by Jes

Still so little to talk about ...

My pal Joeri Loonen wrote up a recap of the Slovak Hockey Federation's awards ceremony. Marian Hossa was the big wiener as he won his third straight Golden Puck for being the best Slovak not named Pavol Demitra.

Best goalie? Peter Budaj
Best defenseman? Lubomir Visnovsky. How he got the vote over Zdeno Chara makes me wonder how much hot wine the voters were quaffing.

---

Gretzky to Detroit? It could have happened ... and I would have still hated Detroit just as much. Joe Pelletier has a look at what could have been.

You know what, it was much better for Detroit that the trade never happened. Detroit would have never done quite as well with Gretzky, especially how atrocious defensively he was ... I can't see Gretzky fitting in with that left-wing lock Wings system very well.

---

Over at The Hockey News, Brian Costello asks us "When will [Guy] Carbonneau be recognized by Hall of Fame committee?"

To which I ask, "When was Guy Carbonneau ever considered one of the Top 20 players in any one season he played in?"

The answer: Never.

While we all know that Guy was a great defensive center, it is MUCH MUCH MUCH harder to create and sustain offensive production in the NHL than it is to play defence.

The argument that Dick Duff is in the Hall of Fame is a awfully weak one. If we used Duff (or Clark Gillies) as the reason why any player should be in the Hall of Fame, we'd have the Markus Naslund's and Ray Sheppard's as shoe-ins.

Costello finishes with another weak argument: "So if the league gives out an award for defensive greatness among forwards, shouldn’t the Hall of Fame recognize that greatness as well? It’s hypocritical that it doesn’t, especially in an era when attempting to shut down the opposition is the common denominator in the game plan of all 30 NHL teams."

If the Dead Puck Era (not my term) has shown us anything, it is that just about ANY forward can play defense. Look at how Marian Gaborik, a puck-hungry greyhound, plays responsible defense. Playing defensive hockey within a tight system is much easier than trying to score against a team doing just that. There are far more Guy Carbonneau's in the league than there are Sidney Crosby's.

At the end of the day, one team cannot simply win by playing pure defense. Even in a 1-0 game, someone has to score.

Labels: Guy Carbonneau, Hall of Fame, Marian Hossa, musings, Slovak hockey, Wayne Gretzky

long time passing ...

by Jes

One of the sub-themes of this summer's Free Agent silliness has been the exodus of some well-known Czech and Slovak players back to Europe. These guys either want to play at home in Czechia/Slovakia, or try out the new Kontinental Hockey League.

Jaroslav Modry is the latest Czech to say buh-bye to the NHL, signing with HC Liberec (the White Tigers, they're grrrrrrrrreat!) for two seasons.

Of course, d00d is 37 years old and was declining quite badly, but it's still sucky to have less Czech in the NHL.

Who else has left us?

Jaroslav Hlinka: Colorado Avalanche (NHL) to Linköping (SWE)
Jaromír Jágr: New York Rangers (NHL) to Avangard Omsk (RUS)
Tomáš Pöpperle: Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) to HC Sparta Praha
Martin Straka: NY Rangers (NHL) to HC Lasselsberger Plzeň
Martin Ručinský: St. Louis (NHL) to HC Sparta Praha
Josef Vašíček: NY Islanders (NHL) to Lokomotiv Jaroslavl (RUS)
David Výborný: Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) HC Sparta Praha

Jozef Balej: Manitoba Moose (AHL) to Ocelari Trinec (CZE)
Ivan Baranka: Hartford(AHL)/NY Rangers(NHL) to Spartak Moscow (RUS)
Marcel Hossa: Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) to Dynamo Riga (KHL)
Branislav Mezei: Florida Panthers (NHL) to Barys Astana
Branko Radivojevic: Minnesota Wild (NHL) to Spartak Moscow (RUS)
Stefan Ruzicka: Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) to Spartak Moscow (RUS)
Jozef Stumpel: Florida Panthers (NHL) to Barys Astana

Obviously, Jagr's departure is the one that creature all the headlines, but we have other semi-stars, regulars, and fine prospects that are heading back to Europe and giving up on the NHL.

*teardrop*

At least we'll always have Pavol!

Labels: Czech Hockey, Slovak hockey

by Jes

Oh, I know I'm a negative Canucks fan, but this season is now officially over.

Sure, the Canucks might make the playoffs, but they certainly won't do anything substantial. I don't even expect an upset, unless the Canucks play Dallas (unlikely). Basically, a season of almost nothing.

Now, Mattias Ohlund couldn't bear the pain any longer and decided to have a season-ending operation. Canucks fans appreciate the effort he put in, and we know that he really didn't want to have to make that decision.

Krajicek, Miller, Ohlund are gone ... Salo is hurt, Bieksa is still not 100%, and the Canucks can't score. Basically, the Canucks are first round fodder.

Last night's 2-0 loss to the Coyotes was a perfect example of how our team doesn't seem to care enough. Not to discount the Coyotes, but most of the Canucks were clearly sleepwalking though last night's game. Apart from Burrows/Kesler and Luongo, who else seemed to want to win the game?

