A continuation of the Czechoslovak tradition
The independent Czech hockey team came together before the World Championship in Germany in 1993. The result was a bronze medal, in the match for third place we destroyed Canada 5:1 in Munich. Thirty years have passed since then, but the national team has maintained a great sound and has always enjoyed great respect from opponents, including the biggest ones, Canada and Russia. It continued the important tradition of Czechoslovak hockey and it is fair to say that it was very successful.
In the following years, there were also much bigger successes. In addition to six world championship titles, which since the introduction of the current model of the final tournament ranks the national team in second place behind Canada (Russia and Sweden have five titles, Finland four and Slovakia one), she also won one silver medal and six bronze. Of course, we must not forget the legendary Olympics in Nagano 1998, but also the sensational bronze from the Olympics in Turin 2006.
Czech hockey also holds three important records. The first of these, which is often forgotten, is the 100% record of advancing from the group stage since the introduction of the playoffs in 1993. Although we often take this for granted, it is a very rare statistic that only Canada and Finland can boast. The Russians spoiled their balance at the home tournament in 2000, the Swedes were eliminated in the group three years ago in Riga, and the Americans even played for salvation in 2010. At the same tournament, when the underrated Czech team, which had to win the last match against Canada in the group in order to advance at all, went all the way to the so far last world championship title.
The second record, which we have a chance to break again this year, is the highest attendance in the history of the World Cup. It is currently being held by the tournament from 2015, which was also organized by Prague and Ostrava. Attendance in other countries, including traditional hockey powerhouses such as Sweden or Finland, cannot be compared to the Czech one at all.
The third record is, of course, the famous golden hat trick, i.e. winning three consecutive championships. Czech hockey players achieved it in 1999-2001, and no other team has been able to repeat this success since then. The Canadians were close in 2005 and the Russians five years later, but in both cases they lost in the final to an excellent Czech team. In connection with this, the phenomenon of the so-called golden hat-trick guardians also arose.
Another chapter of Czech hockey
Hockey is an integral part of Czech culture, and thanks to its rich history and a number of successes, which we briefly reviewed here, the Czech hockey team is probably the most watched sports team in the country. That is why he will be among the biggest favorites of the tournament at the upcoming World Championship, which will be held in Prague and Ostrava from Friday, May 10 to Sunday, May 26. Some punters even rank it second only to Canada.
Enjoy hockey, cheer and stay optimistic. Even if it didn’t go well in the opening matches, believe that the national team already had bigger problems. And he always stood his ground with honor.
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For example, you can watch the final match from 2010 here. One of the crisis moments of the final, the Russian power play 6 on 3, starts at 1:39:40.
The article was written using information from the following sources:
