Czech Republic vs Latvia Exhibition (Pre- Tournament)

2012 World Junior Championship

Czech Republic vs Latvia Exhibition – Dec. 20^th

Prospects Breakdown:

LAT #25 (Kristens Gudlevskis) Gudlevskis was easily the story of the game.  He was excellent in just over a half game of work.  He left the game during a pre-planned goalie switch midway through the second period with his team surprisingly still in the game. They were losing 1-0 at that point before eventually losing 7-1.  Gudlevskis made use of his good size and nice athleticism to make several spectacular saves and keep the game competitive long after the game should have been in the bag for the Czechs. Despite being a 1992-born, the undrafted goalie could turn some heads at this tournament if he’s able to replicate the magic he displayed on this night.

LAT #22 (Zemgus Girgensons) Like many of his teammates; Girgensons wasn’t able to generate much offense at all on the night. With the lack of support he received, Girgensons wasn’t involved offensively at all despite being in the right places at times. Latvia spent a vast majority of the game chasing the puck and Girgensons was no different. I still would have liked to see a little more offensively from him though. Girgensons was able to assert himself physically throwing numerous checks in pursuit of the puck. He also showed some nice leadership qualities in standing up for one of Latvia’s numerous diminutive players during a post-whistle scrum.

LAT #9 (Kristians Pelss) Pelss did as well as could be expected without any support whatsoever.  The Latvian captain had no one capable of playing the game at his level and was really the only player that was able to create any chances at all. Most of Latvia’s offense ran through the slick-skating play-maker.  Pelss showed good heart in standing up to several Czech players after getting in his goalie’s face while the rest of his team backed down or went for a line change. Pelss was responsible at both ends of the rink as he broke up numerous chances while back-checking. Quick release with a pro-level shot. He slowed the play down several times to help compose his overwhelmed teammates.

CZE#16 (Radek Faksa) Faksa is a good skater that showcased some skill as well as a quick release with his wrist shot. Unfortunately he didn’t use his size very well and lost a lot of puck battles against the smaller Latvians. I can see the upside in this player, but his effort left me wanting more.

CZE#15 (Daniel Pribyl) – The big Czech captain had a strong game contributing a goal and a pair of assists. Pribyl skated well and had a very strong all-around game using his excellent size to his advantage. In a game where the Czech were just rolling through the lines and it seemed like everyone was getting in on the scoring, Pribyl was one of the best Czech players.

CZE#17 (Petr Holik)– The smallest player on the Czech team had the biggest impact on the game for his team. Holik was his team’s offensive catalyst and his shifty skating and strong play-making skills netted him a 3 point night for his efforts.

Scouts Notes: This was a pre-competition game in Okotoks, Alberta.  Just over 1000 people were in attendance to watch the Czechs thump Latvia 7-1.  The Latvians were clearly overmatched right from the opening whistle and were only saved by stellar goaltending early on. The Latvians faced 18 shots in the opening period while responding with just a few weak shots from the outside in return. The game didn’t really get much better for the Latvians and it seemed as though the only time that they were in the Czech zone was when they were on the power play. Even then it still seemed like the zone time was fairly neutral. Later in the game, the Czechs dished out a couple questionable hits that resulted in the final period being defined by very chippy play. Notable players that did not play included David Musil.

Czech Republic  7 vs Latvia 1