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)

Čada calls time on Slovan career

Hockey fans in Bratislava woke up to a shock this morning, as Slovan Bratislava announced on their website that the team and head coach Rostislav Čada had come to an agreement over the termination of the latter’s contract. For all intents and purposes it appears that Čada asked to be released from his contract rather than being fired by the club.

Photo from Rostislav Čada's last game in charge of Slovan
Photo: hcslovan.sk

Čada has had a mixed bag of success since joining Slovan Bratislava in 2012, upon their entry to the KHL. The Czech born coach had floundered with Avangard Omsk, but found his niche with a battling Slovan side, and whilst his brand of defensive hockey may have been dour at times, it did get results. Slovan’s first season in the KHL was an unmitigated success, as the team with one of the smallest budgets in the KHL made it to the Gagarin Cup Playoffs.

However, Jaroslav Janus and the rest of Slovan’s capitulation to Dinamo Moscow in the 2012/13 playoffs set the tone of things to come, and last season was one of frustration at the Slovnaft Arena. The sole Slovak team in the KHL toiled but could only finish 11th in the Western Conference, meaning it was the Nadezhda Cup rather than the Gagarin Cup they were playing for.

Despite this, Rostislav Čada’s time in Bratislava will be well remembered, as he managed to make what should’ve been a struggler, into a competitor. Slovan have consistently punched above their weight against the giants of Russian hockey, and Čada’s style of play has been an integral part of the club picking up historic victories over the likes of SKA St. Petersburg, Ak Bars Kazan and Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Over the past two seasons, Čada’s brand of counter-attacking hockey, relying on the speed of players like captain Milan Bartovič and Libor Hudáček has proven successful, especially when paired with the incredible performances of Jaroslav Janus, especially in 2012/13.

The announcement on Slovan Bratislava’s webpage is as follows:
“HC Slovan Bratislava thanks Rostislav Čada for the honesty and responsibility he showed during his 29-month tenure in Bratislava for our cub. We wish him every success in his future work and private life."

Without wishing to enter the realm of counter-factual reporting, Slovan’s recent turn in results may have convinced Čada that he had achieved all that he could have with his limited resources. After three wins out of three to start the current campaign, Slovan’s luck has turned, and most recently a toothless 3-0 loss on home ice to strugglers Severstal Cherepovets may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Slovan's fans have supported the team in their droves, yet
budgets remain tight at the Slovnaft Arena
Photo: hcslovan.sk

To try and give some context to Slovan’s financial battle, GM Maroš Krajči announced last week that Slovan’s budget for the coming KHL season would be €13million. Using figures compiled by sports.ru, for the 2013/14 season, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Radulov make €8million and €5.8million respectively on their own. What’s more, no Slovan players featured in the top-90 paid KHL players according to the same website. According to official figures released by the KHL Slovan’s budget was the second lowest in the KHL last season, a startling seven times less than top spenders SKA St. Petersburg. Within this environment, it is a miracle that Čada was even able to get Slovan to the playoffs in the first place.

Vladimir Országh becomes Slovan's interim coach
along with Ján Lipianský
Photo: bystricoviny.sk/

Slovan announced that their interim coaches would be former NHLer Vladimir Országh and former Slovan fan favourite Ján Lipianský, who played for the club during their first KHL campaign before hanging up the skates. While this coaching pair will only have the job temporarily, it will be interesting to see how the team performs under the tutelage of the pair. Országh is being tipped as one of Slovakia’s best young coaches and will potentially be given the job when current national team coach Vladimir Vůjtek leaves the post. Országh had spent the last two seasons as head coach of Banska Bystrica in the Slovak Extraliga, and was named assistant coach of the Slovak national team in the summer of 2013 as a nod towards his potential. Still only 37 years of age, Országh has a lot to learn, but getting thrown in at the deep end may not be the worst thing for the former Nashville Predator.

