Eleven names, star shine not enough. Czech reinforcements from the NHL did not experience exceptional seasons

Coach Radim Rulík has eleven players who have tasted the NHL this season in the selection for the Czech Hockey Games in Brno. At the same time, only a few of them can be said to have had successful months.

Lukáš Dostál (Anaheim). The 23-year-old talent took the next step to become the Ducks’ No. 1 pick. He shared the wicket with John Gibson and the confrontation did not go badly. Since the beginning, he has caught 38 games, scored 14 wins, and had a success rate of 90.2 percent. Twenty-three times over 30 shots per game were aimed at him, four times over 40 and twice over 50. He set a club record with 55 saves against Toronto in January.

Petr Mrazek (Chicago). For solid work, the thirty-two-year-old goalkeeper received a corresponding reward in the form of a new two-year contract for 8.5 million dollars. He had 18 wins in 53 starts, which is nothing short of amazing, but behind a young and error-prone Blackhawks defense, he improved his save percentage to 90.8 percent. Thanks to the Czech goalkeeper, Chicago pushed the Sharks to the bottom of the overall table.

Karel Vejmelka (Arizona/Utah). Retreat. He did not confirm the position of the team’s number one Coyotes in his third overseas season. Competitor Connor Ingram performed significantly better, supported by statistics. There was speculation about a trade, in the end Vejmelka stayed and is looking forward to the club’s move to Utah. Since March, he has at least improved his overall statistics to 13 wins, but he did not get over 90 percent success rate.

Radko Gudas (Anaheim). Due to a season-ending injury, he ended up playing 66 games, but showed that going to the Ducks was a good choice. The bearded cutie was one of the best defensive backs of the season, and with six goals he tied a personal record while playing an average of 19 and a half minutes. With 232 hits, he was in the NHL’s top 20, with 154 blocked shots in the top 35. Younger teammates couldn’t praise his positive influence on the cabin and greater sense of security when the Czech tough guy was with them on the ice.

Jan Rutta (San Jose). He performed mostly consistently in a heavily tested team, and was given the most space in his career by (retired) coach David Quinn (19:43 minutes per game). In the inexperienced defense of the Sharks, it was at least known that there was someone there who had a tough fight in the playoffs with Tampa.

Dominik Kubalík (Ottawa). He would probably prefer to crumple up this engagement and throw it away. Optimistic forecasts were not confirmed, he failed with the lineup, lost ice time (average 12:07). In an unsuccessful season, the Senators bet on completely different players and completely failed to use the abilities of the best scorer of last year’s World Cup in Riga, whom they drowned in the bottom six. Eleven goals are at least in five years in the NHL, where he was the third best rookie in the 2019-20 season with thirty hits in the Chicago jersey.

Tomáš Nosek (New Jersey). Due to leg surgery, he managed only 36 games in the third, fourth line. The Devils suffered through the season, it also reflected on Nosk’s performances (2+4), although he is still valid defensively and on the bullpen.

Ondrej Palát (New Jersey). You can’t expect point shots from him (11+20). But according to Devils legend Patrik Eliáš, the 33-year-old winner of two Stanley Cups ‘always plays correctly’. Resilience, experience and the ability to shine in important moments continue to belong to Palát’s virtues.

Jakub Vrána (St. Louis). The promises at the end of last season, when he was traded from the Red Wings to the Blues, were not confirmed. The supreme scorer was criticized for less effort and poor combativeness. He found himself out of the lineup, and when the trade didn’t work out, he stayed on the farm. The 13th pick of the 2014 draft did well there (16+20 in 42 games), but the drop down was a disappointment for the 28-year-old forward.

Filip Zadina (San Jose). He left millions in Detroit to kickstart a career in California, but mostly rode the Sharks’ misery. Thirteen goals is the most he has scored overseas, but still not enough for the sixth pick of the 2018 draft in his sixth season in the NHL. In addition, he had a negative 44 points in the plus/minus column, the second worst result of all behind teammate Eklund.

Radim Zohorna (Pittsburgh). Engagements in Canada (Calgary, Toronto) did not work out for him, but he did not get rid of commuting between A and the farm even after returning to Pittsburgh. He is still not using his parameters (198 cm/105 kg) to their full potential. For the Penguins, he managed 33 games (4+3) with limited time, which did not exceed 10 minutes on average.