The Czech Republic were unable to open up the tournament with an upset over Sweden, but they gave them all they could handle, despite an awful start to the game.
Czech Republic dug themselves a huge hole falling behind 4-0, but they fought back and made a game of it before eventually losing 4-2.
Among the reasons the Czechs made things interesting was strong efforts from Marek Zidlicky, Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias.
Zidlicky logged a ton of minutes playing 26:56, which led all skaters. He did take a couple minors, but for the most part was very good. He made some nice plays in the defensive zone, was very physical and scored Czech Republic's 1st goal on an absolute blast. He was also a plus-2. It was just one game, but if Zidlicky keeps playing like this and the Devils look to move him down the road (if they struggle leading up to the deadline), this certainly won't hurt his trade value.
Jagr looked the same as he has all season long. He created a ton of chances, dominated play down low and along the boards and fought off almost every Swede that came his way trying to get the puck off him. He finished the game with a goal and three shots in just over 18 minutes of ice.
Lastly, Elias was very effective when he was on the ice but for whatever reason only played 13:38. He had the primary assist on Zidlicky's goal and setup quite a few chances for his teammates in power play opportunities.
Overall, all three Devils on Czech Republic made an impact in a positive way and it was a lot of fun to watch.
Meanwhile, Damien Brunner was held off the scoresheet in Switzerland's 1-0 win over Latvia. He did have five shots, though, and played just less than 17 minutes.
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- I recently posted my midseason rankings for the top-30 first-year NHL draft eligible players from the OHL. You can view that here.
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