It doesn’t get much tougher for Országh, Lipianský and Slovan as they look to break their three game losing streak against Alexander Radulov and his CSKA Moscow side at the Slovnaft Arena on Saturday. CSKA have won five games out of six so far this season, whilst a Slovan loss may see the team fall out of the playoff positions already.

I, for one, will miss Čada. I think he did a fantastic job with what he had before him, and has made Slovan into a competent and competitive KHL team. I’m going to miss seeing him on the bench at the Slovnaft Arena, where peculiarly he stood in front of his players, right at ice level. Who knows what is next for the Brno native, but Velvet Hockey wishes him all the best.

Around The Boards #2: Unlikely Leaders

Welcome to the second edition of Around The Boards, Velvet Hockey’s weekly digest giving the lowdown on all the biggest news from the Czech and Slovak hockey worlds. Both the Czech and Slovak Extraligas got underway over the weekend, and there are some unlikely faces at the top of both leagues. However, the weekend was a tragic one with Slovak hockey.

Slovakia still coming to terms with tragedy

Miroslav Hlinka
Photo: img.cas.sk

It is with great sadness that despite the great action on the ice this weekend, I begin this week’s Around The Boards dealing with events that have taken place away from hockey. The Slovak hockey world is without three major figures this week, as two former players and the long-serving Slovak national team doctor Vladimir Luptak passed away. Velvet Hockey discussed this in depth on Monday, following the details of the suicide of former Nitra player Miroslav Kováčík, two days after Miroslav Hlinka also took his own life. Hlinka, a World Champion with Slovakia in 2002, was due to take up the assistant coach’s role at Banska Bystrica.

The news has resulted in a large amount of soul-searching in both countries, as fans and officials alike attempt to come to terms and ascertain the reasons behind the tragedy. No news has been forthcoming since Velvet Hockey posted its reaction to the deaths on Monday. 

Slovan quickly unravelling

Slovan Bratislava got off to a fantastic start to their third KHL campaign. Velvet Hockey waxed lyrically about the KHL’s sole Slovak participant, after the won their first three games of the season. However, the wheels have come off somewhat this week, as losses to Ak Bars Kazan, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Severstal Cherepovets, the latter of which was a dire 3-0 defeat on home ice.

Ladislav Nagy continues to lead the line, having scored five times in six games, but the likes of Michal Vondrka, Rok Tičar and Tomáš Surový have flattered to deceive in front of goal. Jaroslav Janus got his first action of the season in Slovan’s shootout loss to Torpedo, and acquitted himself well, but looked average in their capitulation to Severstal, which leads me to believe that Johan Backlund will start for Slovan’s next game against CSKA Moscow, which comes after a brief four game break. Slovan will be boosted by the return from injury of new defenceman Kurtis Foster, who played for Medveščak Zagreb last season.

Cancelled games cause problems in CZ and SK

Banska Bystrica got the game postponed, but
Zvolen were awarded the three points
Photo: TASR

The first weekend in the Czech and Slovak Extraligas brought some peculiarities, including two games that were postponed whilst in play. In Slovakia, Zvolen hosted Banska Bystrica on the first gameday of the season, but the game was postponed with only ninety seconds to go due to flares let off by the Banska Bystrica fans as Zvolen led 4-3. It was a miraculous comeback by Zvolen, who had been 3-0 down in the third period, and as tensions ran high in the Banska Bystrica fan section. The smoke from the flares which were set off covered the ice in smoke, and despite the officials giving an hour’s grace, the smoke would not dissipate. Vladimír Baluška, one of the referees, said in an interview, “We saw how the smoke spread and the situation is unusual and dangerous meaning we had to interrupt the game as we have to protect the player’s health. This is the first time we have encountered such a situation.” The SZLH ruled later that the result would stand, handing Zvolen the 3 points. (source)

Unplayable conditions at the Kajot Arena
Photo: Ivo Dostal

Lack of visibility was also the culprit at the Kajot Arena in Brno, as Kometa’s game against PSG Zlin, which was being broadcast live on the major sport channel in the Czech Republic (ČT Sport) was brought to a halt after just 13 minutes. A warm September in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia has made mist a problem in many arenas. The fog was especially bad at the end where Kometa were attacking, and Zlin’s goaltender Libor Kašík was notably animated. There was no score in the game before it was postponed.

