Action Begins Tomorrow! Canada, Czechs and USA, Slovaks Square Off In Exhibition Games
By Radoslav Vavřina, Lead Writer, The Czech List
With three days left until the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup opener on Monday, four teams are already at location and ready to square off. While Canada will meet the Czechs in Břeclav, the Americans are heading to Piešťany for an exhibition game with Slovakia.
Looks like a tight game is in store for the fans in Břeclav, Czech Republic, where the hosts will welcome Team Canada, a long-time nemesis. While the arena should have an atmosphere leading the Czechs to beat the rival, Canadians are having a strong team again despite missing their biggest Under-18 star, Connor McDavid, who is at the Under-20 national team summer camp in Quebec. On the other hand, the home team will be two stars short as Pavel Zacha and Michael Špaček will be absent.
The Saturday exhibition game might be the only chance for Czech fans to see some interesting names playing in Břeclav. Travis Konecny has a Czech-sounding name and he’s also the leader of the entire team, ranked fourth by scouts for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. But, most of attention will be attracted by Adam Musil, Czech-raised WHLer whose dad František Musil used to play in the NHL and his grandfather Jaroslav Holík is a legend in the Czech Republic.
The Czech Under-18 national team has already played a game to prepare for the upcoming Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and they beat Zlín U20 team in Břeclav by the final score of 4-1. Jakub Zbořil, Petr Kalina, Filip Suchý a Lukáš Anděl scored the goals while Aleš Stezka and Jan Růžička split the time in net.
Tought to predict the final result of this one, but last time these two met, Canada could celebrate a big 4-0 victory to open up last year’s tournament. To keep updated, follow me on Twitter as I will tweet right from the Alcaplast Arena in Břeclav.
Meanwhile in Piešťany, Slovakia, Americans face Slovakia and while the hosts will do their best to prove they deserve a spot among the elite of Under-18 hockey, Team USA will be looking to start off well en route to finally getting a gold at the Ivan Hlinka.
Photo courtesy of Eva Solaříková
