Around the Boards #3: Crisis in Zlín?

Welcome to Around the Boards, Velvet Hockey’s guide to the week that was in the Czech Republic and Slovakia hockey world. This week, Slovan picked up a new head coach, Zlín continued to struggle and Ryan Hollweg picked up a ten game ban.

Petri Matikainen named new Slovan coach

Former Avangard coach Matikainen takes the helm
Photo: hcslovan.sk

Despite all the Miloš Říha was due to return to Slovan, the club announced this week that former Avangard Omsk head coach Petri Matikainen would take up the post as Slovan Bratislava head coach. Matikainen, who was previously the assistant coach of the Finnish side for two years, joins after a disappointing year where he lost two jobs, one at Avangard Omsk and the other at EBEL club Graz 99ers. The 37 year old left Finland in acrimonious circumstances in 2012, after HIFK sent players to Espoo Blues in order to secure his services, only for Matikainen to jump ship to the KHL (Credit to Antti Laurila, @supermurs for that story).

Slovan’s website quotes General Manager Maros Krajči in saying: "From the group of candidates for the position of head coach, we have chosen Petri Matikainen based on excellent references. He is an experienced Finnish coach, an excellent motivator and strategist, with the added bonus of experience on the bench at Avangard Omsk. Our new trainer promises to bring us a more attacking style, especially at home. A strong Slovan support team is already at Matikainen's disposal today, ready to do all they can to help him adapt to our country as quickly as possible."

Matikainen will get his first taste of KHL action later on Wednesday, as Slovan host Medveščak Zagreb at the Slovnaft Arena.

Zlín in crisis?

Zlín currently prop up the Extraliga after four straight losses
Photo: Jiří Zaňát, hokej.zlin.cz

It has not been a good start to the year for last season’s champions PSG Zlín. Despite keeping nearly the exact same roster from last season, it seems that a cloud is hanging over the Moravian club at the moment. Losses to Extraliga newboys Mladá Boleslav and Olomouc in the opening few games of the Extraliga season have taken the stuffing out of the champions, who on Tuesday night, were battered in Sweden 8-0 by Djurgården in the Champions Hockey League.

Now, there were some mitigating circumstances for the loss in Sweden, as veterans Petr Čajanek, Petr Leška and Ondřej Veselý did not travel, but it is endemic of a side whose defence has gone from being feared to looking as porous as a colander. Luboš Horčička conceded 6 goals on 18 shots against Djurgården.

In an interview posted on Tuesday, Ondřej Veselý said: ‘It would be more useful if we regenerate and rest in order to prepare for Friday’s home game with Pardubice. The worst part is the travel. If we were playing at home it would be something else. When I woke up at eight am, I remembered the guys were already on the road for three hours. I felt sorry for them.’

Speaking about his team’s rotten start to the season, where they currently sit bottom of the Extraliga without a point, Veselý added: ‘Maybe we underestimated the first games we played against the newcomers. It may be that in the middle you lose four times in a row. For us it has happened at the start of the season, and we hope we can improve soon' (source).

Sparta thrash Slavia while Karlovy Vary get going

Delight at the o2 Arena for Sparta as they thrash city rivals Slavia
Photo: Pavel Draslar, hcsparta.cz

Sunday saw the first Prague derby of the season take place, and it was bad news for Ladislav Lubina, as his charges capitulated in the first period and went down 5-2 at the o2 Arena against a rampant Sparta side. Sparta chased Dominik Furch from the game in the first period, as they ended the first period three goals to the good. After a false start to get the season underway, it looks like Sparta are starting to fire on all cylinders, as they have climbed up to 8th in the table. Slavia’s ill-discipline cost them the points, as Sparta scored three times with the man advantage. Goaltender Adam Svoboda, said after the game: 'We did not skate. Sparta skated great. We unfortunately just stood there and then the guys have to take penalties. If we do not play a disciplined game at 100% for 60 minutes, then we don’t have a chance against a team like Sparta'.(source). 

Another team who had a good week after a rotten start to the season was Karlovy Vary. The unfancied side from the spa town picked up their first two wins of the season to get off the bottom of the table. A 4-1 win over Sparta in Gameday 4 was followed by a close fought 2-1 win over early season flyers Hradec Kralove. In both games, 23 year old Vladislav Habal was in top form between the pipes. In the two games this week, he made 75 saves on 77 shots. Habal spent most of last season in the 2.liga with HC Banik Sokolov.

At the top of the table, Litvinov continue to set the pace picking up two more wins to give them a one point lead over Vitkovice. A Jiří Gula goal with just 14 seconds left in the third period gave the Bohemian side a 4-3 victory over Mladá Boleslav, before thrashing Kometa Brno 6-1 on Sunday. Vitkovice also had two wins out of two this week, edging fellow contenders Třinec and basement dwellers Zlín.

It is starting to look a bit grim for Olomouc though, as the Moravian newcomers lost to Kometa Brno and Pardubice this week. With only four points through five games, they have slipped into 13^th place in the early Extraliga table.

Six point night for Patrik Moskal

In Czech 1.liga news, Salith Šumperk forward Patrik Moskal made headlines last Wednesday, as he picked up six points (2+4) in his side’s 7-4 victory over Motor Češke Budějovice. Moskal currently has 13 points through 5 games as Šumperk sit 5^th in the 1.liga table.

The current pacesetters in the Czech second division are Horácká Slavia Třebíč, who are undefeated through five games. Hot on their heels are Benátky nad Jizerou and Stadion Litoměřice, with the latter having a remarkable defensive record thanks to the early season performances of Tomáš Kral, who has a save percentage of 96.5% through in the four games he has played for Litoměřice.

Piráti Chomutov have continued their rotten form from last season in the Extraliga, as they currently sit in 10^th place having lost their last game against Benátky nad Jizerou. The other relegated Extraliga side, Rytíři Kladno, are searching for consistency but currently sit in 4^th place in the table with three wins from five games. A 5-2 win last Wednesday was followed up by a lacklustre 2-0 loss to Češke Budějovice.

Player of the week: Martin Ručinský (HC Verva Litvinov)

Ručinský celebrates with Viktor Hubl, who just recorded
his 550th game in a Litvinov jersey
Photo: hokej-litvinov.cz

The oldest player in the Czech Extraliga is currently the best, as 43 year old Martin Ručinský takes this week’s accolade. The former NHLer picked up six points in two games, including a goal and three assists in Litvinov’s demolition of Kometa Brno on Sunday. Still, the Olympic gold medal winner from the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano was coy about his resurgence, saying, ‘I don’t care that much [about points]. The only points that interested me today are the three points we got as a team.’ Ručinský almost retired during the off-season but was convinced to take the ice for one more season by coaches Radim Rulík and Miloslav Hořava, and the Most native has repaid their faith as Litvinov currently sit top of the Extraliga table and Ručinský is currently the Extraliga’s top scorer (source).

This week’s pick of the action:

Friday: Kometa Brno vs Sparta Praha (17:20 GMT)

Sunday: Plzeň vs Hradec Kralove (16:30 GMT)

Tuesday: Poprad vs Banska Bystrica (16:00 GMT)

Slovan Bratislava still on the Handzuš trail

Each year as summer turns to autumn, there are always one or two European veterans who seemingly fall off the face of the earth as their NHL contracts expire and no news is forthcoming of there whereabouts. More often than not, this is the signal of a return home to Europe. This summer, the likes of Rostislav Klesla and Mikael Samuelsson have moved back to their respective native lands in order to prolong their careers by a few more seasons with HC Oceláři Třinec and Djurgården respectively.

At 37 years of age and over 1000 NHL games to his credit, Michal Handzuš has been one of the most understated NHLers in his fifteen season career in North America. After starting out with the St. Louis Blues, Handzuš played for six teams in total, with the pinnacle of his career being the Stanley Cup victory with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012/13.