Zlín still without a win

Libor Kašík hits the deck in Zlín's season opener
Photo: Jiří Zaňát hokej.zlin.cz

The cancelled game at the Kajot Arena has left Zlín in a rather sorry state, as the defending Extraliga champions currently sit in 13^th place after three gamedays. The Moravian side started the season in perhaps the worst possible way, looking average as Extraliga new boys Mladá Boleslav humiliated them 5-2 at the Zimni stadion Luďka Čajky. It didn’t get much better on Tuesday, as other Extraliga newcomers HC Olomouc, defeated their Moravian rivals to claim their first Extraliga win under their belt. Zlín went 2-0 up in the first period through goals from Bedřich Köhler and new signing Roman Vlach, but Olomouc rallied back in the third second period to take an unassailable 3-2 lead. Defensively, Zlín look fragile, and that’s not something that you would have thought after they retained all of their defensive unit bar Petr Zamorský. Certainly more will be expected from last season’s top Extraliga goalie Libor Kašík, who has conceded eight goals in two games and a save percentage well below 90%

Litvinov and Mladá Boleslav impress, while Sparta splutter

The first three gamedays have left my Extraliga preview looking rather silly, as two of the teams that I had pencilled in to finish in the bottom four, are in first and third place respectively. Whilst Zlín’s goaltending has been a problem, current league leaders Litvinov have arguably the best goaltender in the Czech Republic. Pavel Francouz, who was Litvinov’s one shining light in a dreadful season last year, has continued his fine form, picking up three wins out of three. The 24-year old shutout bottom of the table Karlovy Vary in the first game, before shutting up shop in the shootout as the side from North Bohemia defeated both Plzeň and Třinec. Both victories are massive scalps for a side desperate to get back into the playoffs.

Mladá Boleslav yet to lose in the Extraliga this year
Photo: Jan Pavlíček, bkboleslav.cz

Despite all of their summer signings, it is the old boys at Mladá Boleslav who are leading the charge. The 1.liga champions have taken to the Extraliga like a duck to water, and have won two games out of three in what was an incredibly tricky start to their return to the Czech top flight. Their aforementioned win against Zlín was followed by a loss in Pardubice, but on Monday the side got their first win against Sparta at the Tipsport Arena in their history. Former Sparta captain Michal Broš had a goal and an assist and Tomáš Klimenta bagged a brace as Mladá Boleslav battled to a 4-3 victory. Tomáš Hyka and Dominik Pacovský have struggled to adapt to their new surroundings though, as Mladá Boleslav’s two major summer acquisitions only have one point between them so far.

Sparta’s loss to Mladá Boleslav sums up what has been a so-so start to the season. Despite sitting top of an extremely tight Group G in the Champions Hockey League, Sparta have already lost two games this season, with Mountfield Hradec Kralove picking up a solid 3-1 victory on home ice against last season’s regular season champions. The pieces are there but it doesn’t seem that Josef Jandáč has worked out how best to use his abundance of talent. As defenceman Michal Barinka said following the loss to Mladá Boleslav, “We have to start from zero. The results will come.” Sparta will be hoping that the results will come, especially with the first Prague derby of the season being on Sunday.source)

Zvolen leading the way

In Slovakia, the surprise league leaders after four games is Zvolen, who are the only team in both countries to still have a 100% record. In front of goal, Zvolen have been imperious, netting 13 times in the three games. Most remarkably, the team already has twelve different goal scorers to its name, as Andrej Podkonický is the only player to have found the back of the net twice. Despite their loss to Zvolen, Poprad are currently in second place, a remarkable achievement for a club dogged by financial uncertainty. The side from the Tatras has gone through a number of difficult years especially following the failed Lev Poprad project, are at least doing the business on the ice. Tomáš Sýkora already has three goals to his name. Defending champions Košice sit in third place after three games where they have only conceded eight goals.

