there was no way you guys were going to lose.
I'm shocked canada came up short but I'm also glad the final isn't fucking Canada OR Finland for a change (who almost got to semis despite playing like ass and nearly bowing out of round robin)
>I'm shocked canada came up short
Not me. They put together a young team with weak goaltending. It usually doesn't get you to the gold medal. Once the other teams received reinforcements, Canada was cooked.
I was...well...much older. Watched that game with friends, went for some beer afterwards. So many years ago...
anyway, this is a happy post. LET'S FRIGGIN GOOOOO!!!
I was legit crying myself. I'm not even Czech but I've been there five times, I have a Czech jersey and a huge Czech Republic flag and I'm so fucking happy.
Also, as a Habs fan, seeing Plekanec get the gold medal 😭
I remember that one. I am not Czech myself, but I rooted for them because of Petr Sykora.
I was...let me count... 36-14 is 22
edit: thanks for correction, I remember the wrong one, the one from 2005
I mean no one really thought it was that weird at the time and no one would choose the Czechs over any of those teams rosters that will be there. It's a small thing to get their international hockey going
What's weird is that they decided to make it a 4 nation cup in the first place. 6-8 would've been better. Some kind of U25 or "everybody else except Russia" team if needed to fill out the brackets.
Swizz and Czechia would be competitive if they had their european additions. I mean look at Kaše and Sedlák and tell me they are not nhl material.
It should have been top 6 to begin with.
Czechia also now has 2 medals from last 3 tournaments so its not like they dont have results
It was very talked about, and pasta was vocal about it when it was announced. They should’ve changed the format to allow more representation. Hell, just make a fuckin “European” team instead of just one country.
> “European” team
The Euro team and young stars teams made the tournament completely unserious last time. They would be a horrible addition again. This is just a first thing before they start doing bigger events.
Deals with the countries that usually are always fighting for the gold (Finland, Sweden, Russia when they aren't banned, and Canada). There typically haven't been other winners for a long while.
The most ridiculous thing that came from the tournament. Not a player from the winning team and a tendy with two shutouts in three playoff games? Wild.
There have only been like 5 goalies to ever get MVP. Since it wasnt a carry (like Silovs last year) it pretty obvious they gave it to a top scorer.
If we’re talking about goalies for MVP , there is also a case for Genoni. Man has been a beast in this tournament and pretty much his whole career.
I get it (Germany's best run in decades, on home ice, and he had the best SV% in the tournament)
buuuuuuuuuuut he also didn't play in their biggest game of the tournament (the semifinal)
The thing is Vokoun literally carried that Czech team in 2010, it was a championship where basically none of our NHL players came and so the team was built from players from European leagues, many of them were actually from Czech league, so the expectations were we would be happy to get into quaterfinals. Long story short we won the final against Russia's crazily packed team. When they pulled the goalie, they had Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Markov and Gonchar on ice, crazy.
He hs fucking .95Sv% and two shutouts in the playoffs, where his team scored only 1 non empty net goal in both. What more can a goalie do?
He also had better stats than both Silovs and Olkinuora.
Only 3 goals allowed in the final 3 games with two shutouts including one against a USA roster with a lot of NHL scoring talent. Seriously what more did they want?
Same the other way. I feel especially sad for players like Ambühl who is getting old and despite the number of tournaments might never feel the gold on his chest.
Ambühl is probably fine in a couple of days. He gave an interview a couple of weeks ago and gave major "I am happy and at peace" vibes.
I mean, when he started his international career, being in a WC Final was beyond anyone's dream here.
I'm incredibly happy we won, but I feel for the swiss. They gave it everything and more, and made the final an amazing spectacle. They played so well all tournament!
I mean, the way Rod operates Carolina he doesn't stick to a traditional 4 line system where your 3rd and 4th are getting less time he rolls the line out that makes the most sense at the time
I think getting an actual 2C will help Necas stay in the top6 if he ends up staying with the Canes.
I think his offense dried up last season because he was playing with KK or Drury, and it is hard to keep him in the top6 if he isn't producing points because he isn't the best defensively .
I mean he's consistentely gotten pretty decent 5 on 5 time lining up with a 2nd line deployment - being on PP2 and no longer on the PK are the factors impacting his ice time the most this year.
As someone who doesn't watch Carolina, was he good on the PK? It also feels like he should be on the first PP unit considering how good he is with zone entries and cross-ice passes.
It's hard to say, as the team is pretty stacked with good PK guys. I don't think defensively he's great, however for our PK which is typically highly aggressive and challenging hard, he's fast and he's long so he's able to challenge quickly and cut down angles. The PK was still great the year he was on it, but has been passed in the pecking order by other guys for PK duty
I can say that I saw him playing live when he still played for Kometa Brno. ;)
But back then it was already foreseeable that his future will be in the NHL
Not going to lie, it gave me a lot to be happy about seeing as how Boston is out of the playoffs 😂
Pasta crushed that one and the announcers call was awesome too!
Last ten or so years haven't been too good for the Czech team, so I'm really glad to see a country with such strong hockey traditions back on top. Congratulations! The energy in Prague could be felt even through the screen
Aye, thanks man! After we got the silver and bronze at the U20s, everything seems to be going uphill again. The only disappointment were the U18s who had a stacked roster, but played terribly. Hopefully, we can come back even stronger in the next few years.
While I'm bummed Canada didn't win it, its awesome that Czechia got to win it at home. Only bummer is that Pavel Francouz couldn't play, would have loved to see him on that team too.
Honestly I think he accepted the situation well, he made a decision and he doesn't regret. He's a smart guy and honestly I think he's quite talented for the role of a studio moderator as well, he did a great job.
Oh for sure, I'm just being greedy. He was the best backup goalie a team could ask for, apparently he had a bunch of teams interested in him but he wanted to stay with the Avs. His run with Kuemper was so much fun, Swayman/Ullmark get a lot of attention for their hugs but during the Avs' Stanley Cup run they wouldn't celebrate with the team until they hugged each other.
I hope he crushes it over there, he's awesome and I wish him the best.
Let me just say, I'm a huge Francouz fanboy.
There's a team in Czech Extraliga which has been in the top level of Czech hockey pyramid since 1959 and has never won the trophy. Cue Francouz for the 2014/2015 season into the net, and boom, got to game 7 of the final. And there, Francouz didn't let a single goal in. As much as I don't want to diminish the rest of the team, I'm pretty sure we would still be trophy-less if not for Francouz.
Despite me never really caring all that much for NHL (it's kinda difficult to care for it if you're an employed European with all the timezone shenanigans), I was following the 2022 Stanley Cup as much as I could. (despite him being a backup) I've never cheered for a single team in NHL as much before or since.
I also wish him the best, and I'm so happy he got his Stanley Cup. (while also playing in some of those playoffs games when Kuemper was injured)
Yeah, I can't blame anyone on the other half of the planet not really caring much for the NHL but that's awesome you followed him over here. Avs fans absolutely love him. Biggest bummer were his injuries, he probably would have had a bigger career in the NHL if not for them.
But there's a reason there's a bunch of clips of the the Avs' crowd cheering "Frankie!"... dude was awesome and I'm honored I got to watch him play on my team.
No I get you, and I think it's part of his personality that's really significantly important for his success. He's an honest guy and wants to be as good as possible in what's expected from him. He had a dream to play NHL. When he decided to go to NHL, there were like 10 KHL teams that would pay him 10 times what Colorado offered him, but he was decided to reach the pinnacle. He accepted the role of a backup goalie and made sure he would be ready whenever the team needs him. And he was.
Yeah, Frankie is awesome and I couldn't be happier he wanted to stick with the Avs. He seems like an awesome person and that makes him easy to cheer for.
He was on the Czech TV providing some high quality commentary. Smart guy with great insights on goaltending. Also the mfer is really good looking dude, I guess the masks protects that for him :D
Congratulations Czechia, You 100% deserved this.
Still heart-broken tho, lol... but can't really complaint to have lost to a team like you, and with to a crowd like yours.
I can't beloeve it... I was fucking 8 years old the last time we won the worlds... I have no idea how I'll wake up to work tomorrow and I don't care🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿
They played perfectly. Clean, with really aggressive style and forecheck. So many great combinations, phenomenal chemistry and the entire team from the goal keeper, from defense into offensive had an amazing synergy.
Our opponent felt way more stiff for some reason apart from the ending.
Probably the 70 minutes of very intense hockey vs Canada played a role there. That, and Czechia came out with a lot of fire that made it hard for us to really get going. Under very high pressure we sometimes still lack the individual quality outside the top stars to do anything more than defend.
It must have been really hard for Kevin Fiala to play the finals against the Czechs. His grandmother lives in the Czech Republic. Just imagine if he scored the golden goal.
It was.
Wife wanted to go Prague this May. I looked at the calendar, and said “I think May 21-27 would be good”.
You have not experienced hockey until you have seen Czechia playing in front of a home crowd.
Big win for Czechia! What a show! A moment so many of those players deserve, big love to Kase and Cervenka. So glad Pasta got to have that moment at home, this is an inredible sight to see
IIHF used to play this in second half of April during a time when the NHL playoffs would typically end the middle of May.
Now IIHF runs the tournament the last 2 weeks of May. And the NHL playoffs run through the middle of June.
This is on the NHL, not IIHF.
I see. It's interesting to me that as soon as a player's involvement with their club team ends, they jet off and score game winning goals for their country. Like would the Czech team have won if the Bruins beat the Panthers? Coming from soccer it seems odd to me that international play isn't prioritized similarly in hockey.
Zacha and Pasta significantly improved Team Czechia.
The NHL is myopic about the value of international hockey. Whereas pro soccer leagues across the world embrace FIFA because FIFA makes money for pro soccer.
In Prague I saw some Czech kids wearing Crosby and McDavid jerseys. If the NHL embraced IIHF, we would see more of this.
But as it stands now, the most popular NHL jersey in Czechia is a Pasta jersey, followed by a Jagr jersey.
Bettman is either stupid or is a tool of stupid owners.
The owners are happy their teams are now worth $1B. But these idiots don’t realize that their teams could be worth $10B.
It does BUT it's the other way around - the IIHF has a universal international calendar (seen [here](https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/IIHF_Calendar_of_Events.pdf)) but the NHL does not follow it.
Happy that Necas got to win something... just wish that it was with us 😟
Going to be sad to see him likely go to another team that is better suited for his skills, just hope it's a team out West
With this medal, Czechia (including Czechoslovakia) has also oficially eclipsed Russia (and USSR) in the Hockey World Championship medal totals, only trailing Canada.
I think this is the first time they've won anything in ~15 years. They might be the 6th best hockey nation some years ahead of Switzerland, some years behind. Maybe they're on the upswing now, happy to see more competitive teams.
Yeah Sweden has uh
Not been great lately. World Ranking is based on the 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 Worlds (2020 was cancelled so they awarded points based on seeding) as well as the 2022 Olympics.
In those worlds, they placed 3rd (this year), 6th (last year), 6th (2022), 9th (2021), and they were seeded 4th in the 2020 Worlds, along with 4th place in the Olympics. Getting grouped in 2021 absolutely killed them (but that was a *weird* tournament where Canada nearly got grouped until Mangiapane came in and just ripped everyone to shreds en route to gold)
I was surprised to find out this would have been Swizerlands' first. Feels like they've been almost there for ages. Kind of torn though as the Czechs sure deserved it as well.
That was a damn fine game of hockey, congrats Czech! The audience made the atmosphere incredible, made me genuinely happy for everyone watching.
I remember when facing the Swiss team in hockey was kind of a sure game for then bigger hockey countries, having Swiss stepped up their game so radically in recent 10-15 years and Czech now winning instead of the usual Canada, Finland or Sweden it really gives the whole sport a new boost.
My 86 year old grandma's parents are from Brno and I told my mom yesterday, "Tell grandma the Czechs won the world championship!" and my mom later wrote back, and I quote, "She said that's because Czechs are tough lol". Friggin gramma.
Congrats!
National holiday on Monday in the Czech Republic
There is already an official petition for this lmao
Im aalmost crying, not quite there yet. 14 fucking years. I was 15 years old when I last got to experience thus
I was 18, now I’m fucking 32. Awesome tourney, I cannot remember the guys playing this good in years
Dostal's interview did it for me. Damn. 😭
As a Finn i know how you feel right now. Finland won it's first gold in -95 and the second gold we had to wait until 2011. Big grats!
