By Jack Klinck, The Hockey News intern
As the 4 Nations Face-Off winds down in Boston, some fans might be wondering why the No. 4 team in the IIHF men’s world rankings isn’t in the tournament.
Despite being the reigning World Champions, Czechia wasn’t invited beforehand to suit up against the rest of the world’s top hockey countries.
But what if they had been asked to play? Boasting stars such as David Pastrnak and Martin Necas, with emerging goaltender Lukas Dostal, Czechia has the talent to be competitive on the world stage. They’ve proven it as of late, too, medalling in two of the past three World Championships, taking gold at last year’s tournament and capturing bronze in 2022.
One challenge for the Czechs was their lack of representation in the NHL. Because the 4 Nations Face-Off is not associated with the IIHF, the rosters must be made up completely of players with NHL contracts who are on NHL rosters.
Some of the country’s top talent doesn’t play in the NHL. Czechia’s top four leading scorers from last year’s gold medal-winning team at the Worlds all play in Europe and could not be called upon for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Czech captain Roman Cervenka led the team in scoring with three goals and 11 points in 10 games at the World Championship. With Pastrnak, Necas and Pavel Zacha joining partway through the tournament after tendeding to the NHL playoffs, Cervenka took home IIHF player of the year honors.
Not being able to bring their best players wasn’t the only problem for Czechia. While they can find 20 skaters, there are only five Czech-born defensemen who have played in the NHL this year.
With the NHL announcing the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028, it’s only a matter of time before we see the Czechs in an NHL-run best on best tournament.
But what would Team Czechia have looked like in the 4 Nations Face-Off? If we cheat a bit – we’re going to – and forget about the NHL roster rule, it takes a few AHL defensemen on NHL contracts to make the team work. Here’s a potential roster for Team Czechia:
Forwards
Ondrej Palat – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
Jiri Kulich – Tomas Hertl – Martin Necas
Filip Chytil – David Kampf – Radek Faksa
Jakub Vrana – Tomas Nosek – Jakub Lauko
Extra: Ivan Ivan
In a short tournament, the Czechs keep their top line from last year’s World Championship together, featuring Bruins teammates Zacha and Pastrnak.
On the second line, Kulich last…