I wonder if it would be better for the Canucks to miss the playoffs. Then, GM Dave "No Action" Nonis might realize how weak his team really is, and do something of SUBSTANCE. None of this Brad Isbister/Marc Chouinard bullshit. Get us some real players! Don't waste Luongo's talent playing behind a bunch of flotsam. Really, is Luongo going to want to re-sign here when his contract expires? Doubtful.

For now, I am completely writing off the Canucks, and anything other than a first round exit will be a bonus. Set expectations low, and your heart won't get hurt.

---

When I look at other Western Conference second-tier teams, I see potential.

Colorado has Sakic (always $$$$$), Forsberg, and Adam Foote back in the fold. This team can explode in your face.

Minnesota is Minnesota ... well-coached, and always dangerous come playoff time. Sure, they struggle to score on a regular basis, but we know this team will quietly sneak up on your and steal your lollipop. They have good special teams, which always make a difference during the playoffs.

Phoenix? If they happen to make it, they'll have the 'nothing to lose' energy that is always so dangerous versus uptight teams with high expectations. Oh, and don't forget Ilya Bryzgalov and his Vezina-like play.

Hell, even Calgary has Miikka Kiprusoff discovering his old form, a great defence, and enough offence to make them a viable choice. Remember, this is a team that many expect to do better than they have, so we know they have the talent to do good things.

The Canucks? They have Roberto Luongo, and nothing else. That is why I have written them off.

---

When is the last time you heard the term "Jimmy Hat" in casual conversation?

---

More on Peter Stastny and his crusade.

I got an email from another friend of mine from Slovakia, and he added his thoughts on the situation. Keep in mind that my pal is also very anti-communist (as are most people who lived through the Soviets occupations), and is no fan of Siroky and his cronies.

---
The decision of Peter to open this cause was very stupid. I cannot understand why he sent a copy to Bettman and Hay, who have nothing to do with Slovak hockey hall of fame. A lot of people (in Slovakia) support him but most ones are very disappointed to combine political policy with their most favorite sport.

Peter Stastny was a very respected athlete and personality by all Slovaks. But his first conflict (two years ago) with hockey officials confused a lot of his fans. I can understand that he has a conflict with Siroky, but nobody can explain me why he pulls in other officials and players to his personal conflict.

In my opinion, Siroky is and especially was a real asshole who collaborated with former regime and worked for secret police. However, his present work for Slovak hockey is accepted by most people.

I must remind you to one fact ... that Stastny worked as GM of national team in period 2003-06. Do you know who was a president of Slovak hockey federation? Of course Siroky.

Why Stastny collaborated with such person when he has known him pretty well? Why he accepted good salary from federation when he knew its boss? This conflict started two years ago when the federation has not extended the contract with Stastny.

BTW, Peter knew only players on NHL and had no idea about Europe-skating players. To be ironic he has confused first names of several young NHL-ers e.g. Jurcina and Meszaros.
---

My friend makes an excellent point. Stastny surely know the kind of man Siroky was during his days with the hockey federation. Why, then, is it only now that Peter comes out with such allegations? Why didn't he turn down the job if he has such a high moral standard?

Labels: Canucks, Juraj Siroky, Mattias Ohlund, Peter Stastny, playoffs, Slovak hockey

by Jes

When Peter Stastny, a Slovakian icon like few others, was no longer holder of the GM position with the Slovak national team, most of us suspected the usual shenanigans within the Slovak Hockey Federation.

The Slovak federation has always been beset with politics, patronage, granting of family favours, and a lack of foresight that will keep the country from ever reaching the sustained level of skill that the TOP SIX countries maintain.

Seeing Stastny want to get away from all of that nonsense made some sense ... why would he want to bother with all of that?

His quote "Those old communist officials didn't want any part of me. They could hardly wait for my contract to expire about 18 months ago and refused to renew it. They were so well organized that when it came to the vote on my contract, all seven officials turned their thumbs down.

OK, so Stastny was the 'defector', the 'new guard' that clashed with the old guard. So be it.

Well, in a story that doesn't seem to have been picked up my any mainstream media outlets here in North American, Stastny has gone on a personal crusade to oust Juraj Široký, a complete dumbass who knows little about hockey and all about weaseling his way into positions of power, from the Slovak Hockey Federation.

In a letter to Rene Fasel, head of the IIHF, Stastny makes his points quite clear. It's interesting to note who he copied into the letter, including NHL commission Gary Bettman.

Now, this letter wasn't really supposed to be public, but I happen to have a contact in Cesko-Slovensko that can provide me with such things.

I apologize for the length of the cut-and-paste, but feel that it's worth posting the letter in its entirety.

---

From: Mr. Peter Šťastný

To: Mr. René Fasel, President of the International Ice Hockey Federation

Cc: Mr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament
Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee
Mr. Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the National Hockey League
Mr. Bill Hay, Chairman and CEO of the Hockey Hall of Fame


Re: Mr. Juraj Široký, President of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation as a real threat to democracy and integrity of the game of ice hockey


Dear René,

Please accept my warm greetings and my apology for the second open letter. Myself and all Slovak hockey fans are grateful for your significant contribution in correcting injustice against our team and our players by improving fairness of Olympic tournaments with the new format starting in Torino 2006.

Today, seven years later, I have equally serious matter to present concerning democracy and integrity of our game.

Mr. Juraj Široký is current president of the Slovak Ice-Hockey Federation and he also serves on IIHF Council. His past was revealed last summer by the official Slovak institute dealing with communist era. UPN (Nation´s Memory Institute) delivered undeniable verdict.

Mr. Široký was high ranking officer (captain) in feared communist STB (same as Soviet KGB, East German Stasi etc.). In height of Cold War he served as spy resident and second-in-command in Washington D.C., USA. Why is this official verdict important and what was revealed from his files?

- Mr. Široký always denied ever working or collaborating with STB. He was therefore constantly lying to media and public. It is almost certain he lied on application to IIHF Council where he probably wrote "diplomat" as a past occupation. As full fledged professional spy loyal to communist ideology he certainly worked hard to subvert and destabilize Western democracies, the external enemies of communist regime. Such a job does not fit the definition of diplomat.

- UPN published only tip of the iceberg from his files. There was his application to work for STB where as a reason he stated his desire to help regime to fight against internal and external enemies. Cruel and inhumane communist regime was so clear about its objectives to dominate the world that every 12 years old understood definition of internal and external enemy. Internal enemies were all people living in the country who did not agree with Marx-Lenin ideology. Like myself, my entire family and millions of Czechs and Slovaks believing in God and / or basic democratic freedoms. External enemies as mentioned above were Western democracies led by USA and any group or individual trying to bring real democracy back to our country. Again I was clearly enemy of regime and target of Mr. Široký along with all democratic countries and almost all Slovaks and Czechs living abroad.

- UPN also published report of Mr. Široký to his superiors that particularly shows how low one can drop and how sleezy one can become in guest of a "career". He reported on his own mother having correspondence with her relatives in USA.

- Now the most important fact either not published by UPN or missed by me. As high ranking officer he swore and signed Pledge of Allegiance to STB. He swore to fight the enemies of Soviet Union, CSSR and enemies of socialism. This document is most direct evidence of Mr. Široký conspiracy against democracy and hundreds of millions citizens living at the time in free democratic countries. Same document can be interpreted as conspiracy against his own country and majority of co-citizens.

Under overwhelming evidence and authority of UPN, Mr. Široký stopped denying his past. He only stated that every country had, has and will have intelligence service and he only served his country. Another bogus attempt to lie. As he himself so eloquently wrote about his desire to help regime fight those internal and external enemies he knows too well his activities served against his own country, citizens and against democracy. He served the regime!

STB has been proved to be the most feared architect and executive arm of evil communist regime. Its job to keep communism in power at any cost was very painful and tragic for Czechoslovak citizens. They lived in constant fear of persecution and punishment. Hundreds of thousands were prosecuted and jailed. Hundreds were executed or killed, tens of thousands got long term jail and forced labor camps. Millions others suffered from consequences for their beliefs. Loss of job, no chance of promotion, limited education past elementary schools etc. They were all innocent people.

We owe it to the memory of all these victims to insure that any person closely collaborating and condoning such crimes should not participate in public life in true democracy. That is my belief. I called publicly few times on Mr. Široký ´s resignation. It fell on deaf ears. Now I am turning to all who share my conviction to at least isolate any person who openly conspired against democracy and values we all hold dear. If we act, it will undoubtedly contribute to strengthening of democracy and adding to integrity of our beloved game of ice hockey.

To conclude, I am announcing my decision to add to public debate. If Mr. Široký does not abandon all the positions in Slovak ice hockey in 3 months period from today, I will withdraw from Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame. At the same time I will ask to pull out the banner with my name and image from ceiling of Slovan Bratislava stadium for as long as Mr. Široký remains the majority owner of my alma mater club. Unless my requests are fully satisfied, my decision will rest firmly in place.


Yours truly,

Peter Šťastný
---

Now, I'm no fan of Siroky (d'uh), but it is kinda sad the way Stastny is crying for attention like a little child, and trying to use his popularity in the country to fight a personal issue with someone.

Speaking with another friend from the old country, this is what he has to say.

I call it dirty politics. Stastny knows how to play the game (both on and off the ice) as he’s already Slovakia’s man in the European Parliament despite holding a US-citizenship, if I’m correct.

With no political experience under his belt he accepted the job after which he claimed “if it’s not fun I’ll just walk away in a year or two”. You don’t often hear the words fun and politics together but it doesn’t sound to me like someone who is willing to fight for your rights as a Slovak citizen at the European parliament.

I wonder if the mainstream media here will pick up on this story. It's certainly quite intriguing, and you don't often hear about KGB-like spying tying in with hockey.

Labels: IIHF, Juraj Siroky, Peter Stastny, Slovak hockey, Team Slovakia

by Jes

It's been far too long since I featured some Slovak hockey here on Hockey Rants.

So, my Slovak pal Daniel passed on a link to some great shots of a recent tilt between HC Kosice and Dukla Trencin (aka, The Factory).

Here are some of the best ones ...



Miroslav Hala's really cool mask design.


Who in the hell designed those cheerleaders' uniforms? O.O



Ouch! Faceplant! Serves you right for diving!



"Can you believe they make us wear these ugly things?"



Miklik celebrates with his homeboys.

Labels: Dukla Trencin, HC Kosice, photo of the day, Slovak Extraleague, Slovak hockey

It appears that our master, lord, and saviour, Pavol Demitra, has been named CAPTAIN of the Minnesota Wild.

Thanks to Mirtle and Roy from Wild Puck Banter for sending me this information.

SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Minnesota Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough and Head Coach Jacques Lemaire announced today that forward Pavol Demitra will serve as team captain for the month of October. Brian Rolston and Wes Walz will serve as permanent alternate captains.

Demitra, 32 (11/29/74), collected 64 points (25-39=64) in 71 games for the Wild in 2006-07, his first season in Minnesota. Entering his 11 th NHL season, Demitra has posted 645 points (266-379=645) in 682 career games with St. Louis, Los Angeles and Minnesota. Demitra hails from Dubnica, Czechoslovakia.

Minnesota will continue to rotate its team captaincy on a monthly basis this season based on the player who has shown the greatest leadership qualities.

Rolston (October, November and January), Keith Carney (December) and Mark Parrish (February, March and April) wore the 'C' for Minnesota in 2006-07.

You may now bow down and kiss the skates he ... err ... skates in!

I am quite surprised that Pavol was given this honour, given the fact that he is a very quiet guy and has been generally shy about talking much due to his (self-perceived) lack of Engrish skills.

Pavol joined Zdeno Chara among the rare air of Slovak NHL captains. If Florida was smart, they would give their C to Josef Stumpel and we'd have a trifecta.

Labels: Pavol Demitra, Slovak hockey, Wild

by Jes


If you look at the Vancouver Canucks opening night roster in a couple of months, you will notice exactly ZERO Slovaks on the roster. Given the Canucks' Anti-Slovak policy, and the fact that Vancouver hates Slovaks, in general, this really isn't Earth-exploding news.

What is shocking, however, is that the Canucks signed another Slovak prospect, Slovak-born Swiss Juraj Simek, and now have TWO in the organization.

Vancouver Canucks Senior Vice-President and General Manager Dave Nonis announced today that the Canucks have signed forward Juraj Simek. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Simek, 19, spent the 2006-07 with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League, registering 57 points (28-29-57) and 41 penalty minutes in 58 regular season games.

Sure, both Simek and Mario Bliznak are late-round picks, and both are longshots to make the NHL, but it's a start!!

Now, hopefully Nonis will get down and get Bulis under contract. WHAT'S TAKING SO FRICKIN' LONG!???!?!

Labels: Canucks, Juraj Simek, Slovak hockey

by Jes

So, it seems that secret agent Peter Bondra wants to return to the Washington Capitals for his swan song.

This was something that I thought should have happened last season. Bondra, a respected vet, would have been perfect for the young Caps squad.

Instead, Bondra went to Chi-Town, and scored his 500th NHL goal in a Blackhawks uniform.

Now? Not so much... like JP at Japers Rink, and Eric at OffWing, I think the Caps ought to say "Thanks for the offer, but we'll pass."

I saw Bondra play live-in-person last season, and knew that it would be his last season in the NHL. While his snapper still had some bite, his skating was noticeably slower than it used to be, and he no longer appeared to be all that dangerous offensively. I saw a Bondra that lacked that killer instinct, and looked like the old lion king. You know, the one that looks worn down, and is breathing heavily while the younger male lions move in to take his females.

In the end, Bondra finished with just 5 goals and 9 assists in 34 games. After a pretty solid start (at .5 points per game), his production slipped drastically, and Bondra could no longer give the Blackhawks anything positive of note. He's not the type of player that you can stick on the 3rd and 4th lines, and he doesn't score enough to play on the top two units, either.

Thanks for the memories, and please don't embarrass yourself with another comeback.

Labels: Bondra, Retirement, Slovak hockey

by Jes

Many things have kept me busy this spring and early summer, so I’ve been way behind in keeping track of draftable prospects. Don’t ask me much about anyone about to be picked tonight, because I won’t be able to tell you too much unless they play for or against the Vancouver Giants.

While all of the others bloggers party it up in Columbus, I’m stuck here in rainy Vancouver with the Yaletown Yuppies and Whalley Winos.

On this little nook of the web, you can always count on a Slovakian slant to things. We cut through the Swedish BS to give you the goods, babe.

Thanks to my Slovak pal Daniel, who provides his thoughts on draftable Slovaks and other issues.

---

Predicted Slovak picks:
Round 1 - none
Round 2 - none
Round 3 – David Skokan (MTL)
Round 4 – Milan Kytnar (BUF)
Round 5 – Juraj Valach (ATL)
Round 6 - none
Round 7 – Adam Bezak (NYR), Juraj Mikus (xxx), Zdenko Kotvan (xxx)

I expect only 5 Slovaks to be picked. Though there are another adepts e.g. M.Daloga (25%), O.Rusnak (15%), M.Baca (10%), T.Hiadlovsky (20%) or P.Lusnak (30%), B.Rehus (10%). Of course dark horses e.g. O.Mikula (10%), M.Hascak (5%) or B.Konrad (5%) Don’t forget Krazy Karol Krizan (20%).