Handzuš was a major part of the Slovakia
team that won silver at the 2012 IIHF
World Championships
Photo: SITA, nhl.sk

However, the Banska Bystrica native is now a free agent, and with few NHL offers on the table after a disappointing 16 points in 59 games, it looks like Slovakia’s KHL representative, HC Slovan Bratislava, may be in the market for the big bodied centre. Handzuš is a player respected by many in Slovakia, not least due his commitment to the national team. Slovakia has been plagued in recent seasons with many of the now few Slovaks in the NHL refusing to attend the World Championships, but when situations have allowed, Handzuš is a regular attendee.

The news of Slovan’s pursuit of Handzuš was reiterated by Slovan General Manager Maros Krajči. Sport.sk quotes Krajči, who said that “with each passing day, the chance of Handzuš playing for Slovan increases“. (link)

Krajči goes on to reiterate that the option of an NHL team coming in at the eleventh hour to snatch Handzuš remains a possibility, it would be a major coup for Slovan to add a player of Handzuš‘ experience. Furthermore, especially following rumblings of financial difficulties towards the end of last season, a signing of Handzuš‘ calibre would go a long way to generating marketing interest in the team, as well as the necessary ¨bums on seats¨.

The way is perhaps paved somewhat for Handzuš, as Krajči announced to the press that Slovan had released defenceman Tomáš Mojžíš and forward Martin Bakoš (link). Since being signed from HC Lev in 2013, Mojžíš had been a solid contributor for Slovan, adding 13 points from the blueline in his one full season with Slovan. However, Slovan have spent a lot of money upgrading their blueline this summer, adding Ivan Baranka and most recently Tomáš Starosta. One would assume that financial considerations were at the heart of Mojžíš‘ release, especially while Vladimir Mihálík remains on the roster.

With the Miroslav Šatan ship now seemingly sailed into the port of retirement, the importance of Slovan adding Handzuš is not to be underestimated, especially in terms of what he adds off the ice more than anything. On the ice, Slovan kicked off the 2014/15 season in style, as new summer signing and Slovakia national team veteran Ladislav Nagy had a hattrick in his debut for the club. Check out his marvellous second goal below (play develops from 1:50 onwards), where Nagy made former Canadiens second rounder Mathieu Carle look like a beer leaguer with a lovely piece of skill.

If Handzuš is to join Slovan, I can’t imagine he will don the eagle crest for a couple of weeks at least. However, with the team now flying out to Russia for a three game road trip where they will face Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and Ak Bars Kazan, presumably Krajči and the rest of the backroom staff in Bratislava will have less distraction in order to tempt Handzuš to join the Sky Blues (Belasí).

Jaroslav Janus to bolt to the Lightning?

(First, perhaps an apology to regular readers. A curse of writers block they call it. I was miffed that I went four months without posting on this blog. I guess with the rigours of every day life, plus my continued work with HC SLOVAN Bratislava taking up any time that I wanted to give to myself to doing hockey writing saw me neglect this labour of love in favour of my 'work'. However, I'm hoping this will be the recommencement of regular postings on this blog. I've spent too long working on it before to let it die out now).

Recent news reports coming out of the Slovak capital hint at a possible NHL return for HC SLOVAN Bratislava and Team Slovakia netminder Jaroslav Janus. The 23 year old Prešov native shone in his first year in the KHL, leading his club, predicted to prop up the Western Conference, to a 6^th place finish in the West, and a playoff spot in the club’s first season at this level. The playoff match-up against defending champions Dinamo Moscow may not have gone to plan, with Janus being replaced by Branislav Konrád after conceding five goals in Game 1, and returning in Game 4 but being unable to stop the big blue machine, who won the final game in the series 3:2 and completing the sweep of Slovan.

Jaroslav Janus shone for HC SLOVAN Bratislava in 2012/13
Photo: hcmetallurg.ru.

However, to focus on Janus’ disappointing playoff performance would be a misnomer, as behind what can only be described as some frantic defending, especially following the loss of lockout additions Ľubomír Višňovský and Andrej Sekera in January, Janus consistently played lights out. A .928 save percentage put him among the top ten in terms of starting netminders in the KHL, while his five shutouts were good enough for joint-third out of KHL netminders. One could also attribute the downturn in performance to burnout. Janus, who went without a pre-season due to being a last minute addition by Slovan, ended up starting 47 out of Slovan’s 52 regular season games, which was the most out of any netminder in the KHL, with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod’s Vitali Koval the only one coming close, having played one game less.

