New coach Hlinka gives Czech core another shot
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 Jaromir Jagr will again have to assume leadership as the Czechs will try to bounce back from recent failure.  |
Out of the 26-man roster, only two players are from outside the NHL: forwards Jiri Dopita (Pardubice, Czech League) and Tomas Vlasak (AK Bars Kazan, Russian League).
The Czech All-Star lineup will be under considerable pressure after failing to finish among the top four in the 2004 IIHF World Championship on home ice. The Czechs finished fifth after losing to Team USA on penalty shots in the quarter-final. It was the first time that a Czech team ended without a medal in a world championship on home ice.
All the key players from the world championship team were nominated by Ivan Hlinka: goaltender Tomas Vokoun, defensemen Roman Hamrlik, Frantisek Kaberle, Jiri Slegr, Jaroslav Spacek and forwards Jaromir Jagr, Jiri Dopita, Martin Rucinsky, David Vyborny, Martin Straka and Martin Havlat. Hlinka took over the Czech national team from Slavomir Lener following the world championship.
The World Cup (earlier known as the Canada Cup) has never been a very successful tournament for the Czechs. They made it to the final in the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup, but that was the only time they made it so far.
The 1996 World Cup of Hockey was a total failure for the Czechs as they lost all three games in the preliminaries including a devastating 7-1 loss to Germany. The Czechs also lost to Finland 7-3, Sweden 3-0 and did not advance to the second round.
The Czechs have ten players on the current roster who remain from the 1996 team, Cechmanek, F. Kaberle, Slegr, Hamrlik, Lang, Dopita, Rucinsky, Reichel, Jagr and Straka.
Goaltenders:
Cechmanek, Roman, Los Angeles (NHL)
Prusek, Martin, Ottawa (NHL)
Vokoun, Tomas, Nashville (NHL)
Defensemen:
Hamrlik, Roman, NY Islanders (NHL)
Kaberle, Frantisek, Atlanta (NHL)
Kaberle, Tomas, Toronto (NHL)
Kubina, Pavel, Tampa Bay (NHL)
Malik, Marek, Vancouver (NHL)
Slegr, Jiri, Boston (NHL)
Spacek, Jaroslav, Columbus (NHL)
Zidlicky, Marek, Nashville (NHL)
Forwards:
Cajanek, Petr, St. Louis (NHL)
Dopita, Jiri, Pardubice (CZE)
Dvorak, Radek, Edmonton (NHL)
Elias, Patrik, New Jersey (NHL)
Havlat, Martin, Ottawa (NHL)
Hejduk, Milan, Colorado (NHL)
Jagr, Jaromir, NY Rangers (NHL)
Lang, Robert, Detroit (NHL)
Prospal, Vaclav, Anaheim (NHL)
Reichel, Robert, Toronto (NHL)
Rucinsky, Martin, Vancouver (NHL)
Straka, Martin, Los Angeles (NHL)
Vasicek, Josef, Carolina (NHL)
Vlasak, Tomas, AK Bars Kazan (RUS)
Výborny, David, Columbus (NHL)