The next generation of Team Czech Republic was unveiled Wednesday with the naming of the first 16 players for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey by general manager Martin Rucinsky during a press conference in Prague.
Rucinsky named three goalies, four defensemen and nine forwards, but it was the player missing that drew perhaps the most attention.
Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr was not named to the initial roster. Jagr had announced his retirement from international play after the bronze-medal game of the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk, Belarus, but there was hope that he would come back for this best-on-best tournament in North America, especially because it could be used as preparation for the 2016-17 season.