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Czech prospects update thread

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GettingYourMoms said:
Galvas C grade? I take Galvas over Curran and Bádinka every fcking time and for me he is much closer to Jiricek then two guys before mentioned .Definitely mid-first round material, who could slip to 2nd. He is Quinn Hughes level prospect, maybe even slightly better skater at his age. Only knock on him is his size, ONLY ONE, he is elite level offensive D all around.
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Its ridiculous. I have seen him play three times for Liberec this season so far. Each time his performance was really impressive for someon his age (and his size) playing against men.

No stupid mistakes, calm and mature plays, creating changes with smart passes up front, great skating etc. etc.

Also has 3 points already in 10 games, which is more then solid for a 17yrs old D in the mens league, so even in this regard he is doing more then good.

So I dont know whats everyone smoking, he is 1st round contender, 2nd at worst.

Fibigr also is not C, but I would give him B rating. On the other hand dont know why Holinka has B rating lol.
 
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pgfan66 said:
I spent quite a bit of time getting caught up on Czech prospects the last few weeks, so here's my pre-season ranking with no guarantees that it's complete. There's a good chance I missed someone and I'm sure this list will look completely different at the end of the season, but I like to have something to go back to and compare at the end of the season.

1. D Adam Jiricek
I like his skating and puck skills but was higher on his brother at the same age because of his size, compete and hockey sense. So as of today I don't think Adam will go as high as David, but he's without a doubt a very likely first-rounder.

2. D Tomas Galvas
This might come back to bite me but Galvas' offensive upside is too high to ignore. The question mark for me is how well he'll transition to the next level, whether it's pro or major junior, especially in terms of his ability to be effective defensively. If the transition is successful, the sky is the limit.

3. F Adam Jecho
Big centres with hockey sense are always interesting. Jecho has yet to wow me in the way that a guy like Galvas has, but there's so much potential there. His foot speed and overall pace are an issue, but he's still a first-round candidate for me too.

4. D David Svozil
While I said I liked David Jiricek more than Adam at the same age, I like David Svozil more than Stanislav at the same age (must be the first name). I think David is an excellent all-round two-way defenseman already, with flashes of size and physicality on one end and flashes of dynamic skill at the other end. For me, Svozil is a first-round candidate too.

5. D Dominik Badinka
Badinka is the player I've probably seen the least of on this list, so I'm not fully sure about my evaluation. He could be a first-round guy too, but mostly based on him being one of the older players in this draft, I have him behind Jiricek, Svozil and Galvas. But, he's certainly an intriguing two-way D as well.

6. D Jakub Fibigr
Fibigr has a long ways to go in his decision-making and discipline with the puck, but also on defense. That said, his skating and skill are excellent, and if he has a successful transition to pro or major junior, he has high-end upside as an offensive defenseman too.

7. F Ondrej Kos
The forwards behind Jecho were a bit tougher to evaluate simply because they aren't as high-end as the D group. That said, Kos takes the top spot for me because of his combination of size, speed and skill. I liked him every time I saw him. How high he can go? No idea. It's unlikely that the first 5 names on this list actually all go in and around the first round, but Kos is clearly a step behind that group for me.

8. F Lukas Kral
I've mentioned this in other threads but I really like Lukas Kral. Does he have actual draft upside? I don't know. He'll have to take another step for sure. But he's shown a ton of intriguing flashes. Speed, skill, shooting, passing, quick decision-making – he's shown it all at some point, albeit always inconsistently.

9. F Oskar Lisler
Not sure how much I actually like Lisler but he looked like a future pro to me. Good speed, size and work ethic. Not sure about his skill level and hockey sense but that can still develop.

10. F Adam Titlbach
This is probably the hottest take and the one many people will disagree with. But I just struggle to see Titlbach take his game to the next level and be as successful as he has been so far. Yes, his U20 league play showed he can play against older, bigger players. But I'm not quite sold on the skill level and decision-making. It can all improve and I'm looking forward to following his progress in Vancouver.

HM: F Jiri Klima, F Maxmilian Curran, F Samuel Drancak, F Lukas Hes

Edit: Already realized I forgot Klima.
Edit 2: Skok isn’t eligible yet.
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Update without explanations after watching most of these guys play. Preseason rank in parentheses.

1. Jiricek (1)
2. Jecho (3)
3. Badinka (5)
4. Curran (HM)
5. Galvas (2)
6. Kos (7)
7. Svozil (4)
8. Fibigr (6)

9. Lisler (9)
10. Kubiesa (NR)

Just an explanation for the things that might surprise or stick out:
I watched Badinka and like his NHL potential more than that of Galvas, Svozil or Fibigr, but I really like all 4 of them. Curran has been excellent in the dub, despite having things to work on (like all prospects). I see a big-ish drop-off after 8.
 
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pgfan66 said:
Update without explanations after watching most of these guys play. Preseason rank in parentheses.

1. Jiricek (1)
2. Jecho (3)
3. Badinka (5)
4. Curran (HM)
5. Galvas (2)
6. Kos (7)
7. Svozil (4)
8. Fibigr (6)

9. Lisler (9)
10. Kubiesa (NR)

Just an explanation for the things that might surprise or stick out:
I watched Badinka and like his NHL potential more than that of Galvas, Svozil or Fibigr, but I really like all 4 of them. Curran has been excellent in the dub, despite having things to work on (like all prospects). I see a big-ish drop-off after 8.
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Wow. I must have been looking at Badinka in the wrong way. The coach almost certainly took him out of the lineup for a poor performance in the first game. As far as I know, he didn't play the second match at all.
It's possible he played fantastic after that and I'm spoiling it for him. However, I haven't seen that. No, I'd have to be very unlucky with his performances, that every time I watch him, he's slow, clumsy and does nothing at all. But I respect your opinion, I guess I'm really unlucky with Badinka and his performances.
 
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Goodman68 said:
Wow. I must have been looking at Badinka in the wrong way. The coach almost certainly took him out of the lineup for a poor performance in the first game. As far as I know, he didn't play the second match at all.
It's possible he played fantastic after that and I'm spoiling it for him. However, I haven't seen that. No, I'd have to be very unlucky with his performances, that every time I watch him, he's slow, clumsy and does nothing at all. But I respect your opinion, I guess I'm really unlucky with Badinka and his performances.
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Are you talking about the SHL games? I’ve only seen him in J20 so far. I could also be blinded by size here, who knows. As you can see, the top 4 are pretty much the biggest players on the list. And to be completely honest, the top 8 are all quite close for me right now.

Jiricek and Jecho are probably close to locks as the first two players, if Jecho continues like he started. But behind that, it’s anyone’s guess. Galvas and Fibigr are exciting, but I need them to take another step up to rank them high despite their size.
 
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pgfan66 said:
Are you talking about the SHL games? I’ve only seen him in J20 so far. I could also be blinded by size here, who knows. As you can see, the top 4 are pretty much the biggest players on the list. And to be completely honest, the top 8 are all quite close for me right now.

Jiricek and Jecho are probably close to locks as the first two players, if Jecho continues like he started. But behind that, it’s anyone’s guess. Galvas and Fibigr are exciting, but I need them to take another step up to rank them high despite their size.
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No, I don't have the chance to see him play in Sweden. I meant the last national team event. With Switzerland, I think the coach pulled him out of the game in the last third because of a bad performance, I didn't see him play.. For me it was just a confirmation that he is not a good player in the national team. He didn't play the second game (and I didn't see the rest of it). The coach was then disappointed with the performance of some players, he said they had not yet noticed that they were fighting for participation in the World Cup, I think he was talking about him too.... As I write, i have not seen two games, if he didn't make huge progress in them, he might not even get an invitation to the wider squad (it's hard to say how much they take into account his game in the Swedish junior league).
 
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martygod12 said:
Its ridiculous. I have seen him play three times for Liberec this season so far. Each time his performance was really impressive for someon his age (and his size) playing against men.

No stupid mistakes, calm and mature plays, creating changes with smart passes up front, great skating etc. etc.

Also has 3 points already in 10 games, which is more then solid for a 17yrs old D in the mens league, so even in this regard he is doing more then good.

So I dont know whats everyone smoking, he is 1st round contender, 2nd at worst.

Fibigr also is not C, but I would give him B rating. On the other hand dont know why Holinka has B rating lol.
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If Galvas doesn’t get drafted I’d be shocked. He should be top 3 round only cause of his size. I’ve been watching his highlights and he’s nothing but impressive. Still defends well for his size and not afraid of getting physical.
 
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Curious to see where Galvas ranks in the post World Jr lists?

Curious if Jiricek drops out of round 1 since his season is done?

Curious if any of our over age CHLers get a look in their second go at the draft.. Rymon, Cibulka, Becher, Sapusek and Melovsky all looked worthy of being drafted to my very bias eye.lol

I do think Milota and Matecha have a great shot at being drafted as well.
 
Czechboy said:
Curious to see where Galvas ranks in the post World Jr lists?

Curious if Jiricek drops out of round 1 since his season is done?

