Age: 18
Position: Left-Handed Defenseman
Physical Dimensions: 6’0, 172 lbs.
Team:
Analysis:
Every year for the past five years I’ve covered the international side of the sport, one thing has ultimately rang true about the Czech Republic’s blueline regardless of whether it’s World Juniors or World Championships:
The Czech Blueline is kinda...shallow, to put it diplomatically.
It’s not entirely their fault; most of their NHL caliber defensemen are usually already deep into regular season play in North America or in the Stanley Cup finals by the time they head to international play, and there have been some fun names that have represented the Czechs over the years, but for the most part it seems as though they simply haven’t been able to match the kind of offenses that have made it to the IIHF tourneys on the backend.