Player of the week: 

Michal Hlinka
Photo: sportky.sk/SITA

Michal Hlinka (HK Dukla Trenčín)

Any other week would’ve been Litvinov’s goaltender Pavel Francouz, but special mention must go to Michal Hlinka, the son of Miroslav Hlinka. The 21-year old forward has dealt with the death of his father like a man far beyond his years, and continues to train and even featured for the club in Tuesday’s victory against Skalica. Richard Lintner, who plays for Dukla and was a national team teammate with Michal’s father for a number of years said, “We, Dukla, are Michal’s second family and we stand by him and will try to create the conditions to help him as a young male support his family.” All games in Slovakia were marked by a moment of silence before faceoff on Tuesday. (source)

Play of the week: Ladislav Nagy (Slovan Bratislava)
This week, we turn to the KHL and Ladislav Nagy’s beautiful coast-to-coast goal against Ak Bars Kazan. Sadly, Slovan couldn’t pick up the win, losing 4-3 in a close fought game, but this goal by Nagy will live long in the memory.

This week’s pick of the action:

Friday: Mladá Boleslav vs Litvínov (16:30 GMT)

Saturday: Slovan Bratislava vs CSKA Moscow (16:30 GMT)

Sunday: Slavia Praha vs Sparta Praha (17:20 GMT)

Stained Steel: HC Košice's next step

Seven straight finals appearances. Four championships between 2009 and 2014. Like it or not, HC Košice Steel are the definition of a dynasty. A barren decade between their title win in 1999, Košice looked to rebuild, and with the help of major sponsor U.S. Steel, who run the gigantic steel plant in the city, a new arena and new success followed. Košice won three straight titles between 2009 and 2011, humiliating their cross-country rivals from the capital, Slovan Bratislava.

All would seem to be going well in Košice, as the reigning Slovak champions head into the 2014/15 campaign looking to repeat their success from last season, where they defeated HK Nitra in the finals, romping to a 6-0 victory in game seven at the Steel Arena. However, one look at their preseason and Champions Hockey League campaigns, and it is clear that something is not quite right in the Steel City.

All smiles five months ago. But pre-season has not been kind to the Slovak Champions
Photo: František Iván, teraz.sk

Košice currently sit bottom of Group A in the Champions Hockey League, having lost all three games so far. If there is any consolation to be had, all of the losses have been by a one goal margin, but seeing the Slovak champions losing to German outfit Kölner Haie, and Czech also-rans Bilí Tygři Liberec is somewhat surprising. Another mitigating circumstance may be that they simply did not travel well, as both of those losses came away from the Steel Arena, but is it a true representation of the current level of Slovak domestic hockey?

In 2011, the news broke that both Slovan Bratislava and HC Košice were looking to become part of the Czech Extraliga. However, their neighbours to the east vetoed the move, with 13 out of 14 Extraliga clubs citing the additional travel costs as the major factor in denying the formation of a ¨new¨ Extraliga featuring clubs from both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Following this and Slovan’s departure to the KHL in the summer of 2012, the Slovak Extraliga has struggled desperately financially, leading to a major drain of talent. Teams such as Poprad, Martín and most recently HK36 Skalica have made public their financial problems and look set to no longer be Slovan’s farm team. (link)

Three years ago, personally, I believe that both Slovan and Košice could have been welcome additions to the Czech Extraliga, and the quality that both teams possessed would have seen them easily be competitive. This summer, however, Košice have consistently struggled against teams from Czech Republic. In the Steel Cup, played in the middle of August, Košice took on HC Oceláři Třinec and HC Vitkovice Steel from across the border, and both games saw the Czech teams run out winners, 4-0 and 4-2 respectively. In fact the only success that Košice have had in pre-season so far has been in their most recent game, where they got revenge on MHC Martín, who won at the Steel Arena in early August, as Adam Lapšanský scored in overtime to end Košice’s non-competitive pre-season program with a win.

