Story. History The history of the formation of Czech hockey

What unites a nation? Language, culture, territory – of course. But what unites people no less is what is called the national idea. We can fully say that hockey is the national idea of ​​the Czechs and a symbol of the people at the same time, and not just a game sport.

The history of the formation of Czech hockey

Contrary to popular belief, Czech hockey, or more precisely, the Czech Hockey Association, has existed for a very long time. In 1908, a group of fans of this game gathered in one of the Prague restaurants, U Platiz, and decided to unite all the country’s hockey players into the Czech Ice Hockey Union. There were almost no hockey players, but this is how the Czech Republic was able to mark itself on the map of sports Europe. This happened almost immediately after the creation of the first Canadian hockey team in 1904, and three years earlier than in Russia, where the first attempts to create a union were made in 1911 (however, then the Russian union ceased to exist for a long time and was revived only in 1946) .

At that time, the Czech Republic was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the union could not represent its country in international competitions. Then the Czech team was called the Bohemia team.

In 1909, the Bohemia team played its first match in Chamonix, France, and suffered a crushing defeat from the local team. We can say that it was then that Czech hockey began its development not just as an exciting game, but as a national philosophy.

Already in 1911, then in 1912, 1914, the team won the European Championships, and in 1913 they became a silver medalist. Then the victorious flight of the team was stopped by the First World War. Many hockey players went to the front.

After the war, the team began to be called the Czechoslovakian national team and competed at the World Championships since 1920. Since then, the Czechs have stood on the podium in almost every championship: they received gold 6 times, silver 12 times, and bronze 16 times.

For the last 22 years, the Czech national team, the successor to the Czechoslovakian national team, has been no less successful in the world championships. The most important prize she won was Olympic gold in 1998. Then, in a tense match for first place with the Russian team, the Czechs were able to defeat Pavel Bure himself and his team.

Today this is one of the best teams in the world, rightfully occupying a leading position in world hockey.

Czech hockey as a national philosophy and national idea

Why is it that in such a small country, by world standards, there is a wonderful team and the land is not short of hockey talents?

The answer is simple: because they love hockey in the Czech Republic. The love for the game arose for many reasons. For a long time, the Czech Republic did not exist as an independent state, therefore they especially value everything that makes up the glory of this particular country, cherish and protect everything that has become the Czech “brand”: Zlata Prague, Czech beer, the good soldier Švejk, Czech hockey. This is how they treat football in England, for example, a purely English invention, and in the USA they treat baseball. In an atmosphere of universal love and admiration, talents are easier to grow.

The Czechs joke: “If hundreds of people with national flags appear on the streets of the city, it means the World Hockey Championship has begun.” And indeed, the idea of ​​universal “support” for the team unites the people and makes the unity of the country not a myth, but a reality.

Nothing in the Czech Republic evokes such a patriotic upsurge as the game of the Czech national team; defeats become a common pain, and victories become a common joy. In such an atmosphere, when there is an entire nation behind you, it is difficult to play poorly and let down those who believe in their team.

Czech hockey: the character of champions

In 1938, at the World Cup, the Czech Republic played for third place with the German team to the cheers of the Nazis. Then the team won the match and became the bronze medalist. In 1940, when the Nazis had already occupied the country, the second match took place at the Winter Sports Week in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which was held under the auspices of the Fuhrer himself. And the second time the team did not disappoint. Many of the hockey players were then summoned for questioning by the Gestapo. Even then the game became something more than a sport.

In 1969, the Czech national team met with the USSR national team at the World Championships in Sweden. The wounds from the invasion of Russian troops into Czechoslovakia were still fresh and painful. Sport has again become an arena of ideological confrontation. The Czechs won twice with scores of 4:3 and 2:0. Residents wrote these numbers on a Soviet tank in Smíchov and then marched with torches through the streets of Prague. So a small country fought for its freedom.

It is often difficult to resist pressure from large and powerful countries. But on the playing field everyone is equal, and this is how you can prove your right to honor, respect and dignity.

This is what Czech hockey has been doing for a century, and therefore has earned the right to be a national idea, philosophy and symbol of the country.

Jandác has been coaching the Czech national team for the last 2 years and he is far from the results of his mentor Vladimir Ruzicka; it was the current head coach who helped Ruzicka at the national team headquarters when it took the last title to date, in 2010. It’s difficult to say something about the current Czech team; the emphasis is clearly on youth and there are only 4 hockey players in the application, born over 1990. Naturally, they are all hungry for trophies and will try to present a surprise, although in the last Eurotour matches the Czech squad did not shine at all and lost to all their opponents.

The minimum program for the Czechs was completed at the 2017 World Cup

Let's go back a year to the lackluster performance of Jandacz's team, which began with a predicted defeat by the reigning world champions - the Maple Leafs easily won 4-1. Then the Belarusians fell under the hot hand (1-6), and then their principle rival, the Finnish national team, was defeated in shootouts. Norway kept their gates locked until overtime and the Czechs beat outsider Slovenia - 5:1.

