OVERVIEW: Confirmed stars for Prague and Ostrava. Bedard, Karlsson… And what about the Czechs?

There are three weeks left until the start of the biggest hockey event on the Czech territory since 2015. Prague and Ostrava can expect not only an influx of fans from many countries, but also NHL stars! Several big names from different corners of the world are already confirmed.

The championship in the heart of Europe is a big attraction, especially for Canadian and American hockey players. Who will arrive from the cradle of hockey?

The participation of the seventeen-year-old talent Macklin Celebrini, as well as the legend with the brand Sidney Crosby, is still uncertain. Neither Andrew Mangiapane nor Jonathan Huberdeau have confirmed their arrival yet. Nevertheless, the O2 arena has a lot to look forward to. ↓

Canada’s nominations to date:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Binnington
Defenders: Bowem Byram, Owen Power, Kaiden Guhle, Jamie Oleksiak.
Attackers: Connor Bedard, Dylan Cozens, Jared McCann, Brandon Tanev, Dawson Mercer.

What about the US national team? He will bring a really strong selection to Ostrava, and his possibilities are also growing as the fight for the Stanley Cup progresses. Already, the States look very interesting on paper, despite the fact that Tage Thompson will not arrive due to injury. ↓

US nominations to date:

Goalkeepers: ?
Defenders: Seth Jones, Luke Hughes, Jake Sanderson, Zach Werenski, Alex Vlasic.
Attackers: Brady Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras, Luke Kunin, Shane Pinto.

Teams of Europe? Stars and extra league

And we’re going to Europe. What about its strongest hockey country, Sweden? Although Calgary captain Mikael Backlund will not arrive, we can look forward to Pittsburgh star Erik Karlsson. ↓

Sweden’s nominations so far:

Goalkeepers: Samuel Ersson, Filip Gustavsson.
Defenders: Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson, Rasmus Dahlin.
Attackers: André Burakovsky, Victor Olofsson, Joel Eriksson Ek.

It seems they will have a weaker harvest this year Finns, Laine and Haula will not arrive at the WC, and their implementation team has to count several excuses from Europe as well. Similar to Třinec in the extra league, Suomi should not be underestimated either – regardless of the paper strength of the roster. The names are confirmed so far Mikael Granlund, Jesse Puljujärvi and Olli Määttä. But Puljujärvi still has to fight for its participation at the tournament in Brno.

It The Swiss this week they confirmed a quartet of NHL reinforcements: Nico Hischier, Jonas Siegenthaler, Akira Schmid and Philipp Kurashev will play in Prague.

Germans have to do without Tim Stützle, but attackers John-Jason Peterka, Nico Sturm and goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer have promised to participate.

In team Great Britain likely to feature Liam Kirk, Norway will be represented by Mats Zuccarello and Latvia talented goalkeeper Elvis Merzlinkis. What about extra-league defenders Freibergs and Jaks? France can count on Pierre-Édouard Bellemar and Jordan Perret…

Czechs against Slovaks. And then?

And finally, we come to the two teams that all fans are probably most interested in, because for the Czech Republic i Slovakia this championship will be practically a home affair.

They have a certain participation Tomáš Tatar, Juraj Slafkovský, Martin Pospíšil and Pavol Regenda. Other Slovaks play in the AHL playoffs (Miloš Kelemen, Patrik Koch, Marián Studenič, Martin Chromiak, Adam Sýkora…). While Dvorský and Mešár were left out of the nomination by Ramsay, Servac Petrovsky has already joined the team.

What about the Slovaks in the final of the extra league, where we will learn about the winner on Sunday at the latest? Hudáček, Cheresňák and Daňo they are practically certain of the nomination. Roman, Čacho and Hrehorčák or Paulovič would have to fight for a place. Defenders Feherváry and Černák would certainly arrive from the NHL in the event of relegation.

“We are following all the players who are still in the game. We hope that everyone stays healthy and when the other leagues are over, that will be the final nomination. It also depends on who is eliminated from the AHL. The nomination will continue to be created,” explained assistant coach Ján Pardavý.

Slovakia’s nominations for matches with the Czech Republic:

Goalkeepers: Matej Tomek, Samuel Hlavaj, Stanislav Škorvánek
Defenders: Michal Ivan, Mário Grman, Andrej Golian, Martin Bučko, Patrik Bačik, Daniel Gachulinec, Rayen Petrovicky, Boris Brincko.
Attackers: Lukáš Cingel, Andrej Kollár, Andrej Kudrna, Matúš Sukeľ, Oliver Okuliar, Alex Tamáši, Peter Cehlárik, Marek Hrivik, Jozef Baláž, Matej Kašlík, Samuel Takač, Martin Faško-Rudaš, Róbert Lantoši, Servác Petrovský.

Radim Rulík, on the other hand, does not want to specify any names from overseas, so he has not yet confirmed the participation of Tomáš Nosko and Ondřej Palát, both of whom expressed interest and received approval from the New Jersey Devils.

It can thus be expected that the current squad will narrow down after the double match in Trenčín and Bratislava. As early as next week, it could be clearer about the Czech Republic’s roster.

In theory, there could be interest in goalkeepers Mrázek, Vejmelka and Dostál, defenders Rutta and Gudas, and forwards Zadina, Smejkal or Kubalík. Of course, other names are in play, if their arrival in Prague would allow the start of the playoffs in the NHL and AHL.

Nominations of the Czech Republic for matches in Slovakia:

Goalkeepers:
Lukáš Klimeš (HC VÍTKOVICE RIDERA), Dominik Frodl (HC Energie Karlovy Vary), Jakub Malek (Ilves Tampere, FIN).

Defenders:
Filip Pyrochta (BK Mladá Boleslav), Petr Zámorský (HC Škoda Plzeň), Libor Zábranský (Porin Ässät, FIN), Andrej Sustr (Cologne Haie, GER), Jan Ščotka (HC Kometa Brno), Dominik Masin (Ilves Tampere, FIN), Jakub Galvas (Malmö Redhawks, SWE), Michal Kempný, Jakub Krejčík (both HC Sparta Prague), David Spacek (Iowa Wild, AHL), Jiří Ticháček (Knights of Kladno).

Attackers:
Roman Cervenka (SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, SWI), Ondřej Beránek (HC Energie Karlovy Vary), Tomas Filippi, Jakub Rychlovsky (both White Tigers Liberec), Michael Spacek (HC Ambrì-Piotta, SWI), David Tomasek (Färjestad BK, SWE), Petr Kodytek (Ilves Tampere, FIN), Jakub Flek (HC Kometa Brno), Jáchym Kondelík (Banes Motor České Budějovice), Radan Lenz (HV71, SWE), Michal Kovarčík, Ondřej Kovařčík (both Mikkelin Jukurit, FIN), Matej Stránský (HC Davos, SWI), Filip Chlapík, Pavel Kousal (both HC Sparta Prague), Ondřej Kaše (HC VERVA Litvínov), Matyáš Kantner (Kalpa Kuopio, FIN), Jakub Vrana (Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL).