Czech Republic

WJC.019.08
|
September 16, 2008
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(www.hokej.cz)

The Czech Republic has always been one of the IIHF World Junior Championship’s top competitors. As Czechoslovakia, before the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it placed in the top four 17 years in a row (19, see table below), capturing five silver and six bronze medals.

Playing as the Czech Republic since 1994, the country won consecutive gold medals in 20, bronze in 2005 and earned four fourth-place finishes. As a new country in 1994, the Czech Republic welcomed the event but finished in fifth spot and then a disappointing seventh in 2002.

Czechoslovakia was host to two IIHF World Junior Championships. The first was in 1977, when it won the bronze medal. The second was the infamous tournament in Piestany, when Canada and the Soviet Union had a bench-clearing brawl. Czechoslovakia took the silver behind Finland that year.

Pardubice and Liberec again served as hosts in 2008, but the hometown charm did not favour the Czech Republic. They lost in the quarter-finals to Russia and placed fifth.

The Czech Republic boasts close to 80,000 registered hockey players and the country has seen many future star players participate in World Juniors.

In 1978, Jiri Hrdina and Ondrej Weisseman (who served as the country’s coach in 2008) donned the Czech jersey. Miloslav Hořava also played on the Czech junior team in the 1970s. Among other stars to emerge from the junior program were Otakar Janecký, Antonín Stavjaňa, Rostislav Vlach. Vladimír Růžička and Dominik Hašek, who were members of the gold medal-winning Czech team at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games. Other former alumni who also played on the 1998 Olympic team included Frank Musil, Petr Svoboda, Ladislav Lubina, Josef Řezníček and František Kučera. Roman Turek, Robert Reichel, Bobby Holík also played on the junior teams, as did Jaromír Jágr.

Reichel and Růžička are in the top ten all-time scoring at the tournament. Reichel is second with 18 goals and 22 assists over 21 games, while Ruzicka’s 34 points (25 goals and nine assists) over 19 games place him sixth. The formidable trio of Reichel, Jagr and Holik registered 50 points (22 goals and 28 assists) in 1990 and are third in all-time scoring for forward lines.

2009 IIHF World Junior Championship: The Czech Republic finds itself in Group A playing at Scotiabank Place. It opens its preliminary-round schedule against Canada on December 26 before facing the United States on December 28, Germany on December 30 and Kazakhstan on New Year’s Eve.

Top 4 placements since 1974

Year Gold Silver Bronze 4th Location
2005 CAN RUS CZE USA Grand Forks, United States
2004 USA CAN FIN CZE Helsinki/Hameenlinna, Finland
2001 CZE FIN CAN SWE MoscowRussia
2000 CZE RUS CAN USA Skelleftea/Umea, Sweden
1998 FIN RUS SUI CZE Helsinki/Hameenlinna, Finland
1997 CAN USA RUS CZE Geneva/Morges, Switzerland
1996 CAN SWE RUS CZE Boston, United States
1993 CAN SWE CZE/SVK USA Gavle, Sweden
1991 CAN USSR TCH USA Saskatoon, Canada
1990 CAN USSR TCH FIN Helsinki, Finland
1989 USSR SWE TCH CAN Anchorage, United States
1988 CAN USSR FIN TCH Moscow, USSR
1987 FIN TCH SWE USA Piestany, Czechoslovakia
1986 USSR CAN USA TCH Hamilton, Canada
1985 CAN TCH USSR FIN Helsinki, Finland
1984 USSR FIN TCH CAN Nykoping, Sweden
1983 USSR TCH CAN SWE Leningrad, USSR
1982 CAN TCH FIN USSR Minnesota, United States
1981 SWE FIN USSR TCH West Germany
1980 USSR FIN SWE TCH Helsinki, Finland
1979 USSR TCH SWE FIN Karlstad, Sweden
1978 USSR SWE CAN TCH Montréal, Canada
1977 USSR CAN TCH FIN Czechoslovakia
1976 USSR CAN TCH FIN Finland
1975 USSR CAN SWE TCH Canada