Curious if any of our over age CHLers get a look in their second go at the draft.. Rymon, Cibulka, Becher, Sapusek and Melovsky all looked worthy of being drafted to my very bias eye.lol

I do think Milota and Matecha have a great shot at being drafted as well.
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I dont think that Jiricek will fall out of round 1, he is talked for round 1 for at least two years straight, guys who are pretty much locks like this dont fall that much even when injured imo.

Galvas is round 1 for me since October, he should be round 1 and if he is not drafted round 1 it would be completely ridiculous.
 
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martygod12 said:
I dont think that Jiricek will fall out of round 1, he is talked for round 1 for at least two years straight, guys who are pretty much locks like this dont fall that much even when injured imo.

Galvas is round 1 for me since October, he should be round 1 and if he is not drafted round 1 it would be completely ridiculous.
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The competition is terrible this year among defensive players.

This is the first time I have had to move defenders to favor forwards. Usually it's the other way around.

I won't be surprised if there are none in the first round.

Jiricek has had a very bad season and already has a very serious injury that is not easy to recover from. I can understand that franchises prefer more physical defenders in the future like Emery. I think there was a general excitement around this player because his career could be reminiscent of his brother but when I look at his CV again, I don't see any moment where he was impressive.

Galvas had an excellent tournament, especially against Switzerland. But Muggli and Solberg also had excellent tournaments and are probably ahead in the lists of all the scouts. I'm not even talking about Buium who takes a ticket for the top 3 left-handed defenders next to Dickinson and Silayev. Without forgetting the overager Pulkkinen. This one, a team can take him at the start of the 2nd round. The physical aspect for a defender is important and he is the least physical of the entire draft so when the teams draw up their list they will favor players of the same level but more physical and that is how a Leon Muggli who impressed next to Rodwin Dionicio in defensive play and had a solid season in NLA will be ahead in my opinion.

When I rank players, I make regional lists first and I can't convince myself to put Galvas ahead of Muggli. I even hesitate to put Jiricek ahead of Muggli. He remains ahead in relation to his profile (right side, taller) but in terms of level of play, Muggli is like Galvas, better than Jiricek.

Top DEF :
WHL : Yakemchuk, Elick... Roberts ?
OHL : Dickinson, Parekh, Mews... Danford ?
QMJHL : Lavoie, Gill
USDP : Hutson, Skahan, Emery... Whipple ?
USHL : Pitner
NCAA : Buium, Levshunov
KHL/VHL/MHL : Silayev, Shuravin, Kol
Scandinavia : Sahlin, Freij, Solberg, Badinka
Baltic : Vaisanen, Kiviharju, Pulkkinen
Visegrad & Alps : Jiricek, Muggli, Galvas

Very hard.

The good news is that there should be more than usual.

WHL : Jecho, Curran, Matecha, Becher
OHL : Fischer, Fibigr
QMJHL : Milota, Cibulka
SHL : Badinka
Mestis : Kos
Extraliga : Jiricek, Galvas

I think we can bet on these 12 with obviously 2 changes to be expected on the final list, always unpredictable in part (and my analyzes are still partially faulty)

You have to go back to 2005 to see more than 12. But this does not guarantee success. In 2015, 12 players selected but how many are installed in the NHL ? Zacha and Vejmelka are the only ones still playing in the league. Reaching and settling in the NHL is very hard.

I was shocked yesterday when I saw that Eduard Sale was shooting at 2.28 in Czech junior hockey at U17, was at 0.8 in OHL at U19. Melovsky in QMJHL is a normal person. He is well behind Boilard who is 2 years younger.
 
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Dirtyf1ghter said:
The competition is terrible this year among defensive players.

This is the first time I have had to move defenders to favor forwards. Usually it's the other way around.

I won't be surprised if there are none in the first round.

Jiricek has had a very bad season and already has a very serious injury that is not easy to recover from. I can understand that franchises prefer more physical defenders in the future like Emery. I think there was a general excitement around this player because his career could be reminiscent of his brother but when I look at his CV again, I don't see any moment where he was impressive.

Galvas had an excellent tournament, especially against Switzerland. But Muggli and Solberg also had excellent tournaments and are probably ahead in the lists of all the scouts. I'm not even talking about Buium who takes a ticket for the top 3 left-handed defenders next to Dickinson and Silayev. Without forgetting the overager Pulkkinen. This one, a team can take him at the start of the 2nd round. The physical aspect for a defender is important and he is the least physical of the entire draft so when the teams draw up their list they will favor players of the same level but more physical and that is how a Leon Muggli who impressed next to Rodwin Dionicio in defensive play and had a solid season in NLA will be ahead in my opinion.