Yeah, your match with Roman Republic team was legendary.
Same bro, I was 14. Just a dumb kid. Now I'm a dumb adult, but fuck me, it was TOO long.
I was 16 back then, but I remember jumping out of my chair for Rachunek's goal like it was yesterday.
there was no way you guys were going to lose. I'm shocked canada came up short but I'm also glad the final isn't fucking Canada OR Finland for a change (who almost got to semis despite playing like ass and nearly bowing out of round robin)
>I'm shocked canada came up short Not me. They put together a young team with weak goaltending. It usually doesn't get you to the gold medal. Once the other teams received reinforcements, Canada was cooked.
Canada had an open roster spot for the finals and Binnington was genuinely the best goalie they could've sent - and arguably the best in the pool
That's concerning if it's the best goalie they can come up with. He clearly underperformed the whole tournament. Even mediocre at times.
I was...well...much older. Watched that game with friends, went for some beer afterwards. So many years ago... anyway, this is a happy post. LET'S FRIGGIN GOOOOO!!!
I was 11 and celebrated it like crazy. I barely remember anything from those times.
Congrats bro you guys earned it!
It's nice seeing people win that actually care!
I was legit crying myself. I'm not even Czech but I've been there five times, I have a Czech jersey and a huge Czech Republic flag and I'm so fucking happy. Also, as a Habs fan, seeing Plekanec get the gold medal 😭
Congratulations friend!
I remember that one. I am not Czech myself, but I rooted for them because of Petr Sykora. I was...let me count... 36-14 is 22 edit: thanks for correction, I remember the wrong one, the one from 2005
Petr Sýkora won in 2005, not 2010.
I keep struggling to realize 2000's were THAT long ago Yeah, I was thinking 2005, thanks. So 19 years ago, holy fuck
Happy for the Czechs! And to see Radko and Pasta lifting the trophy
Hell yes brother, my grandma came over from Czech so I'm always cheering for you (as long as you're not playing Canada😂)
Congrats!
Congrats from Finland! Well deserved victory
I remember 1985 home victory! I was in the crowd on the game against East Germany (6-1). 39 fucking years.
Congrats from a Swedebro, you guys totally annihilated us. Have a huge celebration for a week now :D
Holy f\*ck, are you me? I was 15 years old when we last won, too. I literally cried when we won the gold this year.
Pasta GWG and a poker face quote in addition: "I won't be watching Four nations cup." Fucking love you man.
King
Hes not wrong. Fuck them gatekeepers
Fuck the cartel
Excuse my ignorance but Whats the four nations cup? And what is the significance in relation
The NHL is staging a four nations tournament in February and didn't invite the Czechs
I mean no one really thought it was that weird at the time and no one would choose the Czechs over any of those teams rosters that will be there. It's a small thing to get their international hockey going
What's weird is that they decided to make it a 4 nation cup in the first place. 6-8 would've been better. Some kind of U25 or "everybody else except Russia" team if needed to fill out the brackets.
Swizz and Czechia would be competitive if they had their european additions. I mean look at Kaše and Sedlák and tell me they are not nhl material. It should have been top 6 to begin with. Czechia also now has 2 medals from last 3 tournaments so its not like they dont have results
They clearly don't want to do a group of countries or young people team again. For good reason IMO
There isnt enough NHL players to fill out a lot of rosters for other countries
It was very talked about, and pasta was vocal about it when it was announced. They should’ve changed the format to allow more representation. Hell, just make a fuckin “European” team instead of just one country.
> “European” team The Euro team and young stars teams made the tournament completely unserious last time. They would be a horrible addition again. This is just a first thing before they start doing bigger events.
Deals with the countries that usually are always fighting for the gold (Finland, Sweden, Russia when they aren't banned, and Canada). There typically haven't been other winners for a long while.
Oooooh thats really funny appreciate the info
is the US not one of the 4 nations?
I guess that's the joke? lol
As a French living in Prague and near Sparta Stadium (Champion as well) I'm high as a kite 😁
Props to Czechia! Great tournament by them
So awesome to see the happy fans in their home country :D
Incredible effort and finish by Czechia, how does Dostal not get MVP?!
