2012-13 Czech Republic Extraliga preview

by Radoslav Vavrina
on

Tomas Hertl - Czech Republic

Photo: San Jose Sharks forward prospect Tomas Hertl, shown here playing for the Czech Republic at the 2012 WJC, will ply his trade this season for HC Slavia Prague in the Czech Extraliga (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

 The Czech Extraliga is now underway. As is the case each season, we can look forward to top-notch European hockey, since the league may be among the three best on the continent. Almost every team has one or more veterans who lead the franchise and are either long-time patriots or new acquisitions from abroad. However, this year will feature more youngsters than normal, just because the level of Czech junior hockey has gone back up close to where it used to be. And finally, we'll also take a look at some possibilities that come with the NHL lockout.

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Canadian players head list of top Ivan Hlinka performers

by Radoslav Vavrina
on
Jordan Subban - Belleville Bulls

Photo: Belleville Bulls defenseman Jordan Subban was one of the top performers for Canada's gold medal team at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Tournament (courtesy of Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

 

The annual Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, considered by some to be the most prestigeous international hockey competition of players under eighteen years of age, was held last week in Břeclav, Czech Republic, and Piešťany, Slovakia. And as is usually the case in the world of hockey, some results and statistics were simply surprising.

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Hertl tops the Czech crop for the 2012 NHL Draft

by Derek O'Brien
on

Photo: Czech forward Tomas Hertl has been somewhat unheralded compared to fellow countryman Radek Faksa of the Kitchener Rangers (courtesy of Ken McKenna/HF)

 

Over the past decade, most of the top Czech Republic draft prospects have been chosen from the CHL, but there are always still a handful of gems to be found playing at home. In 2011, Slavia Prague’s Dmitrij Jaskin was taken in the second round and in 2012, another Slavia product, Tomas Hertl, is projected to be a late first-round pick at the 2012 NHL Draft.

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2012 World Championship: Medal Day Wrap-Up

by Chapin Landvogt
on

 

Photo: Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk helped lead the Russian squad at the 2012 World Championship to a gold medal win (courtesy of

Bob Frid/Icon SMI)

Sunday was Medal Day at the 2012 World Championship, with Russia coming away with the gold medal following a 6-2 win over Slovakia at Hartwell Arena in Helsinki, Finland.  Slovakia took home silver while the Czech Republic scored the bronze medal with a 3-2 win over Finland.

Hockey's Future spoke with some of the players taking part in these two games following those matches, with those interviews being presented below.

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

Czech Republic 3 vs Finland 2 Read more»

2012 World Championship: Semi-Final Interviews

by Chapin Landvogt
on
Photo: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Andrej Sekera has been patrolling the blueline for Slovakia at the 2012 World Championship.  Sekera and his teammates will go for gold on Sunday vs. Russia (courtesy of

Bill Streicher/Icon SMI)
The 2012 World Championship is heading towards its conclusion in Helsinki, Finland.  Today was the semi-final round, with Russia and Slovakia advancing to the final following their victories today.

HF caught up with a few of the principals from today's contests, with those interviews being presented below.

Russia 6 vs Finland 2

Joonas Jarvinen, Defenseman, Team Finland Read more»