Czech Republic’s all-time record
Fiche De Tous Les Temps D’équipe République Tchèque

Year GP W L T GF GA Position
Année PJ V D N BP PC Rang
2008 6 3 3 0 18 16 5th/5e
2007 6 3 3 0 17 19 5th/5e
2006 6 2 4 0 16 19 6th/6e
2005 7 5 2 0 23 14 3rd/3e
2004 7 3 4 0 20 20 4th/4e
2003 6 2 3 1 11 13 6th/6e
2002 7 2 5 0 21 16 7th/7e
2001 7 7 0 0 27 8 1st/1er
2000 7 5 0 2 23 11 1st/1er
1999 6 3 3 0 26 18 7th/7e
1998 7 3 3 1 24 22 4th/4e
1997 7 2 3 2 19 19 4th/4e
1996 6 2 2 2 18 22 4th/4e
1995 7 3 4 0 43 26 6th/6e
1994 7 3 4 0 31 29 5th/5e
99 48 43 8 337 272

All-time medal Count
Compte Des Médailles De Tous Les Temps

Gold/Or – 2 (’01, ’00)
Silver/Argent – 0
Bronze – 1 (’05)
4th/4e – 4 (’04, ’98, ’97, ’96)
5th/5e – 2 (‘07, ’94)
6th/6e – 3 (’06, ’03, ’95)
7th/7e – 2 (’02, ’99)
8th/8e – 0
9th/9e – 0
10th/10e – 0

Czech/Slovaks’ all-time record
Fiche De Tous Les Temps D’équipe Tchèque/Slovaque

Year GP W L T GF GA Position
Année PJ V D N BP PC Rang
1993 7 4 2 1 38 27 3rd/3e
Total 7 4 2 1 38 27

All-time medal count
Compte Des Médailles De Tous Les Temps

Gold/Or – 0
Silver/Argent – 0
Bronze – 1 (’93)
4th/4e – 0
5th/5e – 0
6th/6e – 0
7th/7e – 0
8th/8e – 0
9th/9e – 0
10th/10e – 0

Czechoslovakia’s all-time record
Fiche De Tous Les Temps de la Tchécoslovaquie

Year GP W L T GF GA Position
Année PJ V D N BP PC Rang
1992 7 3 4 0 28 25 5th/5e
1991 7 5 2 0 44 19 3rd/3e
1990 7 5 2 0 51 17 3rd/3e
1989 7 4 2 1 36 19 3rd/3e
1988 7 3 3 1 36 23 4th/4e
1987 7 5 2 0 36 23 2nd/2e
1986 7 4 3 0 30 20 4th/4e
1985 7 5 0 2 32 13 2nd/2e
1984 7 5 2 0 51 24 3rd/3e
1983 7 5 1 1 43 22 2nd/2e
1982 7 5 1 1 44 17 2nd/2e
1981 5 1 1 3 34 21 4th/4e
1980 5 2 3 0 28 27 4th/4e
1979 6 3 1 2 19 23 2nd/2e
1978 6 2 4 0 21 32 4th/4e
1977 7 4 2 1 32 17 3rd/3e
1976 4 2 2 0 12 10 3rd/3e
1975 5 1 2 2 9 11 4th/4e
1974 5 1 4 0 19 24 6th/6e
Total 120 65 41 14 605 387

All-time medal count
Compte Des Médailles De Tous Les Temps

Gold/Or – 0
Silver/Argent – 5 (’87, ’85, ’83, ’82, ’79)
Bronze – 6 (’91, ’90, ’89, ’84, ’77, ’76)
4th/4e – 6 (’88, ’86, ’81, ’80, ’78, ’75)
5th/5e – 1 (’92)
6th/6e – 1 (’74)
7th/7e – 0
8th/8e – 0
9th/9e – 0
10th/10e – 0

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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