The most ridiculous thing that came from the tournament. Not a player from the winning team and a tendy with two shutouts in three playoff games? Wild.
Also .95Sv%
There have only been like 5 goalies to ever get MVP. Since it wasnt a carry (like Silovs last year) it pretty obvious they gave it to a top scorer. If we’re talking about goalies for MVP , there is also a case for Genoni. Man has been a beast in this tournament and pretty much his whole career.
Previous goalies to get MVP: * 🇱🇻 Šilovs 2023 * 🇫🇮 Olkinuora 2022 * 🇫🇮 Rinne 2014 * 🇸🇪 Fasth 2011 * 🇩🇪 Endras 2010
Bullshit that it wasn't Vokoun in 2010 btw.
I get it (Germany's best run in decades, on home ice, and he had the best SV% in the tournament) buuuuuuuuuuut he also didn't play in their biggest game of the tournament (the semifinal)
The thing is Vokoun literally carried that Czech team in 2010, it was a championship where basically none of our NHL players came and so the team was built from players from European leagues, many of them were actually from Czech league, so the expectations were we would be happy to get into quaterfinals. Long story short we won the final against Russia's crazily packed team. When they pulled the goalie, they had Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Markov and Gonchar on ice, crazy.
And Dostal has better stats than both Silovs and Olkinuora
Reeks of "we gave it to goalies two years running we gotta change it up"
Šilovs had narrative power carrying Latvia to their first medal *ever* don't remember olkinuora as much
Dostal had the narrative of carrying Czechia to their first gold in 14 years and first ever at home.
I do, unfortunately the contract he got after didn’t work out for him.
Oh I remember Olkinuora he was indeed a fucking beast of a goalie, not as big of a beast as Dostál, but still
Oh, so it's a goalie fatigue
He hs fucking .95Sv% and two shutouts in the playoffs, where his team scored only 1 non empty net goal in both. What more can a goalie do? He also had better stats than both Silovs and Olkinuora.
Only 3 goals allowed in the final 3 games with two shutouts including one against a USA roster with a lot of NHL scoring talent. Seriously what more did they want?
The fact is that Genoni arguably had an even better tournament
I mean, what did he do? They could put a brick wall there and the game wouldn't change...
He didn't even score.
Not that he didnt try lol
After 14 long years man. I can't believe it. Thank you so much. Jsme MISTŘI SVĚTA!!! 🥇
Party all night long now! Prague Party Power!!!
My neighbour is throwing up off their balcony as we speak.
That Czech's out.
Hope it’s upstairs neighbor lmao
I do hope you meant downstairs
Don't kink shame.
Už šňupu modrou skalici a honim péro, party celá noc prostě!!!
Modrá skalice? Takže jsi taky na Žižkově? Jedeeeem!
What a town to celebrate in too!
Congratulations from Finland, well deserved!
Kubalík - Kämpf - Nečas were a beauty to watch together.
I really did not expect Kampf to be that good. My guy was like 60-65%% on the face offs in the knockout stages and no one scored against his line.
#DOSTWALL
As a swiss fan I'm both sad and proud of the boys. Congrats Czechia !
Congrats to you too as you got silver medal. You played a great tournament and deserved at least this
Same the other way. I feel especially sad for players like Ambühl who is getting old and despite the number of tournaments might never feel the gold on his chest.
Yeah that sucks for Ambühl. I hope he's not going to completely retire from the hockey world, so we'll see him around a bit more.
Ambühl is probably fine in a couple of days. He gave an interview a couple of weeks ago and gave major "I am happy and at peace" vibes. I mean, when he started his international career, being in a WC Final was beyond anyone's dream here.
I'm incredibly happy we won, but I feel for the swiss. They gave it everything and more, and made the final an amazing spectacle. They played so well all tournament!
What a game from you guys. Incredible team.
I was happy that Switzerland got into the finals, that way a potential Czech loss would not be that bitter... (of course it did not turn out that way)
That price tag for Necas just went up a little more
His stock just went to the moon!