A trend to draft less Europeans will be kept. It's not a case of a weaker generation or worse prospects, but it's a result of new collective agreement. New prospects have to be signed within 2 years after drafting.

As you know most kids are long-shot prospects and drafting of 18-year old means to wait another 2-5 years to develop into NHL-caliber players. History shows that, too often, teams pick raw prospects who weren't able to develop into regular player of (European) senior leagues.
I'd recommend to draft only top 20-30 prospects, especially the players who proved themselves at different levels i.e. senior leagues, WJC U18 or U20 to be real prospects. I’d much rather pick 19 or 20-year old kids who found regular spots in senior leagues (SWE, CZE, FIN, SVK, SUI, GER or RUS).

Of course it's very difficult to draft Russians in the late rounds. As we know, solid 3-4 liners of the Russian Super league can earn 200-300,000$. Such players have no motivation to spend 1-2 seasons in AHL to fight for an NHL spot.

---

Juraj Valach is a very interesting prospect, and could easily go much higher than his crappy CSS ranking.

Valach is a 6’6” 210lbs defender who played this season with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. Unlike his other Slovak redwoods, Valach is not a mean, tough dude. Nope, Valach is very much an offensive-minded defenseman who will beat you with a point shot long before he beats you over the head with his stick. He has good reach, which he uses well to poke-check the puck away from attackers. Think of a tall Richard Lintner.

Given the total lack of great talent out of Slovakia this year, Valach will be the guy to watch for Slovakian hopefuls. He has a lot of upside, but also a lot of work to do on his skating. Teams have been burnt by ‘raw’ prospects all too often (Michael Rupp, Kristian Kudroc), but that doesn’t stop them from drafting them early in the draft.

More on Juraj Valach over at NHL DraftBuzz

More on the Top 10 Slovakians over at Hockeysfuture.com

Labels: Entry Draft, Juraj Valach, NHL, Slovak hockey

by Jes


Ever since Zigmund Palffy's (nice hair!) sudden retirement from the NHL a season-and-a-half ago, there have always been rumblings and rumours that he'd come back.

Any time Palffy would put on skates for the hell of it, the Slovak media were gaga that Palffy might play again.

Well, I got an email from Brushback this morning about Palffy, and according to Russian media reports, it appears that Palffy is, indeed, unretiring ... to the Slovak League

*cue Price is Right loser music*

Brushback translates a couple of Russian sites that quote Palffy as being bored of out of his skill and signing with HK36 Skalica.

Now, I am having loads of trouble finding any confirming reports in the Czech or Slovak hockey media, so I wouldn't start popping down the Slivovice just yet.

Still, it would be kick-ass for the Slovak Extraliga and Slovak hockey fans to have Palffy play for his hometown team. Skalica has been one of the league's crappier teams for the past few years, and needs some serious injection of talent.

For more on the career of Palffy, check out my post reflecting back his accomplishments.

Labels: rumours, Slovak hockey, Ziggy Palffy

by Jes

Words escape me right now ...


Thanks to 'aquietgirl'

Labels: Marian Hossa, Pavol Demitra, Slovak hockey, video

Continuing the previous discussion on the state of Slovak hockey, it seems the Slovak Extraleague and Slovak Hockey Federation have taken the giant step of creating an exclusive Under-20 team to play in the Extraliga.

The league currently has 8 teams, so this U-20 team and a promoted Division 1 team will be added next year to create a new 10-team league. This is a very unique experiment geared to improve Slovakia's ability to produce good hockey players.

There are still many details to sort out, such as scheduling, who runs the team, etc etc etc..and where will they get the players for this team? Most of the best Slovak juniors play either in the CHL or Czechia.
1. The CHL will reduce their import limit to 1 per team, so more kids will be available.
2. The other Extraliga teams will be forced to contribute their U-20 kids if they are selected.
3. Having a team in the Extraliga will entice many would-be travelers to stay home and earn a regular paycheque in the Extraliga, rather than almost nothing in the junior leagues.

Is this team likely to get slaughtered against older Extraliga vets? Yes, probably. Teams filled with junior aged players in previous seasons tended to get their asses kicked hard. Still, the juniors display a lot of hustle that the grumpy vets and lazy stars sometimes don't. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

---

It is true that the Slovaks have done a much better job producing goaltenders (their biggest weakness) and defensemen. Long gone are the days of throwing out Roman Mega, Jaromir Dragan, or Pavol Rybar and praying that the opposition didn't score 14 times a period. Youngsters like Peter Budaj, Jaroslav Halak, and Michal Valent are very talented goaltenders who have taken the reigns alongside Jan Lasak, the best Slovak goalie produced since old Vladimir Dzurilla.