However, while I could write a whole post raving about Janus’ performances this year, as having seen first-hand some of his desperation saves in games against SKA St. Petersburg and Ak Bars Kazan, it could be the last that Slovan fans see of Janus, who came through the club’s junior system. The source of this news comes from a brief posting on the news tab on www.hokej.cz, which featured a quote from Janus’ agent, Robert Spálenka. This has been cited by both SME in their article (link) and the news was also made public by HC SLOVAN Bratislava themselves on the club’s website (link).  Spálenka is quoted as saying “Tampa is interested in Janus; the matter is under discussion”. That one line quote could be make or break for Slovan’s offseason plans.

Janus, who was drafted in the 6^th round by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009, is perhaps most famous in North America for his incredible performances in goal for Team Slovakia at the World Junior Championships of that same year. Janus backstopped Slovakia to an incredible 5:3 victory over the United States in the quarter finals, despite being outshot 49:17. Although Slovakia would go on to lose their semi-final game to Sweden, and eventually the bronze medal game too, that one game, along with his performances in the round robin stage got Janus’ name known, as before that his OHL record with the Erie Otters was hardly exceptional.

Just one of Janus' many saves against the United States in 2009

The Lightning had a prospect netminding logjam at this point, with Riku Helenius and Dustin Tokarski and Janus competing for the two goalie spots with the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, with Janus being sent down to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL during the 2010-2011 season. Janus was a part of the Admirals’ plans during the 2011-2012 season, starting 34 games and playing the 1b role behind Tokarski as the unstoppable Admirals led the march to the Calder Cup. Last season, which Janus played in the KHL, was technically the final year of his three year entry level deal signed on the 1^st January 2010, which means that Janus is now a restricted free agent, with Tampa Bay holding his NHL rights. There is also further complication in the KHL, as upon signing the contract with Slovan in September, Janus’ services were looked into by another party. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, who then owned Janus’ KHL rights originally wanted to sign Janus due to an injury to starting netminder Curtis Sanford. News of the deal that took place between the two clubs was hushed up and eventually Janus ended up with Slovan.

Janus in goal for the Lightning during 2011/12 pre-season
Photo: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America

With a transfer agreement between the KHL and NHL looking to be somewhat in place following the Ľubomír Višňovský fiasco in late January, Janus may certainly have room to manoeuvre his way back to Tampa Bay, who have had netminding woes this season with Anders Lindback, Mathieu Garon and Cedrick Desjardins all flattering to deceive. However, to add yet more confusion to the situation, Janus was quoted by the HC SLOVAN website at the start of the month with saying ‘Srdce mám belasé’, which translates as saying ‘I have a sky-blue heart’; sky-blue being the traditional colours of Slovan (link). Also, as stressed in both of the Slovak media releases, Janus is supposed to have a contract in place with Janus for next season in accordance with the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Yeah, more plot twists than a M. Night Shyamalan flick.

Currently it remains whether or not to be seen where Janus will end up next season. Slovan have already said that they do not expect this matter to be resolved until after the Easter weekend, while Janus’ participation with the Slovakia squad at the World Championships may protract the saga further. Is Janus ready for the NHL? At 23 years of age he is still young for a netminder, and I think it would be rash to throw him in at the deep end and expect him to be a solid NHL starter right off the bat. He’s an exceptionally agile netminder, which allows him to compensate for his sometimes poor positional play. Perhaps it came as a result of the scrambling Slovan defence in front of him, but many a Slovan fan would often see Janus on his front, diving across his crease to make yet another save. There’s no doubt that his season with Slovan will have prepared him for the rigours of an NHL schedule. For Janus, it will surely be the NHL or KHL next season.

However, I don’t have a crystal ball, and my predictions are usually terrible so who knows what will happen. If he doesn’t make his way back to the Slovnaft Arena though, Slovan are in a world of trouble.

