When Michal Rozsival broke into the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1999-00, he wasn’t anyone’s idea of a bona fide number one blueliner. But at age 29, the 6-2, 210-pound Czech has come into his own. Logging a team-high average of more than 24 minutes nightly with the New York Rangers, Roszival is performing […]

It’s hard to believe Lukas Krajicek is only entering his third full NHL season. He made his NHL debut with Florida on April 6, 2002 as a call-up from the OHL’s Peterborough Petes. But it took until 2005-06 for the #24 overall pick of the Panthers in 2001 to establish himself as an everyday blueliner […]

Originally written for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey Program By Lucas Aykroyd Nobody would deny that hockey is a team game. But success in a short, intense international tournament can sometimes hinge on a brilliant individual performance. Whether you’re talking about setting the stage for things to come or actually clinching a championship, this […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Before each Olympic tournament, there’s lots of talk about how Canada’s depth could hypothetically enable it to ice two separate teams. But how would other countries fare if given the same mandate? Let’s investigate, using the Czech Republic and Russia as examples. Obviously, when creating rosters […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd Everybody wants a piece of Canada at these Olympics. Or is it the other way around in the hockey tournament? It depends who you ask. According to Team Canada GM Wayne Gretzky, “the whole world” wants Canada to lose and the American media has been playing […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd As much as I enjoy watching Evgeni Malkin team up with Sidney Crosby on the Pittsburgh Penguins power play, there’s a part of me that wishes Malkin had stayed in the Russian Superleague. Not under compulsion, not due to any contractual or political impasse. Frankly, the […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd How often do you see an NHLer achieve single-season highs in goals, assists, and points, and also get placed on waivers that year? That’s the strange fate that befell St. Louis forward Petr Cajanek on February 26, as the club was apparently displeased with his lack […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd Here at the 2004 IIHF World Championships, it’s hard to believe that Jiri Slegr is the senior member of the Czech defense corps at age 32. It doesn’t seem like so long ago that he was being drafted in the second round, 23rd overall by the […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd One thing you can say about Tomas Vokoun is that he isn’t afraid to speak his mind. During the first round of the NHL playoffs, the 27-year-old netminder of the Nashville Predators described the Detroit Red Wings as “arrogant” and “whiners.” Some in the media and […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd Not every Czech NHL star will be suiting up for the national team at the 2004 IIHF World Championships, but you can be sure that all of them will be keeping tabs on their nation’s prospects of winning it all on home ice for the first […]