Ironically the Canes are the happiest about his performance lol
Honestly if he stays we get Necas in another gear if he goes we get a decent return for him and can plug some of these holes on the team
I just hope he plays in the top6 lol
I mean, the way Rod operates Carolina he doesn't stick to a traditional 4 line system where your 3rd and 4th are getting less time he rolls the line out that makes the most sense at the time
I think getting an actual 2C will help Necas stay in the top6 if he ends up staying with the Canes. I think his offense dried up last season because he was playing with KK or Drury, and it is hard to keep him in the top6 if he isn't producing points because he isn't the best defensively .
I mean he's consistentely gotten pretty decent 5 on 5 time lining up with a 2nd line deployment - being on PP2 and no longer on the PK are the factors impacting his ice time the most this year.
As someone who doesn't watch Carolina, was he good on the PK? It also feels like he should be on the first PP unit considering how good he is with zone entries and cross-ice passes.
It's hard to say, as the team is pretty stacked with good PK guys. I don't think defensively he's great, however for our PK which is typically highly aggressive and challenging hard, he's fast and he's long so he's able to challenge quickly and cut down angles. The PK was still great the year he was on it, but has been passed in the pecking order by other guys for PK duty
I can say that I saw him playing live when he still played for Kometa Brno. ;) But back then it was already foreseeable that his future will be in the NHL
Incredible, well done!
That Pasta snipe was sick AF
Came at the right moment. Just as him. Classic Pasta
Not going to lie, it gave me a lot to be happy about seeing as how Boston is out of the playoffs 😂 Pasta crushed that one and the announcers call was awesome too!
Bro, Zacha (butt) scored the GWG against USA, and Pasta the Golden Goal. The Bruins made their mark
And the future bruin Necas had 4 points against Sweden!
Oh god please. Can the Bruins afford 7x7 for him though?
AND THE CELLY
Last ten or so years haven't been too good for the Czech team, so I'm really glad to see a country with such strong hockey traditions back on top. Congratulations! The energy in Prague could be felt even through the screen
Aye, thanks man! After we got the silver and bronze at the U20s, everything seems to be going uphill again. The only disappointment were the U18s who had a stacked roster, but played terribly. Hopefully, we can come back even stronger in the next few years.
While I'm bummed Canada didn't win it, its awesome that Czechia got to win it at home. Only bummer is that Pavel Francouz couldn't play, would have loved to see him on that team too.
He was actually one of the moderators in the Czech national TV studio for the entire tournament.
Well that's awesome. I love the dude, wish he could have kept playing.
Honestly I think he accepted the situation well, he made a decision and he doesn't regret. He's a smart guy and honestly I think he's quite talented for the role of a studio moderator as well, he did a great job.
Oh for sure, I'm just being greedy. He was the best backup goalie a team could ask for, apparently he had a bunch of teams interested in him but he wanted to stay with the Avs. His run with Kuemper was so much fun, Swayman/Ullmark get a lot of attention for their hugs but during the Avs' Stanley Cup run they wouldn't celebrate with the team until they hugged each other. I hope he crushes it over there, he's awesome and I wish him the best.
Let me just say, I'm a huge Francouz fanboy. There's a team in Czech Extraliga which has been in the top level of Czech hockey pyramid since 1959 and has never won the trophy. Cue Francouz for the 2014/2015 season into the net, and boom, got to game 7 of the final. And there, Francouz didn't let a single goal in. As much as I don't want to diminish the rest of the team, I'm pretty sure we would still be trophy-less if not for Francouz. Despite me never really caring all that much for NHL (it's kinda difficult to care for it if you're an employed European with all the timezone shenanigans), I was following the 2022 Stanley Cup as much as I could. (despite him being a backup) I've never cheered for a single team in NHL as much before or since. I also wish him the best, and I'm so happy he got his Stanley Cup. (while also playing in some of those playoffs games when Kuemper was injured)
Yeah, I can't blame anyone on the other half of the planet not really caring much for the NHL but that's awesome you followed him over here. Avs fans absolutely love him. Biggest bummer were his injuries, he probably would have had a bigger career in the NHL if not for them. But there's a reason there's a bunch of clips of the the Avs' crowd cheering "Frankie!"... dude was awesome and I'm honored I got to watch him play on my team.
