It took a while, but Team Czechia has released its final roster for the 2024 World Junior Championship (WJC) in Gothenburg, Sweden. Returning from an amazing performance in last year’s tournament where they made the WJC Final and pushed Connor Bedard and Team Canada to overtime (eventually losing 3-2), based on that performance they will be contenders for this year’s tournament.
The last time Team Czechia played in Sweden was in 2014 when they finished in the quarterfinals after losing to Team Finland 5-3. In the past three tournaments, Czechia has only one silver medal to account for, and before last year’s tournament, they weren’t medallists since 2005. Now they are moving in a different direction with a new era emerging and lots of NHL talent arising from Europe.
Goaltending
Michael Hrabal (University of Massachussets), Michael Schnattinger (Bílí Tygři Liberec), Jakub Vondraš (Sudbury Wolves)
If there is one thing the Czechs have always brought to the table, it’s goaltending and a lot of great NHL goalies have played in the WJC for Team Czechia. Dominik Hasek is probably the most notable NHL goaltender to ever represent Team Czechia in the WJC and in the past 13 years, Mrázek was the last to win Best Goaltender in 2012 followed by a spot on the WJC All-Star Team and a WJC Top Three Player Award for his stellar performance while representing Team Czechia in that tournament.
This year, they no longer have Tomas Suchanek (who finished as the second-best goaltender in last year’s tournament) but they have a promising bunch that can get the job done with lots of elite experience. Michael Hrabal is most likely going to get a majority of the starts for Team Czechia and deserves it after being one of the highly anticipated goaltenders in the 2023 NHL Draft being selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the second round (38th overall). His 6-foot-6 frame (which was the tallest in the 2023 NHL Draft class), is a key factor in why he was highlighted in the draft. During the 2023 U18 World Championship (WC), Hrabal finished with a record of 1-4-0 with a .920 save percentage (SV%) and a 3.11 goals-against average (GAA) through five games.
Hrabal played 31 games with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) during the 2022-23 season and currently plays with the University of Massachusetts where he has a record of 7-3-1, a .905 SV%, a 2.67 GAA and a…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…