The true cost of racism.

Earlier this week I made a post the day following the news broke regarding racist chants directed at Bili Tygri Liberec forward Wayne Simmonds. Chants of 'opice' (monkey) at Simmonds dominated the news following the game between his Liberec side and Pirati Chomutov, with the fans of Chomutov accused of directing these chants at the Philadelphia Flyers forward . These fans have already been handed lifetime bans by the club, however, there has yet to be any concrete proof linking these fans to the racist abuse directed at Simmonds.

Wayne Simmonds scored twice against Kometa after
being subject to racist taunts against Chomutov
Photo: Joerg Stephan

I have conversed numerous times with a Chomutov fan Jirka Malis, on twitter (Follow him @ https://twitter.com/jirkam), and I spoke to him about this incident in detail. Jirka, a passionate follower of Pirati Chomutov, gave me a different perspective on what happened during the game with Liberec. Of course, after I saw the news break on the Czech sites, I was disgusted at the fact that Simmonds had been subject to racist abuse, but there is more to this scenario that meets the eye.

To start with, it is right to give the fan culture in the Czech Republic some context. In terms of the Chomutov fans, Jirka gives me a correct example, in the fact that he divides the fans into three main groups. Firstly, you have what are described as the "passive fans" or the happy clappers, who only cheer when the team are winning. Secondly, you have the passionate fans who love their hockey. The drummers, the people who lead the majority of the chants. This is the group that Jirka identifies himself in, and these are the fans who on the whole, make the Czech Extraliga such a great league to watch because of the atmosphere generated by these fans. Thirdly, you have the "nationalist core" (or for the purpose of this article, the "deep core"). These people, supporting their far right ideology no doubt excerpt influence on the politics of their local region, but on the whole they appear to make their fans cheer louder in the games, and make sure that even when the side is losing, the fans are giving their all to support their team, Pirati Chomutov.

Following the game against Liberec, the clubs official Facebook posted that they would not accept the word "monkey" at their stadium any more, and a number of Chomutov fans were asked to testify against members of the deep core as arrests were made following the game. In fact, members of the deep core were kept locked for over thirty hours following their arrest and questioning by the local police following the game against Liberec. This situation got so drastic that a large proportion of the Chomutov deep core refused to attend their 5:3 victory against Trinec following the heavy handed action of the local police against a minority of Chomutov fans. Five people from the Chomutov fan group were arrested, as well as named and shamed on nationwide telvision as a result of the case brought against them following the game against Liberec.

I do not condone racism by any means, and I believe that criminal cases should be brought against those who have been proven to have racially abused Wayne Simmonds last Sunday's game against Liberec. However, what I do not agree with is the heavy handedness of the Czech police and the club in the wake of this incident. It is embarrassing for both Pirati Chomutov and the Czech Republic that the event happened, but it is completely unsuitable for good, passionate fans of Chomutov, who are not proven of racism, to be feel like they are cast aside as the fall out from the incident takes place. People who have refused to testify against the racists as a result of shaky evidence fear for their position as a member of the fanclub because of the fact that they did not see the people who started the chant, and that they only heard it take place. Is it right that these fans of Pirati, who spend such a large proportion of their wages on following their club, at home and away, are threatened by lifetime bans because they refuse to testify against people whose alleged crimes are not 100% proven?

It is embarrassing for both club and country that what happened, happened. However, by being heavy handed, it could end up harming the club, and the country, a lot more than taking a step back and evaluating the situation from an objective point of view. There are clearly two points of view here, the club's view, which states that the fan club is a harbringer of racist activity, and the fans point of view, which is that the majority are being punished for the actions of the minority. Obviously I do not know what is right, and as I have previously stated, it is disgusting that Simmonds should be treated to the taunts that he was subject to in Chomutov. However, I don't feel that the heavy handed approach proposed by both the club, Pirati Chomutov, and the Czech police will serve to eradicate these racist tendencies. This heavy handed approach, of handing banning orders to fans who have yet to be proven of committing the acts will only serve to make an already disgruntled populace, even more agitated.