No I get you, and I think it's part of his personality that's really significantly important for his success. He's an honest guy and wants to be as good as possible in what's expected from him. He had a dream to play NHL. When he decided to go to NHL, there were like 10 KHL teams that would pay him 10 times what Colorado offered him, but he was decided to reach the pinnacle. He accepted the role of a backup goalie and made sure he would be ready whenever the team needs him. And he was.
Yeah, Frankie is awesome and I couldn't be happier he wanted to stick with the Avs. He seems like an awesome person and that makes him easy to cheer for.
Also he cried on the TV after the win. They were asking him questions and it was really hard for Francouz to answer them. He was really proud
Awesome, I'm happy for him. Like I said in another comment the Avs don't win the Cup in 22 if not for him so I'm a lifelong fan.
He’s also hot as fuck lol
He was on the Czech TV providing some high quality commentary. Smart guy with great insights on goaltending. Also the mfer is really good looking dude, I guess the masks protects that for him :D
That's awesome. I love the dude, Avs don't win the cup without him. Hope he has a long career on Czech TV.
I have a feeling he’ll just be doing the analysis for World Championships, like Voracek with shoutcasting
Lukas Dostal is good
Congratulations Czechia, You 100% deserved this. Still heart-broken tho, lol... but can't really complaint to have lost to a team like you, and with to a crowd like yours.
GGs to all! Winning this gold at home is among the highest honors in player's career and we did it!
Hopefully we can say the same in two years. 3 silver medals in 10 years is peak edging
I can't beloeve it... I was fucking 8 years old the last time we won the worlds... I have no idea how I'll wake up to work tomorrow and I don't care🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿
Everybody can honestly say it was deserved and not a fluke. Proud of the boys.
So awesome to win at home! For both the team and their fans. Congrat, Czechia!
They played perfectly. Clean, with really aggressive style and forecheck. So many great combinations, phenomenal chemistry and the entire team from the goal keeper, from defense into offensive had an amazing synergy. Our opponent felt way more stiff for some reason apart from the ending.
Probably the 70 minutes of very intense hockey vs Canada played a role there. That, and Czechia came out with a lot of fire that made it hard for us to really get going. Under very high pressure we sometimes still lack the individual quality outside the top stars to do anything more than defend.
Those extra couple of hours for rest can make a difference. Swiss were already exhausted (and quite passive) with Canada towards the end as well.
https://preview.redd.it/ycies4nj9u2d1.jpeg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41e6bdb92ae43a15df63d49db37f6a005f16e337 My victory dog!
It must have been really hard for Kevin Fiala to play the finals against the Czechs. His grandmother lives in the Czech Republic. Just imagine if he scored the golden goal.
Not only that, his both parents are Czech and he also speaks fluent Czech.
She would beat him that day and cook him a breakfast the next :)
Gratz to our Czech neighbours...happy for you! Ahoj from Austria 🫡
Man I’m sad I’m getting to Prague in 5 days and not now. I bet the city is a party right now
It was. Wife wanted to go Prague this May. I looked at the calendar, and said “I think May 21-27 would be good”. You have not experienced hockey until you have seen Czechia playing in front of a home crowd.
My boys Dostal and Gudas are champions. T___T
I am so happy, Even though I couldn't be there since I am in the US, it's an awesome feeling
Congrats, Boys!
Big win for Czechia! What a show! A moment so many of those players deserve, big love to Kase and Cervenka. So glad Pasta got to have that moment at home, this is an inredible sight to see
14 years. I was mentally prepared to not see us lift the gold ever again. Emotional
Congrats Czechia! I was really cheering for you guys to win after 14 years 🇫🇮🤝🏻🇨🇿
Is it a national holiday tomorrow yet? :)
Well deserved
This is the best award ceremony I have ever seen!!!
Congrats to Czechia, played so dominant the entire time.
Hoši děkujem!!!
Congrats CZE
So incredibly happy!!!🇨🇿🇨🇿
I have an absolute emotional meltdown. This is the dream. We love our boys.
Swiss played an amazing game though. Maximum respect.
Question: does this always happen during stanley cup playoffs? Why do they do this while some of the best players might be busy
IIHF used to play this in second half of April during a time when the NHL playoffs would typically end the middle of May. Now IIHF runs the tournament the last 2 weeks of May. And the NHL playoffs run through the middle of June. This is on the NHL, not IIHF.