It’s only pre-season, I hear you say, and that may be true. However, comparing this season’s Košice roster to last season’s title winning side makes for grim reading. Rastislav Staňa joins Sparta Praha after leading Košice’s playoff charge with a 94.4% save percentage in the postseason.  Defensive anchor Radek Deyl and solid two way centre Tomáš Marcinko also head to the Czech Republic, joining Karlovy Vary and Pardubice respectively. Last season’s top scorer, Peter Bartoš is now 41 years of age, and not to be ageist, but time is not on his side.

Coming into the side is Radek Philipp, from Sparta Praha, but the 37 year old defenceman’s career is now on the downturn. Marek Zagrapan was signed from Třinec, but was released along with Tomáš Klouček in the last few days (link).

If one compares Košice’s present roster with their team of 2010/11, which won the last of their trio of consecutive titles, it is clear how Slovakia’s domestic downturn has taken hold. Július Hudáček cut his teeth with Košice, and he has yet to be truly replaced at Košice. Alexander Hýlak will tend goal for Košice for the coming season, but the Czech netminder never made it as a Czech Extraliga starting goalie before signing with Košice in 2011. Ján Tabaček and Michel Miklik both left to join Slovan and have not looked back since leaving Košice. Additionally, Vladmir Dravecký, Marcel Haščak and Jaroslav Kristek both tried the KHL and have moved onto bigger and better things. Crucially, what this highlights is that in the time between 2011 and the present day, Košice has not been able to replace the quality they had three years ago. Bartoš and Richard Jenčik remain, but the supporting cast is significantly weaker.

Erik Černák, Pride of Košice's junior system
Photo: sport.sk

If there is one crumb of comfort for Eastern Slovakia’s finest, it is that quality as a whole in the Slovak Extraliga has dropped along with Košice’s loss of talent. The best of Slovakia’s domestic talent is flocking not only to the KHL, but more so to the Czech Extraliga than ever before. Consequently, teams are turning to younger, Slovak talent, which may in fact be a positive step for Slovak hockey. Adam Janošik has been getting big minutes in pre-season since signing from Liberec in the Czech Extraliga, whilst Slovakia U20 graduate Milan Kolena has been centreing the top line. Additionally, Slovakia’s best prospect for a number of years, defenceman Erik Černák will look to bounce back from a rocky year and will likely play a greater part in Košice’s Extraliga team than last year. The Košice native played at the World Junior Championships at 16 years of age, and reflects the good work that Košice has been doing in producing quality talent. Černák will more than likely join Martin Marinčin and Tomáš Jurčo as top-60 NHL draft picks when he is eligible in 2016.

All in all, what started out as a rather scathing critique of Košice and the Slovak Extraliga as a whole seems to end on somewhat of a positive note, especially when at the time of writing, Košice are currently Liberec in their CHL game played at the Steel Arena. Two years ago I reflected on what I called Slovakia’s ‘long summer’, following Slovan’s departure, and once again I am left with mixed feelings. All of the negatives I have listed could also be interpreted as positives in one way or another. What I think is objective, however, is that Slovak hockey’s domestic strength is not what it was, and for better or worse, this is something that will have the head honchos at the SZLH questioning which step to take next. The HK Orange 20 project, which has seen the best of the domestic talent younger than 20 join as a team and play as part of the Extraliga until the World Junior Championships is entering its eighth season, and the results are less than tangible, yet the SZLH continues with the project. Even going back an age group, Slovakia once again finished the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament winless on home ice.

Košice will go into the current season favourites, and rightly so, but while they still remain a powerhouse in Slovak hockey, what is clear is that they are anything but a European powerhouse. What Pavol Zůbek, Anton Tomko and the rest of the backroom staff have to do to turn this around remains to be seen.