When I rank players, I make regional lists first and I can't convince myself to put Galvas ahead of Muggli. I even hesitate to put Jiricek ahead of Muggli. He remains ahead in relation to his profile (right side, taller) but in terms of level of play, Muggli is like Galvas, better than Jiricek.

Top DEF :
WHL : Yakemchuk, Elick... Roberts ?
OHL : Dickinson, Parekh, Mews... Danford ?
QMJHL : Lavoie, Gill
USDP : Hutson, Skahan, Emery... Whipple ?
USHL : Pitner
NCAA : Buium, Levshunov
KHL/VHL/MHL : Silayev, Shuravin, Kol
Scandinavia : Sahlin, Freij, Solberg, Badinka
Baltic : Vaisanen, Kiviharju, Pulkkinen
Visegrad & Alps : Jiricek, Muggli, Galvas

Very hard.

The good news is that there should be more than usual.

WHL : Jecho, Curran, Matecha, Becher
OHL : Fischer, Fibigr
QMJHL : Milota, Cibulka
SHL : Badinka
Mestis : Kos
Extraliga : Jiricek, Galvas

I think we can bet on these 12 with obviously 2 changes to be expected on the final list, always unpredictable in part (and my analyzes are still partially faulty)

You have to go back to 2005 to see more than 12. But this does not guarantee success. In 2015, 12 players selected but how many are installed in the NHL ? Zacha and Vejmelka are the only ones still playing in the league. Reaching and settling in the NHL is very hard.

I was shocked yesterday when I saw that Eduard Sale was shooting at 2.28 in Czech junior hockey at U17, was at 0.8 in OHL at U19. Melovsky in QMJHL is a normal person. He is well behind Boilard who is 2 years younger.
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So the only overager is cibulka for us? Not Becher who was top 5 in WHL on points and confirmed this at world jrs?


You said melovsky is ordinary. What about rymon, sapousek or prcik? All going to end up like szturc or Ivan?
 
Becher is on my list. The others, I think it will be complicated but the franchises also make choices that I would not have made. But it will perhaps be to the detriment of Czech players who I consider deserving.

For the first time, I found 12 Czechs selectable without forcing (I have only retained 180 names currently). I think about Mastalirsky or Perez too. There can be 14. When I say 12, that's a minimum.

The best way not to be disappointed is to bet below.
 
Dirtyf1ghter said:
Becher is on my list. The others, I think it will be complicated but the franchises also make choices that I would not have made. But it will perhaps be to the detriment of Czech players who I consider deserving.

For the first time, I found 12 Czechs selectable without forcing (I have only retained 180 names currently). I think about Mastalirsky or Perez too. There can be 14. When I say 12, that's a minimum.

The best way not to be disappointed is to bet below.
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12 would be amazing... I just hope we keep our first round streak going to be honest. Last year Dvorak, I feel, was a first rounder but injuries and dipped.

So my question for you...

We were silver at Hlinka, Silver at last years Worlds, 3 straight semi's at U20 with a bronze here.

6 guys got drafted last year in what, to me, looks like a big uptick in talent for us.

Do you think our guys are just punching above their weight and these tourneys are more small sample size and 'anything can happen'

OR

That scouts and the NHL just don't care about us?

And, to be clear, I'm not saying first rounders but I'm in shock no one is taking 'flyers' on our guys with 5th to 7th rounders.
 
FourQuarters said:
Rocak has 7pts in last 5gp, 9 in last 10gp.
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He will be in tough to make the U20 squad next year as it's stacked on D but I hope he does. I think he'll have a very strong campaign next season. Seems to be a thing where the Czechs come over to CHl, start strong, fade away and then figure it out a bit.
 
Czechboy said:
12 would be amazing... I just hope we keep our first round streak going to be honest. Last year Dvorak, I feel, was a first rounder but injuries and dipped.

So my question for you...

We were silver at Hlinka, Silver at last years Worlds, 3 straight semi's at U20 with a bronze here.

6 guys got drafted last year in what, to me, looks like a big uptick in talent for us.

Do you think our guys are just punching above their weight and these tourneys are more small sample size and 'anything can happen'

OR

That scouts and the NHL just don't care about us?

And, to be clear, I'm not saying first rounders but I'm in shock no one is taking 'flyers' on our guys with 5th to 7th rounders.
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I was much lower on Dvorak but still 42nd.

Last year, after Sale, Hrabal and Dvorak, it was really lousy.

I think the NHL scouts have abandoned the Czech U20 and hardly watch this championship anymore.
 
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And round and round we go.lol Button just released his and had Jiricek, Galvas, Kos and Jecho in Top 64. But no Badinka.

Here the CSS list has Badinka higher than Galvas.lol Seems like Jiricek is cemented to be a first rounder which is good (most have already said that is the case).

My observations:

Thrilled to see Melovsky and Becher in the conversation as overagers. Where he hell is Cibulka?????

None of our goalies are very highly rated... we have a tremendous streak of at least 1 goalie getting drafted every year (but 2016) and I hope it continues. 5 on the list and maybe 1 gets taken? 2? Milota ahead of Matecha surprised me a bit. I think Vondras is an overager so happy he has some eyes on him.

What the heck happened to Svozil? Seems like he is a dropper?

Titlbach has fallen off a cliff... ouch.
 
Using this list.. my hope is that

Jiricek is round 1

Jecho and Badinka are either late round 1 or early round 2.

Does seem Galvas will be drafted now... he's popping up on a lot more lists now.

Euro skaters - I think the first 7 go.. up to Svozil and then it stops.
NA skaters - I think the first 5 go up to Becher (who I think is better than Melovsky)

Surprise pick - Cibulka HAS to be drafted, right?

One goalie of the 5.

So that is 14 picks. Curious how close it will actually be. Last year we had 6.lol
 
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Czechboy said:
Using this list.. my hope is that

Jiricek is round 1

Jecho and Badinka are either late round 1 or early round 2.

Does seem Galvas will be drafted now... he's popping up on a lot more lists now.

Euro skaters - I think the first 7 go.. up to Svozil and then it stops.
NA skaters - I think the first 5 go up to Becher (who I think is better than Melovsky)

Surprise pick - Cibulka HAS to be drafted, right?

One goalie of the 5.

So that is 14 picks. Curious how close it will actually be. Last year we had 6.lol
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That would be the most Czechs drafted in like forever.. usually it’s around 8.
It’s always less than we think.

I don’t expect it to be much but honestly there could be a bit of an uptick in draft picks strictly because of WJC performance and placement.

Would be really nice to see 14 for sure.
 
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14 is possible this year. I'm getting to that number. It also happens that franchises select Czechs who I find rubbish. I have Daniel Kral and Jiri Tichacek on my lists. Two players who risk being sidelined but a No. 1 goalkeeper and a No. 1 offensive defender in the Extraliga at U21, I find that it's more interesting than players who play on the junior or even American prep circuits and are selected just because they are big and who do not have the level to have a career as an impact player in a major European league at 20/21 years old.
 
Czechboy said:
Using this list.. my hope is that

Jiricek is round 1

Jecho and Badinka are either late round 1 or early round 2.

Does seem Galvas will be drafted now... he's popping up on a lot more lists now.

Euro skaters - I think the first 7 go.. up to Svozil and then it stops.
NA skaters - I think the first 5 go up to Becher (who I think is better than Melovsky)

Surprise pick - Cibulka HAS to be drafted, right?

One goalie of the 5.

So that is 14 picks. Curious how close it will actually be. Last year we had 6.lol
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14 would be lit ... it would be the most since 2004 lol .. and since 2005 we only had three drafts with double digits. 2011, 15 and 18 (and that 18 was a complete bust except for Dostal lol) .. but as it was said it always look like we gonna get a lot of guys drafted and then we got down to 6-8 thats like our traditional number lol ... hope it changes we need to be at least somewhere between 10-15 regularly every year
 
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It should also be noted that international competition has increased compared to 2004. USA, Russia, Sweden and Finland have considerably increased their level. Secondary nations took 10 picks last year.

I am very optimistic this year to exceed 10 because the Czech prospects have achieved very concrete performances in the CHL and the players playing in Europe (Jiricek, Badinka, Galvas) are sure values. Add Ondrej Kos and it easily reaches 10.
 
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Dirtyf1ghter said:
It should also be noted that international competition has increased compared to 2004. USA, Russia, Sweden and Finland have considerably increased their level. Secondary nations took 10 picks last year.

I am very optimistic this year to exceed 10 because the Czech prospects have achieved very concrete performances in the CHL and the players playing in Europe (Jiricek, Badinka, Galvas) are sure values. Add Ondrej Kos and it easily reaches 10.
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Very good point. Means a lot more these days.

Also, has anyone seen much of Vasyl Špilka? Statistically he looked good in Czech leagues and he’s starting to heat up a bit in Medicine Hat of WHL.
 
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