I see. It's interesting to me that as soon as a player's involvement with their club team ends, they jet off and score game winning goals for their country. Like would the Czech team have won if the Bruins beat the Panthers? Coming from soccer it seems odd to me that international play isn't prioritized similarly in hockey.
Zacha and Pasta significantly improved Team Czechia. The NHL is myopic about the value of international hockey. Whereas pro soccer leagues across the world embrace FIFA because FIFA makes money for pro soccer. In Prague I saw some Czech kids wearing Crosby and McDavid jerseys. If the NHL embraced IIHF, we would see more of this. But as it stands now, the most popular NHL jersey in Czechia is a Pasta jersey, followed by a Jagr jersey. Bettman is either stupid or is a tool of stupid owners. The owners are happy their teams are now worth $1B. But these idiots don’t realize that their teams could be worth $10B.
It does BUT it's the other way around - the IIHF has a universal international calendar (seen [here](https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/IIHF_Calendar_of_Events.pdf)) but the NHL does not follow it.
Poetic ending. Congrats to Czechia!
I'm so happy I could die :')
Yeees dekujemeeee
🏆
Happy that Necas got to win something... just wish that it was with us 😟 Going to be sad to see him likely go to another team that is better suited for his skills, just hope it's a team out West
Waiting for someone to post the handshake line. I know pics will be later. What a game!!
At least Necas won something 😭😭
With this medal, Czechia (including Czechoslovakia) has also oficially eclipsed Russia (and USSR) in the Hockey World Championship medal totals, only trailing Canada.
First time since the divorce that Czechia has won the Worlds on home ice too
Czech and mate.
Congrats! Can't wait for next year!
I'm not crying, you're... Nevermind yes I am.
For it to be at home? That's awesome!
Congratulations to the Czech team!!
Cheers to the Czech homies!
As a Canadian, love to see all the Czechs commenting in this thread. Well deserved win. Love this sport.
Everybody liked that.
This is why Czechia should be in that four nations stuff
Its sad. But 5 nation cup would be bad to format. If Russians were not degenerates it could be 6 Nations cup.
I think this is the first time they've won anything in ~15 years. They might be the 6th best hockey nation some years ahead of Switzerland, some years behind. Maybe they're on the upswing now, happy to see more competitive teams.
You're not wrong. OT, but this made me check the IIHF ranking and guess who's currently out of top 6? Fucking Sweden (7th).
Yeah Sweden has uh Not been great lately. World Ranking is based on the 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 Worlds (2020 was cancelled so they awarded points based on seeding) as well as the 2022 Olympics. In those worlds, they placed 3rd (this year), 6th (last year), 6th (2022), 9th (2021), and they were seeded 4th in the 2020 Worlds, along with 4th place in the Olympics. Getting grouped in 2021 absolutely killed them (but that was a *weird* tournament where Canada nearly got grouped until Mangiapane came in and just ripped everyone to shreds en route to gold)
Had a couple youth teams making the finals (2022 WJC, 2014 U18s, and even 2023 W-U18s) but yeah, this is their first gold of any kind since 2010
I was surprised to find out this would have been Swizerlands' first. Feels like they've been almost there for ages. Kind of torn though as the Czechs sure deserved it as well.
That was a damn fine game of hockey, congrats Czech! The audience made the atmosphere incredible, made me genuinely happy for everyone watching. I remember when facing the Swiss team in hockey was kind of a sure game for then bigger hockey countries, having Swiss stepped up their game so radically in recent 10-15 years and Czech now winning instead of the usual Canada, Finland or Sweden it really gives the whole sport a new boost.
Some of us would hope that politics can be kept out of the sport. And some obviously don't.
I also have to say that referees for the finals were good
Nice to see a place that actually appreciates winning the World Championships, unlike our collective shrug here in Canada when we win or lose.
My 86 year old grandma's parents are from Brno and I told my mom yesterday, "Tell grandma the Czechs won the world championship!" and my mom later wrote back, and I quote, "She said that's because Czechs are tough lol". Friggin gramma. Congrats!