Welcome to Part 6 of Best on Best 2023, a series in which we dream up hypothetical international lineups if NHLers were called to play a tournament right now. We’ve broken down our Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden and Russia rosters so far. Next up? The rising Team Czechia. By winning bronze at the 2022 World Championship, the Czechs ended a 10-year medal drought, but they haven’t medalled at any true best-on-best men’s hockey event since the 2006 Turin Olympics. Yet for the first time since the glory days of Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek, they feel like a legitimate podium threat as we conduct our hypothetical exercise.

To accompany Steven Ellis and me on this journey with some authentic home-nation input, we’re pleased to welcome our friend Jakub Hromada, writer for iDNEScz and scout.

First, a rule refresher for the exercise:

– Roster structure follows IIHF format for the Olympics and World Championship: 14 forwards, eight defensemen, three goaltenders, 25 players in total.

– Since we can’t say for certain when the next best-on-best event will happen, be it 2025 for a World Cup, 2026 for the Cortina Olympics or a later date, we are constructing rosters for today. As in, right now. Opening faceoff.

FORWARDS – Matt Larkin’s picks

Pavel Zacha	David Krejčí	David Pastrňák
Ondrej Palat	Tomáš Hertl	Martin Nečas
Jakub Vrána	Filip Chytil	Dominik Kubalik
Tomáš Nosek	Radek Faksa	Dmitrij Jaskin
	Roman Červenka	David Kampf

Hey – David Krejčí retired from the NHL, not necessarily from international play just yet. So I’m bringing him back for one last ride with his Boston Bruins Czech Line companions Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. That’s a slam-dunk first line. The forward group looks deep and dangerous in the entire top nine, with goal-scoring threats sprinkled all over. The third line in particular could be a matchup nightmare, as all three of Jakub Vrana, Filip Chytil and Dominik Kubalik are streaky scorers capable of going on binges. Between Krejčí, Ondrej Palat and longtime international stalwart Roman Cervenka, this group won’t hurt for veteran leadership, either.

Biggest flex: Is it a flex to unretire Krejčí? If not, maybe my biggest flex is my inclusion of Dmitrij Jaškin. He hasn’t proven capable of sticking in the NHL as a full-time forward for a good half-decade now, but he’s been one of the best players in the KHL for three of the past four seasons. I know the Czech national team has banned KHL players at the moment, but in our hypothetical exercise, we did project a Russian team, right? So I’m imagining a postwar tournament scenario.

Toughest cut: No particular cut had me agonizing, but it was tough leaving off international fixture Jan Kovar. He has a long history of suiting up Team Czechia.

Also considered: Filip Zadina, Jan Kovar, Jakub Lauko, Martin Kaut, Martin Frk, Jiri Kulich

FORWARDS – Steven Ellis’ picks

Roman Červenka	David Krejčí	David Pastrňák
Pavel Zacha	Tomáš Hertl	Martin Nečas
Jakub Vrána	Filip Chytil	Ondřej Palát
Dominik Kubalík	David Kämpf	Radek Faska
Jiří Kulich	Tomáš Nosek

This is an excellent group, and much better than the 2016 World Cup roster. Assuming he’d still be interested, Krejčí would be a valuable top-six option, especially alongside his good friends Pastrňák and Červenka. Pastrňák is an elite talent and will be instrumental in the team’s success, as will Nečas. Zacha hasn’t represented Czechia since the 2016 world juniors and has never taken part in the World Championship, but he deserves to be on this team.

Biggest flex: Is Kulich a stretch? Absolutely. At 19, he’d be the youngest player on this group. But I’m a big believer, one of the few who wasn’t surprised by his immediate success in the AHL last year. It won’t be long until the lethal goal-scorer is playing in Buffalo’s middle six and I like his ability to generate scoring chances from anywhere. That’s why he’s on this team.

Toughest cut: Not the obvious one, but I think Martin Frk’s absolute rocket of a shot would be useful in a limited capacity. Like, if all you used him for was on the power play, he’d be excellent. But with the talent this group has, you need more well-rounded options. That’s where he falls short.