We can all point the finger from our point of view, but the Czech Republic has been living under different conditions to the Western world for a good fifty years before 1989, and even then the differences in culture between the Czech Republic and what was previously described as the "First World" are deeply rooted within the populace.

There are no winners from this situation, only losers.

Racist chants directed at Simmonds cloud Czech hockey

Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds was
subject to racist abuse in Chomutov on Sunday
Photo: piratichomutov.cz

Wayne Simmonds became the first black player to play in the Czech Extraliga this season, as the Philadelphia Flyers forward recently left 2.Bundesliga side Eispiraten Crimmitschau along with Chris Stewart and signed up with Petr Nedved's Bílí Tygři Liberec. Simmonds, who had played two games in the Extraliga before Sunday's game in Chomutov had got off to a confident start with the Czech side, but unfortunately in the third game, the NHLer was subject to racial abuse by a section of Pirati Chomutov supporters. Chomutov, who only joined the Extraliga this year have got off to a solid start playing wise, but this incident will certainly pose problems for the club.

The racial abuse, claimed by iSport (source), involved monkey chants being directed towards Simmonds. The taunts, allegedly came from the 'boiler' section of the Chomutov crowd, which are better known around the world as ultras. The abuse is said to have come at the end of the game, after Chomutov won the game in overtime. While the club have been quick to disassociate themselves with the fans that abused Simmonds, it does give a sad reflection into the cultural issues which have continually clouded the Slavic world since the fall of socialism in the late 1980s. Only a few weeks ago, there were vehement claims of racial abuse directed towards black English U-21 footballers whilst they played an away game in Serbia.

Pirati Chomutov, and the majority of their fans do come out of this with some credit. On the mainpage of the clubs website, there is a long statement and a written apology to Simmonds. Marketing director David Dinda is quoted as saying: "We are disgusted by the behavior of a group of spectators, who greatly damaged the reputation of the club. We would like to deeply apologize to Simmonds and all the players of the Liberec team".

General manager Jaroslav Veverka was particularly honest in his assessment of the situation on the same page. "Today we got two points (important points). However, what some of  "our" fans showed was the worst I've ever seen at a hockey game! It was embarrassing and pathetic. I ask these people to not attend hockey games in Chomutov. The club in no way endorses their opinions and absolutely does not respect them! On behalf of the partners and the owners of the club, we say in addition: Do not come to hockey in Chomutov! We are not interested in fans like that!".

Veverka also went on to say: "We will do everything possible to prevent entry to the people who were the originators of these chants. And it will be permanent".

At the bottom of the page is a written apology to Simmonds, where the club claims that they do not consider those who gave the abuse fans of their club, and that they are sincerely sorry for what occurred.

All these words from Chomutov look good on paper, but unless they prevent it from happening again when Liberec play in Chomutov then they will be hollow. Also, steps must be taken nationwide to stop this from becoming a common occurence whenever Simmonds and his Liberec side are playing away from home. Sports and conservative opinions have always been closely linked, especially in the former Eastern Bloc, but it is simply unacceptable in this day and age, for such a quickly developing country for such events like this to take place.

Despite what Pirati try to state in their statements, the club and the Czech Republic comes away from this fiasco with egg on their faces. We can only hope that Simmonds is able to continue playing for Liberec without the fear of racist chants coming from the crowds, and that he is able to enjoy his stay in the Czech Republic, for however long he remains there.

CZ/SK Lockout update: Jágr's Kladno steals the headlines.