The big problem is that the Slovaks just aren't producing many very talented forwards these days and it will catch up to them in a few years. Demitra, Satan, Bondra, Handzus, Zednik, Stumpel, and Palffy (retired, for now) are all 30+. A small core of Hossa, Nagy, and Gaborik are in their primes with just Svatos and Meszaros coming up behind them. There are a few other prospects like Marek Zagrapan and Stefan Ruzicka, but the cupboard will grow bare up front.

Another problem that I see is that TOO many kids are going to the CHL, and it ends up hurting them. Instead of further developing their skills, they spend 1-3 years trying to learn an almost completely different game, and no longer work as much on their skills as supposed to trying to survive physical punishment and learn a new language.

Many of these kids do not do well in the CHL, and end up returning home. Since their skills growth has been stunted, and they've been playing a different game, they often struggle to catch up and adapt back to the European game.

Take Vladimir Kutny, a 6'4" giant from Trencin (and CHL teams love the tall ones) who came to the QMJHL and put up just 69 points in 187 games over 3 seasons.

Kutny went back with Dukla Trencin last season and put up a whopping 6 points in 42 Extraliga games. He has just 2 points in 23 games this season. If he had stayed home the entire time, he likely would have developed his skills further and been a much better player for Trencin in a bigger role. There are many other examples of talented, but not great, Slovak players who end up being worse off for their CHL tenure.

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My Slovak pal, Daniel, had some further comments on why Slovak hockey is struggling to produce talented players up front and sucking so bad at the WJC these days.
***
Here are some thoughts about the ”success” of Slovak national team on WJC. I can see four following main reasons:

1. System of Play - As most of Slovak teams the players do not know what to play. There does not seem to be any team-work and/or system, which is a very important factor of European teams. Except for Slovakia and Czechia, all other teams were comprised of mostly Europe-skating players. All these players have played about 10 games on one team in last 3 months. The Europeans are not like Canadian or US players who are collected from plenty of different teams and leagues. The other teams need just couple of games to play well as a team. Slovak team showed chaotic play without any thought or system.

2. Inability to score - Though plenty of kids were expected to be good scorers, a lot of them struggled to score, especially those who skate in the CHL. Except for Juraj Mikus, Sinkovic (both QMJHLers) and Mikula, the others are not any elite scorers on their teams this season. Slovaks created many good opportunities to score but they did not convert. For your information Slovaks outshoot all teams (GER, SWE, USA, SUI, BLR) except Canada but they lost all of their games except to Belarus.

3. Coach - I mentioned the Jasko’s ”amazing” year. Well, he was fired by the hockey federation from the national team today.

4. Suspect Nominations - It is up to the coach and his ”advisors” to do the best selection of players. There are always questionable players on the team every year. Ones who skate in NA are often preferred, although coaches cannot see them in action and have very poor information about their fitness levels.

One example from last season: Juro Mikus was the best junior on Extraliga but coach sent him to 4th line to play 5-8 minutes per game while preferred Petruska or Lemesani (who played in NAHL). Best scoring junior duo in Extraliga Richard Lelkes (6+2) and Marcal Hascak (4+4) were ignored by Jasko. The player’s agents have very long fingers and push their kids to national teams all the time. Many kids who play in Slovakia feel they are omitted and have no real chance to play in the championships. In the last seasons the coaches always tested 25-30 Europe skating kids on two 4-nations tournaments (in August and November) however 3-4 ones were the favorites (and they have to play on WJC) while the rest of them have to fight for other 3-4 spots because the others spots were reserved for players from CHL.
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Just more food for thought.

Labels: junior hockey, opinion, Slovak hockey

Canada/Russia in the finals again?
Been there, done that, and have the media guide.

Like most Canadians, I haven’t been able to get much into the tournament, and can't watch the final game because it's on when we're AT WORK. Good job, IIHF, schedule the final game for when your prime TV audience is at work and can't watch the games. Even the NHL wouldn't be that stupid.

People have asked me to comment on the Slovaks' performance at this tournament, since every other blogger (except Greg) hates or doesn't give a rat's ass about Slovaks.

I picked the Slovaks to finish 7th, and the fact that they were in the relegation round was no surprise. The level of hockey talent has fallen drastically in the country since the fall of communism, and the Slovaks have had major troubles at this tournament in the past few years.

Going into yesterday's action, the Slovaks were in grave danger of being relegated, which is a fate I hadn't expected at all. I felt the Slovaks were a shoo-in to be safely in Pool A, and never thought they'd have to rely on another team to save their asses..

Thanks to a 9-0 beating over the fascist Belarussians, and a Swiss cheese victory over the Sauerkrauts, the Slovaks managed to save their Pool A lives by the slimmest of margins, finishing 8th overall.

*phew*

Now, the decline of Slovak hockey has been fairly steep and I expect the country will struggle in the 2nd tier with the Germans, Swiss, and Belarussians for some time.

Look at the Slovak stars in the league. Most of them are in their prime or over 30. Marian Gaborik is the rare exception of a Slovak star produced after the Velvet Revolution. Demitra, Satan, Bondra, Visnovsky, Hossa, Chara, and Handzus were all products or partial-products of the 'old' system. Sure, there are some talented youngsters like Andrej Meszaros, but certainly nothing like the glory years.

Just to rehash some stuff I've probably already talked about...

