2024-05-06 17:24:35
The coach of the ice hockey team, Radim Rulík, has had some difficult decisions to make when finalizing the roster for the World Cup.
In the end, there are nine players from overseas in the squad, the remaining two thirds are hockey players from Europe – twelve of them are from the extra league, two from Sweden and Switzerland and one from Finland. As the experienced coach stated at the press conference in Brno, he wants a team that will do its best and will be decorated with dedication.
“Currently, we have fewer and fewer players on the first two lines of NHL teams,” stated Rulík.
“The opponents, on the other hand, have far more of them. The nominated team is dominated by players from Europe and it should clearly present itself with heart and dedication. Just do the absolute best at the home championship,” said Rulík.
With a number of nominated players, a longer-term perspective than the unsuccessful Czech Games in Brno was key for him.
“It wasn’t about the results, but more about whether there was progress with the players who were with us at the Euro Hockey Tour tournaments and now in the preparatory camps. For some, there was, for those who didn’t make it to the team, it didn’t happen. on the contrary, it even dropped. I can say that the guys who are there have maintained a constant performance throughout, which is why they won the nomination,” Rulík explained.
One of the factors was also the mental resilience of the individual players, considering the great pressure associated with the fact that the championship will take place at home.
“This was also a point of view for us, because when the players were a little insecure, they exposed themselves. And not everyone can perform adequately under that pressure,” admitted Rulík.
It was difficult to choose between the talented young backs David Špaček and Jiří Ticháček. In the end, Špaček succeeded, whose father Jaroslav is an Olympic champion from Nagano, a three-time world champion and a former assistant coach of the national team.
“David is right-handed and Jirka is left-handed. We have the same number of right-handed and left-handed players, that was one thing. They are of the same age. David is a little more seasoned from overseas. They are both approximately at the same level, in any case, we are glad that we included a young defender in the nomination , but at this moment there is simply no room for two,” stated Rulík.
One of the assistants, Marek Židlický, had an important advisory voice. “However, it is joint work. Just like with the goalkeepers and Ondra Pavelec. In those discussions, we are all from the implementation team, the managers Petr Nedvěd and Martin Havlát are also there, we do not hide anything and we talk about it openly. It is based on mutual communication. Marek he has observations, justifications and his point of view, we know that he has a good eye for it, but it is a joint work. I will of course make the final decision,” Rulík described.
The moment when the president of the association Alois Hadamczik intervened in coach Rulík’s speech is resonating on social networks:
Spokesperson Aneta Lednová: “You know what, Lojza? So moderate it yourself.”
Coach Radim Rulík: “You know what, Lojza? When it’s your turn, say what you want…”Two things that should have happened but didn’t.
I do not evaluate the nomination, it is a matter for the coaches. Printer, or Mr. President’s behavior towards… pic.twitter.com/PlOUkTSdid
— David Dinda (@DindaDavid) May 5, 2024
The current roster includes 26 players. 25 of them can enter the WC tournament. The coaches do not want to talk about who will be left out at the moment. They will wait for the last nominated striker David Kämpf and at the same time for the development of the playoffs in the NHL and AHL.
“We’ll announce it when David Kämpf joins, we’ll see how his exit check goes anyway. The moment David joins us, we’ll announce the 22 players who will be nominated for the World Cup, plus three goalkeepers in addition. We’ll then announce how many players we will write on the roster for the first match,” outlined Rulík, whose team awaits the first match in Prague’s O2 arena on Friday against Finland.
He didn’t want to get ahead of the captain and his assistants either.
“On Tuesday, we will have the first meeting of the nominated players and we will announce who will be the captain and assistants. Of course, it will also be a matter of the cabin, not just ours,” Rulík said.
He wants to succeed in the tournament, but he was not specific. “Of course, one wants to achieve the best result, that’s the primary thing. But I will try to influence the team in such a way that we don’t look at what happened on Tuesday when the match is on Friday, so that we go step by step and play an excellent tournament. That’s the path we’d like to take. Don’t be angry, but I’ll keep that to myself,” said Rulík.