year already, it may be 7-8 yrs (hopefully not 14 again lol), but so long as we play great and attractive hockey like we did this year I would be happy.
And I think thats possible. With Rulik and his agressive style. Basically in the start of the tournament he put together similar core as Kari did last year, and the presentation was like day and night. And when he gets the firepower, he can do wonders with it. We saw it at the WJC, we saw it this year at WCH.
I think pushing the youth, having as many players on draft as possible, and heavily expand our NHL numbers is still the key here. Like this year team looked great, played great, but honestly in the end it was the NHL players who had the biggest impact on the gold, who just decided those most important games. And that okay, I mean its the best league in the world and those guys needs to be another level to play there. The gap between NHL and euro hockey is still big I stand by it. I mean you may get some semis or maybe a lucky bronze here and there, but to win the gold even at WCH you just need that NHL quality (of course there are excpetions but its mostly true).
So keep producing promising young players, keep sending them to NHL so we have as many players in the best league as possible, and thing will be good. You saw it yesterday, if it was Pasta, Zacha, Necas, Dostal etc. all the NHL guys were so incredibly proud and happy to be there. Lot of those NHL fanboys always blabing about how those players dont care about WCH and NT and only viable thing for them is SC and OG, but its not true. At least not for us. IDK how it is in northern states Finland, Sweden, they tend to have maybe little bit more casual stance towards NT there, but people here in central europe are just so crazy and the players are more passionate about this I believe. If its Germany or Switzerland and of course Slovakia and here Czechs, I think for many even for the players winning gold for NT at any tournament is really close second to winning SC. So thats good.
Good thing is that we have the young guys now, we have the promising future. Drafts till at least 27-28 are looking very good. Some late bloomers coming not only in NA but also in ELH or europe. I really hope our NHL numbers will go up in the next few years, we have a good euro core, and most importantly a good coach now who may stay in the NT longer to actually bring some vision and style of play into the national team.
So yeah I really hope and believe this may not be a one time thing, and we may again play for gold more often now.
Saablic
Registered User
I hope it will not be so long till the other medal. Our young teams are making the progress, look at U-20 party around Kulich. We need to work hard for the future and not sleep as after Nagano and golden hattrick times. We are the ice hockey nation. Today celebrations were great, those songs ... 
Verona - Nejsi sám. A teď všichni!!! And Pastas and Kubalíks fist pumpings - "Koho spálil letní žár, kdo se krátkejch lásek bál, komu krásnej sen se zdál, ale teď musím jít dál....!!" 
Let´s enjoy this time and as Boromir said: "Today, life is good".
Verona - Nejsi sám. A teď všichni!!! And Pastas and Kubalíks fist pumpings - "Koho spálil letní žár, kdo se krátkejch lásek bál, komu krásnej sen se zdál, ale teď musím jít dál....!!" Let´s enjoy this time and as Boromir said: "Today, life is good".
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
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Brutal crossover next year.. Our pool is fine but then you got Sweden, Canada and the Swiss floating around in the crossover for the quarters. I prefer the harder group and some hope in the crossover. Not that it helped this year since we had the US after a great round robin.lol
Yeah thats hard lol. But I doubt the lineups will be as stacked as this year. So just avoid Canada and its 50:50 lol ... same goes for our group, with Finland it can always go either way and I dont think US will bring this stacked lineup next year also. Only if they decide that they really want to win it lol and bring even more stacked team.
Could be also like a prep for OG, so maybe it will be stacked lol, idk at this point I am so euphoric I already see us going 1st from the group and crushing it lol. We all know that might not be the case
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 25,268
- 22,354
I'm expecting alot of declines from the big 4 after the 4 nations thingYeah thats hard lol. But I doubt the lineups will be as stacked as this year. So just avoid Canada and its 50:50 lol ... same goes for our group, with Finland it can always go either way and I dont think US will bring this stacked lineup next year also. Only if they decide that they really want to win it lol and bring even more stacked team.
Could be also like a prep for OG, so maybe it will be stacked lol, idk at this point I am so euphoric I already see us going 1st from the group and crushing it lol. We all know that might not be the case
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