With the NHL Lockout seemingly stretching from September into October, European hockey is buzzing with the news of locked out NHLers in many cases returning 'home' to play in their domestic leagues. The Czech Extraliga has been one of the most active leagues in the lockout, with a grand total of 18 NHLers taking up spots in the highest level of Czech domestic hockey. The Czech Republic's greatest ever play, Jaromir Jágr, has stolen most of the headlines so far, as the Czech's favourite son returned to lace them up for his hometown team, Rytíři Kladno. Incidentally, Jágr is also an owner of Kladno. However, Jágr is just one of a plethora of NHL stars now on the Kladno roster, as another Kladno native, Montreal Canadiens forward Tomáš Plekanec joined up. Plekanec is currently the top scorer in the Extraliga, racking up 11 points (6+5) in just four games. In comparison, Jágr has been somewhat subdued, with 9 points (2+7) in the same amount of games. Most recently, Plekanec scored a hatrick in a 6:3 rout of Pardubice, which has helped Kladno climb up to fourth place in the Extraliga, after beginning the season with three straight losses. Also featuring on the Kladno roster is another forward, Jiří Tlustý as well as veteran defencemen Tomáš Kaberle and Marek Zidlicky, who have been paired together on the powerplay.

Jaromir Jágr salutes the travelling faithful at the o2.
Photo: Josef Poláček

The furore around Jágr and Kladno has been so intense that the club has decided to move their home games to the o2 Arena in Prague, which is where HC Slavia Praha usually play their home games. In all seriousness it is not that preposterous, as Kladno is only just over 30km from Prague itself, plus the club is providing free transportation for all ticket holders coming from Kladno. Also, if the crowds continue to flock in their droves to watch the games, then long will it continue. Kladno have played two games at the o2 Arena so far, but over 15,000 attended each of the games. It is interesting to note that while HC Lev Praha, just across the city at the Tipsport Arena, are struggling to get over 6,000 to their games, that Kladno, playing in Prague, are getting well over double the crowds. It certainly was strange seeing Slavia playing as the away side at the o2 Arena last Wednesday, as Kladno brought forward their home game with Slavia and played it at the o2. However, it wasn't the debut that Jágr and his comrades were hoping for, as Slavia managed to snatch a 3:2 victory, with more than a little help from their locked out NHLers.

Last season was an awful one for Slavia, their worst in a long time. However, optimism is somewhat high after the club managed to nab Vladimir Sobotka and Roman Červenka. The latter was due to begin his rookie season for the Calgary Flames this year, after two very productive seasons with Avangard Omsk in the KHL. Červenka comes back to the Extraliga after two seasons away. His last campaign, in 2009/10 saw him single handedly carry Slavia to the semi finals. He won the scoring title by a mammoth 18 points, and had more than double the amount of points of anyone else on the Slavia roster. Červenka and Sobotka were paired with Slavia's main off-season acquisition, Jaroslav Kalla, in the game against Kladno, and both of the locked out NHLers had 1+2. However, Slavia still only sit in 10th place, as both Červenka and Sobotka have only added a point each since, and Slavia's anaemic offence has only managed to find the back of the net 10 times in 6 games. Still, if it's any consolation, they are still ahead of fierce rivals Sparta, who signed the extremely average looking Michal Neuvirth, whose save percentage is under .900.

Vladimir Sobotka (red) flattering to deceive with Slavia
Photo: Petr Vančura

Sitting at the top of the Extraliga tree so far is HC Oceláři Třinec, who have won five out of their six games so far. However, they have barely made a splash compared to the likes of Kladno, as they have only brought in Rostislav Klesla. Still, they did manage to bring back Martin Růžička, who has picked up where he left off after the 2011 playoff run, as the flashy forward has already found the back of the net seven times. Interestingly, sitting at the bottom of the table are Bílí Tygři Liberec and HC Pardubice. Petr Nedvěd's Liberec, who promise so much every year yet always fall short, have got off to a dreadful start picking up just three points in six games. Liberec signed defenceman Ladislav Smid and netminder/drunk driver Ondřej Pavelec to lockout deals, but they have yet to shine, with Pavelec being far outplayed by the mercurial Marek Pinc as of now. Even Nedvěd is having a shocker by his standards, scoring only 3 points in 5 games to go along with a -5 rating. On his showing so far, he made the right decision not to make the move to HC Lev.