After the 'fall', the Slovak government no longer pumped lots of money into the hockey programs and schools (Since most kids played hockey in elementary and high school in their city). The split of Czechoslovakia also left the Czechs with most of the rinks and resources, and left the Slovaks with a very weak economy.

Hockey has become a rich man's game, way more so than in Canada, Sweden, USA, and even Czechia. In relative terms, the average Slovak cannot afford to put their kids into hockey like the average family of most other big hockey countries. Many talented players never get a chance to play hockey, and a lot of the kids who do play hockey happen to be kids or relatives of former and current hockey players.

While the Slovaks will always continue to have a strong hockey culture, the level of talent is not likely to return to the high levels experienced in the 90s and early 00s for a long time. The Slovaks are basically a feeder service for many other European leagues, with the rare exceptional Meszaros type coming out of the woodwork once a year. The Slovaks will likely have major struggles at the senior level (WC, Olympics) when many of the current stars get old and retire.

Sure, Marian Gaborik is building a new rink on Trencin, but this won't help the average kid be able to afford expensive hockey equipment (in relative terms most equipment is priced higher in Europe than North America).

My Slovak friend, Daniel, also offered his take on why the Slovaks did so poorly at this tournament.

1. The development in Slovakia is poor. Plenty of kids leave to play in CHL and Czech leagues. All too often, it's a also case of stupid parents who think their kids are next Hossa, Gaborik or Palffy while they can't even skate.

2. Poor nominations. Richard Lelkes and Marcel Hascak are two regular Extraliga players who weren't nominated and Lukas Bohunicky is a WHLer who should have gone. You probably don't know who they are, but you'll have to trust me on this one.

3. Starting goalie Vladimir Kovac suffered an injury one week before the tournament and Branislav Konrad was forced into action as the #1 goalie.

4. Perhaps the most important reason: Coaching!

In Daniel's words:

Jan Jasko should get to the Guinness book of records as the worst coach in history. Count with me what he recorded during last 365 days:

He coached Zvolen but was fired during regular season 2005-06.

Several weeks later was signed to coach Slovan but after eliminated in quarter-final was fired again.

Just couple days later Nitra's GM fell in love with Jasko and fired Stavjana, during semi-series, to sign Jasko. Of course Nitra was eliminated soon and Jasko was fired again. Meanwhile he worked as assistant coach of Frantisek Hossa on the national team.

Of course this "amazing" duo recorded the worst result of national team in last 6 years on WC (Slovakia was 8th). And his last success was this WJC. If you want to relegate Canada from pool A in next season please sign Jasko ;-)

This whole WJC was disheartening for Slovak fans, but I feel that many future WJC's will be just the same. As long as the Slovaks keep producing a much lower level of talent than in the past, they'll keep struggling to maintain a Pool A presence in the face of increasing competition from the Germans and Swiss.

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As for the Czechs... just a few thoughts

1. Goalie Ondrej Pavelec was surprisingly awful. He's a great young talent and I believe he's got a good shot at an NHL future, but a 2-3 record with a 88.97SV% was bad.

2. Secondary Scoring: Where was it? The Czechs got good performances from Michael Frolik, Vladimir Sobotka, and Tomas Svoboda. Michal Repik? He finished with 0 points in 6 games. Other than those 3 forwards and Tomas Kana, the Czechs weren't getting good support.

3. Defence - The Czechs had a group of offensive-minded defensemen and have had trouble producing some good defensive defensemen in some time. There seems to be a lot of moaning that the Czechs Extraliga and Czech hockey in general is not producing enough good solid defensemen.

4. Too many CHLers! I realize that a lot of the talent has gone to the CHL over the past decade, but the Czechs always seem to have this problem of integrating the European and CHL players. The Russians, Swedes, and Finns don't have this problem because so few of their guys play in the CHL. The Slovaks and Czechs need to start taking more Euro-heavy teams.

Labels: IIHF, junior hockey, Slovak hockey, WJC

By Jes
(I was going to rant about the Canucks loss last night, but I'm not just inspired to write about an uninspiring team.)

A nice bit of Christmas cheer for the few Blackhawks faithful and the Bondra household as Slovak legend Bondra, Peter Bondra, scored his 500th career NHL goal last night in a win against the Maple Leafs.

It's still weird to see him in a Hawks sweater, but I'm happy that he's happy and found a team that was willing to sign him. As bad as the Hawks are, they still do have a pretty decent future ahead of them and they've found new life under new coach Denis "Spin-o-Rama" Savard.

Recap from Yahoo Sports:

Peter Bondra picked a perfect time to score his 500th NHL goal.

Bondra became the 37th player in league history to reach the 500-goal mark, connecting early in the third period to snap a 1-all tie and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Friday night.

Signed by Chicago as a free agent on Dec. 10, Bondra drove to the net and rammed a rebound of Jassen Cullimore's shot from the left point past Jean-Sebastien Aubin 5:37 into the third.

"It wasn't like I was sure what I was supposed to do when I scored," said Bondra, who scored his second goal in six games since joining the Blackhawks. "I felt like it was my first goal. Should I be jumping up and down or too excited?"