Also, Yandac's team scored 5 goals against the French team and approached the final match with Switzerland in second place and a clear favorite. But the favoritism was beaten by the opponent and this defeat sent the Czechs to 3rd place, and with it a date in the 1/4 finals with the Russian team. The miracle did not happen and the Czechs resignedly gave in to Oleg Znark’s team. The Russians scored two goals in the first period and added one more in the last. As a result, the Czech Republic ended the tournament ingloriously and again disappointed its fans.

Strengths - reliable goalkeeper and ambitious youth

One of the team's strengths is definitely the goalkeeper - the constantly improving Pavel Francouz brilliantly defends the colors of Traktor and regularly helps the team out. As we have already noted, the athletic anger of young players should add aggression and results in matches, at least with equal opponents. The group of the Czech national team also encourages optimism; after all, they are obliged to take 3rd place, since they look stronger than Switzerland and the Slovaks, with all due respect to the Belarusians and the French. A difficult calendar also plays into the hands of Jandacz’s team, since the favorites may not yet be strong, and not all foreign players will join the Swedes and Russia yet. And in the end it’s more convenient to play with outsiders.

Weaknesses - many Czech stars will not come to the 2018 World Cup

But there are an order of magnitude more weaknesses in the Czech squad than strengths. A coach who has not won anything on his own, and who also leaves after the tournament, is not a strong factor at all. But what is much more unpleasant for the fans is the absence of stars - a lot of hockey players refused to take part in the World Championship. And if Kaše and Voracek are not assistants due to intense performances in the NHL, and Jiri Sekac broke his hand, then the absence of Jan Kovar is quite difficult to explain. Well, the family circumstances of Vladimir Sobotka do not add joy to fans of the Czech squad.

Chances and forecasts are again not encouraging

And again, experts do not predict anything outstanding for the Czech national team, and we agree with them. A good team with good hockey traditions is not a formidable force now. Of course, the Czechs will be able to get out of the group, perhaps they will even be able to push Sweden or Russia out of second place if they suddenly have a crisis in Denmark, but the quarterfinals will most likely be the ceiling. Again, if circumstances coincide with a good opponent, it is possible to reach the semi-finals, but then Yandach’s team is not at all seen in the decisive match of the tournament.

The composition of the Czech national team at the 2018 Ice Hockey World Championship

The 82nd World Hockey Championship starts on May 4 in Denmark. We present the participants of the tournament, and the Czech team is next.

Performance history

The Czech national team has been continuously competing at the World Championships since 1993, becoming the legal successor to the Czechoslovakian team. The traditions of a strong hockey power did not disappear with the collapse of the country; the Czechs were and remain among the top national teams and are considered medal contenders at almost any tournament.

At their first world forum, the Czech team won bronze, and three years later, head coach Ludek Bukac led the Czechs to gold medals. In the 1990s, Ivan Glinka worked a lot with the national team, whose name is associated with the main success of Czech hockey - first place at the 1998 Olympic Games in Tokyo. At the World Championships that year, the Czechs and Glinka were content with bronze, but a year later they reached the top of the podium. This success marked the beginning of the “golden” hat-trick of the Czech national team at the World Championships, which, after its triumph in 1999, also won the tournament in 2000 and 2001. True, Josef Augusta was already coaching the Czechs at that time.

After dominating at the turn of the century, the Czechs began to alternate successful performances with failures, and reached gold strictly once every five years. In 2005 and 2010, Vladimir Ruzicka led the team to victory. In 2011 and 2012, the Czechs were still on the podium at the world forum, winning bronze, but starting with the 2013 World Cup they forgot about medals. For five years, the Czech national team has never risen above fourth place, and last year’s World Cup resulted in an inglorious exit in the quarterfinals and a final seventh position.

Head coach.

For the future head coach of Magnitogorsk, the tournament in Denmark will be the final chord in managing the Czech national team. He worked as a mentor for the Czechs for the last two seasons, took the team to the World Cup, the Olympics and last year’s world forum, but did not achieve any success.

Yandacz is 49 years old, but he has been working as a coach for almost half of his life. Josef began his career as a mentor at the age of 26, heading a South Korean club, then coached teams from the second Czech league, and in 2002 led the White Tigers from Liberitz to the Extraliga. Then, for some time, Jandác worked in the Ceske Budejovice team, which he also promoted, and in 2008 he joined the Czech national team for the first time, becoming Vladimir Ruzicka’s assistant.

“I’m not going to Magnitogorsk as a tourist!” Who is he - the new coach of Metallurg

Josef Jandach told what Magnitogorsk will be like next season.