Also considered: Filip Zadina, Matěj Blümel, Lukáš Sedlák, Jakub Lauko, Michael Špaček

FORWARDS – Jakub Hromada’s picks

Roman Červenka	David Krejčí	David Pastrňák
Dominik Kubalík	Filip Chytil	Martin Nečas
Jakub Vrána	Tomáš Hertl	Ondřej Palát
Lukáš Sedlák	David Kämpf	Radek Faksa
Matěj Blümel	Tomáš Nosek

Czechia’s strength is definitely in the forward group – very solid top three lines with a fourth line very tough to play against. Because we’re picking the current best squad, David Krejčí is still there as the No. 1 centerman. Once he retires completely, there’s going to be a hole that will be very difficult to fill. But right now, the middle core of the attack of Krejčí, Hertl, and Chytil looks very good offensively as well as defensively with a lot of scoring power on the wings. Don’t forget, Dominik Kubalík plays on a different level on the international stage.

Biggest flex: It may not be a surprise that Czechia will have players from the European leagues in the squad. But on the first line? Roman Červenka never completely broke through in the NHL but is one of the best Czechia players playing in Europe of all-time. Last year at the Worlds, the line of him, Krejčí, and Pastrňák worked perfectly well with Červenka not being only the third man there.

Toughest cut: The fourth most productive Czech forward from the last season in the NHL misses out. Pavel Zacha has never played for the senior national team and that doesn’t feel like it will change. Tomáš Nosek and Filip Zadina were the next last men to be cut from the forward group. I was pushing heavily for the younger players like Kulich or Rousek, but there just wasn’t enough room.

Also considered: Pavel Zacha, Tomáš Nosek, Filip Zadina, Jiří Kulich, Lukáš Rousek, Jiří Smejkal, Filip Chlapík, Michael Špaček

DEFENSEMEN – Matt Larkin’s picks

Filip Hronek	Radko Gudas
Jakub Zboril	David Jiříček
Radim Šimek	Jan Rutta
Libor Hajek	Stanislav Svozil

The D-corps isn’t an area of extreme depth for Czechia, but it has some upside. Filip Hronek is a capable puck-mover capable of quarterbacking a power play. Radko Gudas is one of the sport’s most intimidating hitters. Jan Rutta has lots of big-game experience. The real wild card here, of course, is David Jiricek. His well-rounded cocktail of size, skating, physicality and a booming shot make me comfortable throwing him into the fire as a top-four blueliner. Why not take a swing on ceiling over floor?

Biggest flex: Installing Jiricek one of my top two pairs is presumptuous. But I stand by it. I love this kid’s potential.

Toughest cut: In the 6-10 range, most of the options are pretty interchangeable, so I didn’t feel much pain making my last cuts. Maybe I’m being too hard on Stanley Cup winner Michal Kempny, but he’s played just 15 NHL games in the past four years.

Also considered: Michal Kempny, Filip Kral, Libor Sulak, Tomas Kundratek

DEFENSEMEN – Steven Ellis’ picks

Jan Rutta	David Jiříček
Michal Kempný	Filip Hronek
Radim Šimek	Radko Gudas
Libor Hajek	Jakub Zboril

I don’t love the blueline, but they do have some strength on the right side. Jiříček is an excellent prospect and deserves all the hype he’s getting. Hronek and Gudas can get the job done, while Rutta would move to the left side to give that side some help.

Biggest flex: I still think Kempný could be a capable NHLer. He has a great opportunity at home, and he had a great season to boot, but he still shows some NHL-caliber talent in his game. I think he could play some heavy minutes for this squad, especially on a weak left side.

Toughest cut: Can’t say there was one. This is Czechia’s weak point, and it wasn’t worth trying to make some big-brain decisions.

Also considered: Jan Košťálek, Libor Hájek, Jakub Galvas, Tomáš Kundrátek, Filip Král, Michal Jordán

DEFENSEMEN – Jakub Hromada’s picks

Jan Rutta	David Jiříček
Radim Šimek	Radko Gudas
Michal Kempný	Filip Hronek
Stanislav Svozil	Jan Košťálek

Defense is not the best area. There are some quality players, especially on the right-hand side (Jan Rutta was moved to the left side), but Czechia needs young players to step up. David Jiříček and Stanislav Svozil could make the team right now, and others are on the horizon. But we shouldn’t see Gudas on the power play where he played a few years ago.

Biggest flex: There are pretty much no major flexes, maybe I’d play Jiříček on the elite pairing. Two players from Europe – Michal Kempný, and Jan Košťálek – beat out two from the NHL.

Toughest cut: Those two players from the NHL were Jakub Zbořil and Libor Hájek. They are not full-time NHLers, so that shouldn’t be too surprising.

Also considered: Jakub Zbořil, Libor Hájek, Jakub Galvas, Tomáš Kundrátek, Filip Král, Martin Jandus, Michal Jordán, Ronald Knot.

GOALTENDERS – Matt Larkin’s picks

Vítek Vaněček

Karel Vejmelka

Pavel Francouz

Biggest flex: Karel Vejmelka doesn’t have a long track record of success at the NHL level, but I believe he’s a good goalie who hasn’t yet played on a decent team. That could change as early as this season. I believe in him and thus chose him over some far more experienced netminders in Petr Mrazek and David Rittich.

Toughest cut: I strongly considered Dan Vladar for my No. 3 spot, but he’s coming off a down year, and Pavel Francouz has shown an ability to provide above-average goaltending in spurts when relieving the starter on his team.

Also considered: Dan Vladar, Petr Mrazek, David Rittich, Lukas Dostal, Simon Hrubec

GOALTENDERS – Steven Ellis’ picks

Vítek Vaněček

Karel Vejmelka

Pavel Francouz

Realistically, all that matters are Vaněček and Vejmelka. Both are capable goaltenders who can steal wins against quality competition. While it’s not the best duo we’ve talked about in this series, they could put up a good fight against anyone.

Biggest flex: Francouz could easily play in a pinch, so while I like giving younger guys a chance as a No. 3, Francouz gives the team some extra flexibility.

Toughest cut: In best-on-best competition, Lukáš Dostál has a chance to be part of the long-term future, but they don’t need him just yet. Šimon Hrubec is also a solid third option if they wanted to reward someone with World Championship experience, but he’d be a longshot in this scenario.

Also considered: Lukáš Dostál, Šimon Hrubec, Dan Vladař, Petr Mrázek, David Rittich

GOALTENDERS – Jakub Hromada’s picks

Karel Vejmelka

Vítek Vaněček

Lukáš Dostál

Czechia has a lot of options for goalies. Vejmelka and Vaněček should make the team no matter what but that third spot is open. I’ve chosen the young and promising Lukáš Dostál.

Biggest flex: I don’t think it’s a huge controversy that I’ve picked Dostál over maybe more experienced goalies, but if I have to choose one brave take, it’s this one.

Toughest cut: Dostál beat Pavel Francouz, Dan Vladař, and Petr Mrázek on my list. But you could favor anyone.

Also considered: Pavel Francouz, Dan Vladař, Petr Mrázek, David Rittich, Roman Will

Teams at a Glance

TEAM LARKIN

Zacha-Krejci-Pastrnak
Palat-Hertl-Necas
Vrana-Chytil-Kubalik
Nosek-Faksa-Jaskin
(Cervenka, Kampf)

Hronek-Gudas
Zboril-Jiricek
Simek-Rutta
(Hajek, Svozil)

Vanecek
Vejmelka
(Francouz)

TEAM ELLIS

Cervenka-Krejci-Pastrnak
Zacha-Hertl-Necas
Vrana-Chytil-Palat
Kubalik-Kampf-Faksa
(Kulich, Nosek)

Rutta-Jiricek
Kempny-Hronek
Simek-Gudas
(Hajek, Zboril)

Vanecek
Vejmelka
(Francouz)

TEAM HROMADA

Cervenka-Krejci-Pastrnak
Kubalik-Chytil-Necas
Vrana-Hertl-Palat
Sedlak-Kampf-Faksa
(Blumel, Nosek)

Rutta-Jiricek
Simek-Gudas
Kempny-Hronek
(Svozil, Kostalek)

Vejmelka
Vanecek
(Dostal)

Previous Best on Best 2023 entries

Team Canada
Team USA
Team Finland
Team Sweden
Team Russia

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FORWARDS – Matt Larkin’s picks

FORWARDS – Steven Ellis’ picks

FORWARDS – Jakub Hromada’s picks

DEFENSEMEN – Matt Larkin’s picks

DEFENSEMEN – Steven Ellis’ picks

DEFENSEMEN – Jakub Hromada’s picks

GOALTENDERS – Matt Larkin’s picks

GOALTENDERS – Steven Ellis’ picks

GOALTENDERS – Jakub Hromada’s picks

Teams at a Glance

Previous Best on Best 2023 entries

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