STOCKHOLM – The Czech Republic capped the 2011 World Championship against Russia with a 7-4 victory that earned them a bronze medal. After a three consecutive gold medals from 1999-2001, then 2005, the Czechs added another in 2010. They are once again aiming to be in medal contention at the IIHF World Championships.

Goal

While the Czechs may have hoped for Ondrej Pavelec to join them for the World Championships, that will not happen. Pavelec, who has represented the Czechs at the last two World Championships and has a gold and bronze among his accomplishments, informed the team will not be joining them in Stockholm.

Instead, the choices are Jakub Stepanek, Tomas Pöpperle and Jakub Kovar. Stepanek is the most experienced international goaltender on the Czech side, having represented his country twice. At the 2009 World Championship, he logged six games of activity and a 2.12 goals against average on a team that finished 6th. Stepanek appears the natural choice to be the number one goalie for the Czech Republic.

Kovar, a Philadelphia Flyers 2006 draft pick, carried the load for Ceske Budejovice. He won 28 games of his 52 overall appearances and a 92.6 save percentage. Tomas Popperle posted a 2.02 goals against average this season with Sparta Prague.

Defence

On defence the Czech Republic has some experienced blueliners who should work well together. Miroslav Blatak, a 2001 Detroit Red Wings draft pick, scored nine goals with Salavat Yulayev Ufa. He’s scored five goals in 16 World Championship games in his career.

Blatak’s Salavat teammate, Jakub Nakladal, makes his World Championship debut. Zdenek Kutlak, best known to followers of HC Ambrì-Piotta in the Swiss league, rejoins the national team after a six-year absence.

Tomas Mojzis is the most prolific scorer of the defencemen on this roster. He scored six goals and 32 points for TPS Turku. Mojzis also has the distinction of representing the Czechs at the IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship in Bratislava. Additionally, he was a member of the gold-medal team in 2005.

Rounding out the defence are former NHL players Lukas Krajicek and Ondrej Nemec, who have combined 36 games of World Championship experience.

Forward

The Czech Republic boasts six NHL players on the team and all talented enough to lead the team in scoring. The same can be said for their forwards outside the NHL in the KHL and the Czech Extraliga. More than anything, the Czechs need consistency from their top lines in establishing an offensive presence throughout the tournament.

Michael Frolik comes off a disappointing season with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was a healthy scratch at the end of the season and start of the playoffs. Once he got an opportunity in the playoffs, he scored two goals in four games. The Czech must hope there is carryover from that post-season performance.

Ales Hemsky and David Krejci are also expected to provide timely scoring. Milan Michalek enjoyed his best season as a professional, scoring 35 goals for the Ottawa Senators. Tomas Plekanec will hope to replicate his performance from last year when he scored six goals and ten points in Slovakia. Former NHL 30-goal scorer Petr Prucha has 6 goals in 19 World Championship games.

The best story of the tournament so far is the appearance of Petr Nedved. The one-time rising star, who defected to North America and starred for several NHL teams, including the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, makes his World Championships debut at the age of 40 after having played the 1994 Olympics for Canada. (See video feature.)

Coaching

Alois Hadamczik is back as head coach after leading the Czechs to a bronze medal at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia.

In his first stint as national team coach from 2006-2008, Hadamczik led his teams to bronze at the 2006 Winter Olympics and again at the 2006 World Championship. Upon his return in 2010, he’s brought them to another bronze, this time at the 2011 World Championship.

On Wednesday it was announced that Hadamczik was given a three-year contract extension by the Czech Federation. The contract will run through 2015. This means Hadamczik will coach the Czechs at the 2014 Olympics and 2015 World Championship on home ice in Prague.

Projected Results

The Czechs should come out of the revised championship format in good shape. The Czechs have enough talent to win but the question will be whether they have the scoring to receive timely goals that lead success in the playoff round. They will certainly be in contention for a medal.

JOHN SANFUL