Czech U17 won the last match 3:2 after shootout.
CZE 2 wins x Finland 1 win.
That's great.
There are some interesting names, but I also don't know a lot about them because they all play in Czech junior league, but I would say that the most interesting guys are Jan Bednar, Ondrej Balaz, Jan Hampl, Tomas Chlubna, Jan Cikhart, Pavel Novak, Michal Gut, Erik Meluzin, Stepan MachacekThat is good. Any names to look out for? I don't know this group well.
Yeah, it should be a competetive team. I think the biggest question mark is Prikryl, who was a key player for this team for years and he should be available, since his team is not going anywhere, but you can't ignore his very weak season. I very much doubt Barinka is available since Halifax is going far this year. And also I wonder if Novak gets back on track is good enough to compete for a spot as an underager. He is having a weak season.
As of today I see like this:
Raska - Pytlik - Muzik
Mysak - Najman - Teply
Lang - Prikryl - Psenicka
Beranek - Peterek - Toman
Cermak(?), Novak
Zurek - Has
Mlcak - Kubicek
Poizl - Blaha
Kucerik, Suhrada
Malik
Parik
Bednar/Skorpik
Just awful. Once again typical interview with Kral (or Lener - that's "prašť jako uhoď"). The message I got is that they do everything good, all that could be done is already done, we just need a bit more luck to get a medal.
No responsibility claimed whatsoever. On top of that he says that the defensmen are noticebly improving and do not just dump the puck. Right, because now they pass it so well that it leads to a turnaround almost immediately - in better case scenario, otherwise they just pass it to the opponent right away.
Then again he said things that we heard like milion times already - that economicaly the hockey is stabilized, we don't play Poland or Hungary anymore, we don't get blowouts anymore. That's all great and they certainly can get credit for that but that's just old news. Time has passed, we have new issues to worry about.
The interviewers are also always useless. They are so servile and can't come up with any vital questions. Imo right now the biggest issue in czech hockey is a lack of quality puck moving defensmen. Why not mention it and ask about this issue? Problems with a low quality of Extraliga, junior league, the transfer fees. Those are the real issues.
Saying that he does not even know what can they as an association improve more says the whole thing. And I actually believe him that he wants to do a good job and he really wants to help our hockey but the thing is that after they have made some improvements, they're done now. They do not have the mentality to actively search for shorcomings and weaknesses which they would improve. They are not eager to listen to any critisism and yet listening and actively working with constructive critisism is the best thing which can push you forward.
Imo new management and new leadership is needed or we will stuck behind the TOP5 forever and just wait for the day Switzerland will pass us.
So here's the thing. I totally agree about the questions from the interviewer, they tend to be safe and not overly direct and probing. It would be much better to ask the uncomfortable questions, because ultimately, that's what the public (we) want to know the answers to!
The thing I don't really agree with you on is that they're all tapping themselves on the back saying that they're doing a good job and everything is fine. That was the case when Gut was president. Not now imo. Could they do more? I'm sure they could. I'm sure they will. But let me ask you this, have you ever thought that the problem is somewhere else but CSLH? Have you ever thought that the leaders of the E-liga clubs might be part of the problem as well? That they want to do things their way (or the highway) and why should they listen to Kral and Lener at all?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not so keen on either of them, but what came through to me most of all is the battle that CSLH has to try and implement their changes in the E-liga and other places.
Czech hockey needs to improve. But CSLH by itself can't do everything. The clubs themselves need to implement their changes for it have the desired effect. That was the take-home message that I got.
Well for starters, I am sure they have the ability to change the junior leagues system. What an abomination has it become. I read somewhere it will be changed again for the next season.
Also, the defensemen looked good at the WJC? Did he watch the tournament at all? Maybe he confused us with an another team, given the jersey change.
I heard that they will change the junior leagues system again.Yeah, I hope that they come up with something at this upcoming "big meeting."
Regarding the defenseman, yes agreed, they aren't great compared to other countries. But I think Kral was referring to how they were before he and Lener started implementing changes. Imo, comparing defenseman now to back then, they do look better. However, in the grand scheme of things, that is still not saying much.
I heard that they will change the junior leagues system again.
I heard that they want to bring back U20 league or something, but I don't know what's true about it.Any idea what will change specifically?
The question is, if they will bring back the old system of U16, U18, U20 leagues or the current format.Well, the conclusions seem pretty reasonable. I miss something about the defense problem though. Let's see what the real implementations will look like.
I also wonder how many teams we are talking with the narrowing. I fear we're talking something like 2-4.
The question is, if they will bring back the old system of U16, U18, U20 leagues or the current format.
I personally would go with this:Personally, I wouldn't even mind the current system if it had the quality needed. Like 12 teams in both U19 and U16 league. The old format seems better to me though. Just don't make a 20+ teams leauge out of it.