Two years later, Jandác returned to club work, mainly coaching Sparta, but for several months he also looked into the KHL, leading the Prague Lev. After five seasons at Sparta, Josef returned to the national team, but as head coach.

Yandach cannot be called a successful coach, but he has plenty of experience and unfulfilled ambitions. In his entire career, he won a medal only once, when he assisted Ruzicka in the 2010 World Cup victory for the Czechs, and at the club level he has not yet experienced the taste of big victories. However, this does not at all bother the management of Metallurg, where Yandach goes to work after the tournament in Denmark. The 2018 World Cup is a great opportunity for Josef to win at least something on his own before the main challenge in his career.

Compound. Youth and “refuseniks”

The final announcement of the composition for the World Cup for the Czechs is still ahead, but now it is possible to outline approximate outlines. It is unlikely that we should expect any surprises in the goalkeeping line. The first number of the Czechs should be Pavel Francouz from Traktor, who played brilliantly at the end of the season in the KHL, and his backups will be Dominik Furch from Avangard and David Rittich, who is making his way into the Calgary base.

The Czech defensive line will mostly be represented by hockey players from the Extraliga. Jakub Galvas, David Sklenicka, Michal Moravcsik, Marek Hrbas, Lukasz Klok, Tomas Pavelka, Martin Planek, Filip Pavlik, representing the local championship, went with the Czechs to the final stage of the Eurotour, but not all of them will make it to Denmark. Josef Jandacz will have to make a selection, as there are already several places reserved in the Czech defense. They will probably be occupied by Michal Jordan, Adam Polasek and Vojtech Mozik, who play in the KHL, as well as the main defensive star of the Czech national team, Radko Gudas, who agreed to come to the national team’s location after Philadelphia’s elimination from the Stanley Cup.

In the attack, the Czechs have many interesting names that are fresh for the senior team. This includes Martin Frk, who spent a good season for an NHL rookie for Detroit and St. Louis, and a top prospect in the future draft, remembered for his performance at the World Youth Championship. The Dallas forward will strengthen the team, and among the young NHL players it will be interesting to watch the possible debut for the adult team of promising Filip Chytil and Filip Chlapik.

Kane strengthened the USA, McDavid strengthened Canada. And Radulov is ready to play for Russia!

Current rosters of leading teams for the World Cup and lists of refuseniks.

At the World Cup in Denmark, the Czechs are not expected to have many forwards from the local championship. In any case, Yandach took only four of them to the Swedish Games. Michal Rzepik is well known to the Russian audience from his performances in the KHL, David Stastny spent a good season for Zlin, and David Tomashek and Martin Kaut, despite their youth, are already leaders of their clubs. The most experienced Czech player at the tournament will be Roman Cervenka: at 32 years old, the Swiss Friborg forward will go to his eighth World Cup. Robert Kousal and Dominik Kubalik, also representing the NLA, will probably get a place in the final application, but another young talent, David Kasha from the Swedish “Mora,” will have to prove his worth at the Eurotour.

What about the forwards from the KHL? In Denmark, the Czechs will have very few of them, and they are unlikely to play a decisive role. The duo from Nizhnekamsk, Andrey Nestrasil, Robin Hanzl and Vityaz old-timer Roman Horak, attracts attention, but the presence even at the Eurotour of Matey Stranski, who played, to put it mildly, an average season for Severstal, is quite surprising.

The Czech squad is replete with young hockey players, the absence of world stars and several experienced players is striking, and this is unlikely to contribute to the successful performance of this team at the World Championship. Of course, the refusal of many famous hockey players to join the national team played a role. Vladimir Sobotka referred to family circumstances; at the request of Anaheim representatives, Ondřej Kaše, who played the best season of his career, but ended up in the hospital more than once during the season, will not come. The best Czech scorer of the last NHL regular season, Jakub Voracek, will not compete in Denmark due to fatigue. Apparently, Yandach will not include the best representatives of his country from the KHL. Jiri Sekac played out the season with a broken arm, and did not receive an invitation to the Eurotour and Jan Kovar, although there were no comments about his state of health.

Tournament prospects. Quarterfinals – the ceiling?

What awaits the Czech national team with such a composition? Obviously, it will be very difficult for Yandacz’s team to return to the medal zone at the World Championships. Especially considering the very high level of other teams from the big six. At the group stage, the Czechs are traditionally ranked among the favorites of the group, along with Russia and Sweden, but the strong Swiss, as well as the permanent “dark horses” of the tournament from Slovakia, can also cause problems for Jandac’s team.

However, the Czechs shouldn’t have any problems getting into the playoffs, but the first relegation game will most likely be the last for Jandac’s team in the tournament. It is unlikely that the Czech team will be able to win the group and get into the quarterfinals against Germany, Denmark or Norway.

And other places inside the Eight A will most likely send the Czechs to Canada, the USA or Finland, in a confrontation with which there will be very little chance.