Mrazek, Voracek highlight initial Czech Republic World Cup roster
After Russia and Finland got things going early Wednesday morning, World Cup roster release day continued as the Czech Republic unveiled their first 16 players. General manager Martin Rucinsky and his staff included three goalies, four defensemen and nine forwards for the initial squad.
Goalies
Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings
Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers
Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets
Defensemen
Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers
Michal Kempny, Avangard Omsk (KHL)
Roman Polak, San Jose Sharks
Andrej Sustr, Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards
Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames
Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
David Krejci, Boston Bruins
Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
Vladimir Sobotka, Avangard Omsk (KHL)
Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
The final seven players must be announced by June 1.
Here's the Czech Republic jersey:
Czech them out! These are the #WCH2016 Czech Republic uniforms by @adidas. pic.twitter.com/ddjDRFYSrp
— NHL (@NHL) March 2, 2016
• Sobotka and Kempny are the only two non-NHL players on the roster. Sobotka’s rights are still owned by the St. Louis Blues for at least one more year, while the 25-year-old Kempny has spent his entire career in Europe. On a conference call, Rucinsky noted that Kempny's presence will help a Czech defense that is thin on the left-side.
• It’s more than likely that Mrazek wil be the Czech’s No. 1 in net, which is a good thing when you look at the initial names on the blue line. He’s going to have to steal some games against Canada, the U.S. and Team Europe in Group A.
• One big name missing? That would be Jaromir Jagr, who had originally announced his international retirement after last year’s World Championships. The Czech's had no plans to include the 44-year-old as one of their first 16 names, hoping to give him more time to decide what his plans are for next season and whether representing his country one more time would be part of those plans.
Previously released 16-man rosters:
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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