Team Czechia’s roster is ready and finalized for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) in Gothenburg, Sweden. Czechia has a lot of familiar faces in their last year of eligibility, which is partly why they made the gold medal game against Team Canada last year. Team Czechia has always been a sleeper when it comes to great talent and some of the players that are listed are either NHL draft picks or looking to show their talent to prove their worth for an NHL team.
Some names to look out for are goaltender Michael Hrabal, forwards Eduard Šalé and Jiří Kulich, and defenseman Adam Jiřiček. Some of these players are new to the tournament and will look to push the Czechs back into the final, this time finishing with the gold medal around their necks. Here’s a look at the players to watch.
Jiří Kulich
Kulich is the best forward on this squad, returning from an incredible performance in last year’s WJC tournament, sparking the comeback in the gold medal game that pushed Czechia to overtime. He’s the full package, as the only player on the roster with at least one game of NHL and AHL (American Hockey League) experience.
He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres, 28th overall, in the 2022 NHL Draft and played his first NHL game in November. He also earned a full season of playing time in the AHL with the Rochester Americans (including playoffs) last season, adapting quickly to more competitive opponents and finishing top five on the team in scoring (46 points). He leads the team in scoring this season with 22 points in 22 games.
His ability to create opportunities off the boards and use his speed to reach the offensive zone are things to look forward to in this tournament and are why he will be relied upon by Czechia to score goals. Kulich finished as Czechia’s leading scorer in last year’s tournament with nine points, leading the team in goals (7), and earned a spot on the 2023 WJC All-Star Team.
Eduard Šalé
Don’t sleep on Šalé. He is the second option on the Czechia roster for generating an offensive threat, especially if he’s on a line with Kulich. The Seattle Kraken first-rounder is returning for his second year in this tournament, and it would have been a major surprise if he wasn’t on this roster. His speed and puck-handling ability are crucial to Czechia’s offense if they want to repeat the damage they did against Canada in the preliminary round and to Sweden in the semifinals. This season with the Barrie Colts, his first in the Ontario Hockey League, he ranks fourth in points (21) and is top three in assists (14).
Related: 2024 Guide to the World Junior Championship
He was the top junior player in the Czech Extraliga in 2023, partly because he was playing lots of hockey before the draft. From the 2023 WJC to the 2022-23 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he was on the ice most of the year. His playmaking ability will be a tool for their top six. He has represented Czechia in almost every major junior tournament. In last year’s WJC tournament, he finished with six points and was the youngest player on the Czechia roster. This year, he’ll have an opportunity to enhance his role and possibly double his point totals.
Michael Hrabal
At 6-foot-6, Michael Hrabal was the tallest goalie in his draft class and will be a tough obstacle to get the puck past. The 2023 Arizona Coyotes second-rounder is one of the most anticipated goaltenders in this year’s tournament, which will be his first at the U-20 level after being key to the success of Czechia in the U-18 WJC tournaments.
There is a good chance he could be the best Czech goaltender we’ve seen in this tournament since Petr Mrazek in 2012. Hrabal’s performance at the University of Massachusetts has been great, posting a record of 7-3-1, with a .905 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.67 goals-against average (GAA) in 12 games this season.
At the 2023 U-18 WJC, Hrabal was one of the best goaltenders. He earned five starts, finishing with a 1-4-0 record, a .920 SV%, and a 3.11 GAA. Those numbers may not be the best, but it was enough to put him among the top three goaltenders at the tournament and earn him a second-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Adam Jiřiček
Jiřiček is not the first in his family to play in the tournament; his brother, David, was in his last year of eligibility at the 2024 WJC and is currently playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Like his brother, Adam is projected to be a top-10 draft pick in 2024 and could be the best right-shot defenseman in his class if he has a strong performance at the WJC. Right now, he’s in many scouts’ notebooks and is widely known for his ability to generate offensive chances from the blue line.
Jiřiček has played on the Czechia U-18 and U-17 WJC rosters and was no surprise to be selected to make his first appearance on the U-20 squad for this year’s tournament. Drafted 19th overall by the Brantford Bulldogs in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) import draft, Jiřiček opted to continue to play for HC Plzeň in Tipsport Extraliga in Czechia, where he has one point in 19 games this season, but he is mainly noticed for his speed and playmaking ability and has a 6-foot-3 frame that could be useful for winning battles in the defensive zone.
Team Czechia’s Honorable Mentions
About 69 percent of players on Czechia’s WJC roster are playing in North America this season, in either the NCAA, CHL, AHL, or NHL. Other players from the roster worth noting are defenseman Tomáš Hamara (Ottawa Senators) and Matyáš Šapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights). Czechia has six players returning from the 2023 WJC team that won the silver medal. This year, they should have a chance at gold, and after sneaking past Sweden last year and nearly defeating Canada in overtime, they should be on everyone’s radar.
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