On January 6 at 1.30 am Kyiv time at the Scotiabank Center arena (capacity for almost 10,600 spectators) in Halifax, the final of the Youth Ice Hockey World Championship will begin, in which the Canadian hosts will meet with sensational Czechs.
Czech Republic
Road to the final
Group
Canada – 5:2
Austria – 9:0
Sweden – 2:3 OT
Germany – 8:1
Quarterfinal
Switzerland – 9:1
Semi-final
Sweden – 2:1 OT
The long crisis of Czech hockey is very clearly visible in the example of the youth team. The Czech Republic reached the final of the MFM for the first time in 21 years. Narodny Team has guaranteed its first medals since 2005. Over the past 18 years, this is only the third time that the Czechs got into the top 4 of the MFM.
The right decision was the appointment of Radim Rulik as head coach. Back in August, under his leadership, the Czechs surprised when they knocked out the Americans in the quarterfinals, but they never got to the medals. That experience benefited the team.
And by the way, about experience. It was the Czech national team at this tournament that by a wide margin was in the lead in the total number of matches that its players played at the youth world championships.
Historically, the Czechs have been associated with defensive and counter-attacking styles of play. The Czechs missed really a little – eight goals, the fewest in the tournament. However, they scored 35 goals – only Canada has more. And, for example, in the semi-finals with the very pragmatic Swedes, it was Narodny Team who wanted to attack, even with the score 0:0. Therefore, the Czechs fully deserved the saving goal of David Irzhichek (defender) in the last minute of normal time. And in the last minute of overtime, Jiri Kulikh brought victory to the Slavic team. Yes, and at the group stage in the match with the same Sweden, it was the Czech Republic that acted as the first number.
The wards of Radim Rulik clearly survived the process of pumping self-confidence to the maximum on the starting day, when they won a strong-willed victory over Canada. After that, nothing could scare the Czechs, and they were convinced of the correctness of the chosen style. The People’s Team averaged more than 36 shots per game – quite North American, not European standards.
But style is style, and specific personalities are needed. At the 2022 Draft, for the first time in four years, NHL clubs turned their attention to the Czechs already in the first round. And for two at once – defender David Irzhichek (Columbus), who has already made his debut in the NHL, and scored seven (3 + 4) points at the MFM-2023 with a utility indicator of “+9”, as well as forward Jiri Kuliha (Buffalo) ), who has 6 + 2 in the current tournament (the best scorer and sniper of the team).
Czech defenders generally show themselves great. David Shpacek (Minnesota) has eight (3+5) points, Stanislav Svozil also has eight (1+7). Of the forwards, one can single out Gabriel Sturz (5 + 3, but no one has paid attention to him in the NHL so far) and 17-year-old Eduard Sale (1 + 4), in whom they see many prospects.
It is impossible not to say about the goalkeeper Tomas Suhanek. In 2021, he failed at the Youth World Cup. In August 2022, the 19-year-old goalkeeper also did not shine. And now Suhanek has amazing numbers: safety factor – 1.3, saved shots – 93.8%. Interestingly, Tomas can break the historical record of another Czech goalkeeper Adam Svoboda, who spent a total of 428 minutes 27 seconds on the ice at the 1997 MFM. Suchanek now has 368:51. True, the Swede Karl Lindbom, who has 370:45, can also reach the record.
The Czech national team conceded only once in the minority – its neutralization percentage is 94.74%, they share the lead with the Swedes. But just Canada was able to score the Czechs in the majority.
The Czech Republic has a 100% score in the MFM finals. However, Narodny Team played only twice in gold matches – in 2000 and 2001. Those tournaments were not held in North America, and the opponents in the finals were not North American teams.
Canada
Road to the final
Group
Czech Republic – 2:5
Germany – 11:2
Austria – 11:0
Sweden – 5:1
Quarterfinal
Slovakia – 4:3 OT
Semi-final
USA – 6:2
Team Canada incredibly benefited from those 2:5 from the Czech Republic in the first match. The “Maple” realized that medals are not given just like that – you have to plow and give all your best, and not enjoy the status of the main favorite of the tournament. In the first period of that game with the Czech Republic, the Canadians tried twice in foppish style to score lacrosse goals. Do you know how many times they tried to do this in the following matches? Zero.
This is not to say that Canada completely got rid of self-confidence. In the quarter-finals with Slovakia, after three victories with a total score of 27:3 (even the Swedes were not noticed by the True Northerner), the hosts of the tournament almost screwed up. They allowed a militant and really talented opponent to come back from 1:3, they gave one cool chance in overtime, but in the end they won. Their comeback in the semi-final against the USA (the Americans quickly led 2-0, but then conceded six times in a row) transparently hinted that Canada had learned the second lesson.
The Maple Roster is filled with great talent. But now we can state that one performer runs everything, and the partners act as his squires – this is similar to Lionel Messi and Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. The Canadian team at the MFM-2023 scored 39 goals. Of these, 23 washers – with the direct participation of Connor Bedard.
The 17-year-old supertalent, considered by all to be a future NHL star and symbol of a generation, scored nine goals and made 14 assists. He set a lot of Canadian youth records. In addition to Bedard, two more Canadians are in the top 5 top scorers of the tournament. These are Logan Stankoven (3+8) and Josh Roy (5+5). First, compare the difference in performance. Secondly, Stankoven and Roy play on the same line with Bedard.
The failure in the opening match cost the place of the main goalkeeper to Benjamin Gaudreau. Tomas Milik seized the chance brilliantly: safety factor – 1.75, saved shots – 93.39%. For Canadians, the goalkeeper problem is always relevant, since not everyone can withstand the pressure of the public and the stands.
Canada demonstrates a phenomenal implementation of the majority – 46.43%. Only the Americans managed to resist her special brigade. But we remind you that the Czechs play almost perfectly at the MFM-2023 in the minority.
If the Czech Republic played in the finals only twice, then Canada had 19 finals, of which the “maple” won 11 (until 1996, the champion title at the MFM was played as part of a round-robin tournament, without playoffs). But in their homeland, the Canadians spend the finals badly: four wins with five defeats.
Of course, the victory over the hosts of the tournament in the opening match warms the soul of the Czechs. However, to beat Canada twice in one MFM is a task that is close to unrealistic. The Czech Republic itself at the youth world championships in history won exactly one victory over the Canadians in regular time, one more – in shootouts at the group stage.
Forecast for the final
In the final, the two most productive teams of the tournament meet. In itself, this does not guarantee a bright shootout, especially since the Czech Republic also almost does not miss. Obviously, the Europeans will play on the counterattack, but this did not stop them from throwing five goals against Canada in the group stage, albeit to a different goalkeeper.
The “Maple” already understand how dangerous the Czech Republic is. Mentally, the team has changed, although it remains vulnerable. The main advantage of the Canadians is Connor Bedard. He is so on fire that in the final he will clearly be able to score more than 1 + 0, as in the group stage against the Czechs.
The Czech Republic literally fell in love with itself at this tournament. But we predict that Canada will win the bet for this final and the total is over 5.5 goals for 1.89.
