Czech junior hockey struggling

The holiday season was far from quiet in Czech sports, and the preceding year ended on the worse possible note for the Czech junior hockey team. In their opening World Under-20 Championship game against hosts Canada - played Dec. 27 in Ottawa - the Czechs suffered one of their worst-ever defeats, 8-1. No match for the Canadians, the Czechs scored their only goal two minutes before game's end. The Czechs then lost to the United States 4-3, and to Russia 5-1, in the quarterfinals. Convincing losses against the teams that the Czech juniors once faced as equals came as a shock to the country's hockey community. The annual junior championship can gauge the skill level of a particular hockey generation. The Czech team won back-to-back tournaments in 2000 and in 2001. The growing gap between the Czechs and the rest is sending signals that Czech hockey could be facing some disappointing future years.

"People who are shocked by our results live out of reality," said the team's head coach, Marek Sýkora. "Canada and Russia are on a different level today."

NHL in Prague 2009?

The world of hockey also brings good news for Czech fans. Following successful NHL games between the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague in October, NHL action may again come to Prague this year. The Chicago Tribune reported Jan. 2 that the Chicago Blackhawks could travel to Prague next fall for two season-opening games against the Florida Panthers. Blackhawks team President John McDonough said the NHL invited the Hawks to open the 2009-10 season by playing games in Europe.

McDonough said, "Nothing has been finalized. We'll know sometime in the near future," but the newspaper's source said the Hawks would play in Prague, likely against the Florida Panthers. Vladimír Šafařík, director of Česká sportovní promotional company that hosted the NHL Premiere games in Prague last October said Czech organizers "have been in talks with the NHL."

Šafařík also said that no particular deal has been reached so far. "The negotiations should continue throughout January," Šafařík said. Among crucial factors for staging the event are the impacts of the global financial crisis on the Czech economy and sports marketing in particular, Šafařík added. The overall budget of last year's NHL Premiere games in Prague was about 100 million Kč. "We'll see how potential marketing partners will respond to the idea now," Šafařík said.

Pros pond skating

Cold weather early this year has enabled skating enthusiasts to glide across ponds throughout the country, but also led to the staging of Czech speedskating championships on a lake in Studnice in Vysočina Jan. 2. The country's brightest star Martina Sáblíková - who holds multiple world records and also world championship titles and was in 2007 named the Czech Republic's Athlete of the Year - helped prepare the track with shovel and broom. Eventually, Sáblíková won two of three races. "Skating on the lake outdoors is so much different from inside. … If I skated at full speed in the curves, I would've ended up with my head in the snow," Sáblíková said.

In contrast to most other competitions she takes part in, Sablíková's coach Petr Novák did not watch merely the skater's technique. He also looked for the thickness of the ice and through loud-speaker warned the competitors and also fans against standing in groups on one spot and urged them to listen for ice cracking. Indeed, one fan standing lakeside ended up knee-deep in the water after the ice cracked.

Soccer drama

Recent weeks have seen drama in nonwinter sports as well, namely soccer. The era of the self-proclaimed "frontman" of Czech soccer, Vlastimil Košťál, ended in late December with the vice chairman of the Czech Soccer Association (CMFS) quitting one day before New Year's Eve, citing personal reasons. The controversial manager departed in a fitting manner, resigning through the media with CMFS Chairman Pavel Mokrý only learning about Košťál's resignation via Teletext. Košťál said he would like to work in the real estate sector in the future.

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com