One place above Nedvěd's flounderers are last seasons champions HC Pardubice, who have forward Aleš Hemský and Jakub Kindl on their roster, as well as the distinct possibility of also grabbing David Krejčí, although insurance issues have been stalling the deal so far. Pardubice, who are desperate to become the first team to retain the Extraliga title since Sparta did it in 2007, are certainly experiencing the winner's hangover on their showings so far, although the losses of Petr Koukal and Jan Kolář to Neftekhimik in the KHL gutted the team of two top quality first liners. Pavel Brendl, their big summer signing, has been dreadful so far, putting up a paltry two points from five games. Martin Růžička's goals against average isn't looking too healthy when it's pushing four as well.

Petr Nedvěd and Ondřej Pavelec both need
to be better for Liberec
Photo: Joerg Stephan

Extraliga new boys Piráti Chomutov are doing well in eighth, and will only improve with the lockout acquisition of Michael Frolik, and the indirect lockout affected transfer of Radek Duda, who was released by Geneve-Servette to make room for locked out NHLers. Duda, arguably more renowned for his antics off-ice rather than on them, is still a top quality addition to a roster that looks big on grit but low on top end talent. If they can add a better goalie (Slovak press was hinting that Slovan outcast Ville Hostikka could be on his way), then making the playoffs should be an achievable goal. Martin Straka's Skoda Plzeň, who are the San Jose Sharks of the Extraliga, made their moves later than most teams, but certainly strengthened their team with the addition of Tuukka Rask in goal, as well as adding Michal Rozsival on the backend. České Budějovice added Canadian Andrew Ferrence and Radek Martinek to their defensive unit. Both incidentally played for the club in the last lockout. Lets hope Ferrence won't flip off the Czech crowds like he did in Bruins colours. The club will need him as the injury struck Jakub Kovář will likely have at least another month on the sidelines. Finally, Vitkovice penned Roman Polak and Pavel Kubina, with the Ostrava side desperate to move up from their current ninth place standing.

Ľubomír Višňovský celebrates
his goal against Avangard
Photo: Ján Skalican/Ziakoo

There is also obvious KHL interest in locked out players, and the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk have all headed back to their native land to lace up for Dinamo Moscow, SKA St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow respectively. However, both HC Lev Praha and Slovan Bratislava have also jumped on the lock out bandwagon, and both have made some solid acquisitions. Lev bolstered their scoring ranks, signing Jiří Hudler and Jakub Voráček for the duration of the lockout. Voráček has certainly impressed, scoring four points in four games, including a beauty of an assist on his debut against Avangard Omsk. Lev certainly needed some forward help though, as apart from free scoring Jakub Klepiš, they have lacked consistent scoring from their forward ranks. Slovan Bratislava were not to be outshone by their Czech rivals, who sit a remarkable first in the Western Conference with 7 wins in 10 games. Slovan first put pen to paper to sign Ľubomír Višňovský. The former Slovan junior has already made his mark, shoring up Slovan's defence, with the club currently on a five game winning streak which has seen them move up to third in the Western Conference. He also bagged a goal on his debut against Avangard Omsk. The club has also managed to come to an agreement with another top quality Slovak defenceman, as Andrej Sekera will soon join up with the club.

Last but not least, a quick mention for Tomáš Tatar, the only NHL player at the moment who has taken up a place in the Slovak Extraliga, playing for the league's new boys, ŠHK 37 Piešťany. He was part of the roster which sent shockwaves through the Extraliga following his side's 8:2 demolition of HK36 Skalica, a side featuring a number of players in the Slovan system. However, his side were humbled 9:5 by HC Košice two days later. Tatar currently has four points in three games. It is interesting to note how hockey has changed in Slovakia, as the last lockout saw Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa line up for Dukla Trenčín, Višňovský and Miroslav Šatan play for Slovan, Ziggy Pálffy for Skalica, Richard Zednik and Michal Handzus lace up for Zvolen, and even Ladislav Nagy played for Košice. Still, I guess that's a story for another day.

The lockout will once again increase knowledge of European competitions, if only for a few months, but it's certain that the Czech Extraliga, already incredibly competitive, will benefit (from an entertainment point of view) from the influx of Czech NHL talent to the league. It's a boost that the league desperately needs.