More importantly for the Blackhawks, Bondra's score turned out to be the game-winner in a physical, up-tempo match against a fellow NHL "Original Six" opponent.

While it wasn't the typical Bondra blast or speedster type goal, it was the usual 'right-place-at-the-right-time' goal Bondra has racked up a lot of over the years.

Bondra, who had to jump right into the fast NHL tempo while quite 'cold', has done well for the Hawks so far. In 6 games, he has 2 goals, 2 assists, and a +6.

Overall, he has 500 goals and 382 assists in 1050 Regular season games. For some reason, I've always had a thing for players who get more goals than assists, which probably explains why I was such a Brett Hull fan as a little kid.

I was shocked to find that there wasn't a single Bondra highlight on YouTube. So, I downloaded the steaming video, converted it, and uploaded it for all of you to see.

Merry JesMas ;)



PS: As an aside, the Blackhawks goal horn has to be my absolute favourite of all time. If I ever score an NHL goal, I want that horn blasting away.

PPS: I'm also a little stunned that the NHL.com store doesn't already have a Peter Bondra #500 goal shirt printed up already. Lack of projected demand?

Labels: Blackhawks, Bondra, milestone, Slovak hockey

By Gőlbez

After a very busy weekend away from the real world, I find out that secret agent Peter Bondra has signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and ended his 'retirement'.

I'm happy to see Bondra back, because he still does have something left in the tank and can be an exciting player to watch. As a secondary player with the Atlanta Thrashers, Bondra used his bomb from the point on the Power Play and put up a respectable 21 goals and 18 assists in 60 games.

He's also sitting on 498 career goals and you know the Hawks are just waiting to print the Goal #500 t-shirts to sell to their remaining 3000 fans.

Will this signing propel the Hawks into the playoffs? No, but it will improve their offence and energize their fanbase somewhat.

You would have figured that Bondra would have been a perfect fit in DC, since that is where his family lives. Apparently, he burnt some bridges and that was never an option.

I would have loved to have seen Bondra sign with the Canucks. With the ship sinking, the Canucks need to be looking out there for guys like Bondra and Kvasha and DO SOMETHING!
Of course, the Canucks anti-Slovak policy hinders them once again.

On another note, HOLY HAVLAT, BATMAN! He's got 10 goals and 8 assists in 9 games and he doesn't look the worse for wear.

I always felt Martin Havlat was held back somewhat with the dull Senators. Havlat is a brat and a wild child and now the Hawks have unleashed his fury. The d00d is playing like a boy possessed and that's how it should be. Yes, he'll take his fair share of dumb penalties, but the offensive payoff is well worth it. It's just too bad that most of us will miss it because of where he plays.

Labels: Blackhawks, Bondra, Free Agent Signings, Slovak hockey

The Slovak Draft Review is now posted at Hockeysfuture.com, courtesy of Tomas Egry. In the review, he also goes over some of the Slovak selections in the CHL Import Draft, which adds upon my blog entry from yesterday.

Also, I've been asked, and have been wanting to find out more about the Wild's surprise pick Peter Olvecky. Really, everyone and their mother cannot believe he was taken so early (3rd round). From Egry's review...

It was a big surprise that Olvecky went so high. He provides a solid combination of size, skills and grittiness. A native of Nove Zamky, he spent the last seasons in Dukla Trencin organization. Last season he played mostly for the junior team but gained some Extraliga experience, too. He is a versatile player, good at both ends although his dominance is in the offensive zone. He works hard along the boards, creates plays and is also able to finish them. He should get little bit stronger and become more aggressive in front of the net. He doesn`t have any major strengths or weaknesses. Olvecky is a long term prospect for Wild, but his work ethic could be a positive factor in his future development. He suits perfectly the Wild philosophy. Olvecky was recently picked by Sudbury in the CHL Import Draft.

Also, there was an article in Vancouver's local paper (one of two, owned by the same damn media giant), The Province, where the agents for Marek Schwarz and Andrej Meszaros seem optimistic that these 2 kids will play for the Giants next year.

Again, from 'Schlep Rock' on HFBoards:

Rich [Evans] worked hard to get us these two. We wouldn't have drafted them if we didn't think we could get them." - Scott Bonner, Vancouver GM

"He and Marek hung around together, became good friends [at the NHL draft]. When he heard the Giants had Marek as well he said, 'now we have the best chance to win the Memorial Cup.' They know what the prize is." - Richs Evans, agent

Evans also said he would not have agreed to go anywhere other than Vancouver. Larry Pleau (Blues GM) was also consulted and was "very supportive".

"That was really the spot [Schwarz] focused on. Good ownership there, good coaching, and it's a good place for him to get accustomed to the smaller rink, the different style, to learn English and to work on the transition to become a pro." - Evans

So, the agents and NHL teams are pushing hard for these 2 to join the Giants, and perhaps the G-men did open up the vaults with some incentive $$$. I still haven't heard anything 'official', but the Giants website already has these 2 listed on their roster. It's hard not to get excited, but I want some real confirmation first.

Labels: CHL, Import Draft, Marek Schwarz, Meszaros, Olvecky, Slovak hockey