The hockey team of twenty will start the world championship in Ottawa with a match against Switzerland

Ottawa – Czech under-20 ice hockey players will begin the World Championship, where they are aiming for a third medal in a row. They will face Switzerland in Ottawa today from 23:00 CET. In the next matches of the basic group B, the team of coach Patrik Augusta will face Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Sweden.

After 18 years of waiting for a medal, the Czech team won silver in Canada at the beginning of 2023, at that time still under the leadership of the current coach of the A-team, Radim Rulík. The juniors were also successful under Augusta this January, claiming bronze after a wild 8-5 win over the Finns after winning the final period 5-0 and scoring four times in the 59th minute in 50 seconds.

The last successful performances raise expectations even for the upcoming peak of the junior season. “The players definitely feel it. Each of us has our dreams and we go there because of them. But at the same time, there are nine other teams that have the same thing,” Augusta said during the nomination press conference.

He believes that the players will withstand the pressure and can think high again. They experienced at the last World Cup that it is sometimes possible to surprise even an overseas favorite. In the group, they lost to the USA team only in raids, then in the quarter-finals they eliminated Canada after a score of 3:2. “We will work hard so that the necessary luck is on our side. We mainly need to manage the group well, reach the quarter-finals, and then everything is possible,” said Augusta.

He appreciates the cohesion of the Czech selection. “We had enough time and space to get to know the players, even in the not-so-simple moments. The way they showed up and behaved was important to us. I think we’re taking a very healthy team internally,” Augusta praised.

“We won’t have as many stars as last time, when we had representatives in the top ten points. But the team has quality even without stars. Moreover, with Eda Šalé, the team is different after all,” reminded the expected leader. “We want and must present ourselves with a team and character performance,” added the coach.

His selection won the last two tournaments of the season in Zug and Imatra, Finland. “It’s important for the confidence of the players. But we go into every game with humility, we try to direct the players, we don’t let them fly in the clouds. They have worked very well so far,” said Augusta.

“We will go into the tournament with a clear head and we will try to get rid of some pressure and expectation of a medal. We will want to play a good group, improve match by match and show a good game. We have made a good group for the camps, which is very important. All the boys they want to achieve some success. I feel great determination from the team,” said forward Matěj Maštalířský.

In Canada, the Czech team, after winning the final training session over Latvia (5:1), will face off against Canada in the general round. It will be played on Tuesday night from 1:00 CET already in the venue of the championship, Ottawa. After the match, two players will be eliminated, the coaches can write three goalkeepers and 22 players in the field on the roster for the championship.

Gold from Gothenburg is defended by the Americans, who celebrated the title for the sixth time a year ago. The other participants in group A are the Canadians, the record holders with 20 triumphs, the Finns, the Germans and the Latvians.

In addition to the Czech Republic – Switzerland match, the Slovaks will face the Swedes on the first day of the game, and in Group A the USA – Germany and Canada – Finland matches are scheduled. The new champion will be announced in the morning on Monday, January 6.

Sport hockey World Twenty20 OPENER