Cze: Progression of Prucha

Just like in 2002-2003, Petr Prucha started his second full senior Extraleague campaign on the fourth line of the HC Moeller Pardubice team with fellow youngsters Jan Kolar and Petr Koukal as his linemates.

On a team stacked with players with imposing senior Extraleague or even NHL experience, Petr Prucha wasn't likely to serve a significant role. The duties of their line were to make use of their speed and chemistry to create some havoc in the offensive zone of the opponent and head to the bench when the stars like Jiri Dopita will finish the work for them and lead the squad. Prucha was a gamble pick by the New York Rangers in 2002, who hoped that Prucha will be able to add bulk to his fragile frame and not lose any of his blistering skills. Prior to 2003-2004 he wasn't even close to meeting those expectations and looked like just another soft career-European.

As the puck dropped to signal the start of the 2003-2004 campaign, Prucha began to separate himself from his longtime linemates and proved that he is the catalyst of most of their plays. He played with more confidence and displayed a commitment to his play without the puck, even if he is still far from a physical force. Prucha also showed improved his acceleration, which enabled him to outskate the opposition and score points. He was consistent all season long and saw more and more playing time on the powerplay as well as time on one of the top two scoring lines. Prucha was skating alongside former NHLer Jiri Dopita on the Pardubice first line and complemented the hulking center well. Dopita created space for Prucha, who slipped through the gaps and scored goals.

The Pardubice team won the regular season by a wide margin and was labeled as the favorite for the championship trophy. Ultimately, those plans fell apart in the first round of the playoffs against the gritty underdog from Plzen. Pardubice couldn't find a way to topple the hardworking Plzen players and their top players failed to carry the torch when it was needed most. It was time for Prucha to show what he could do and he was the only Pardubice forward who entered the scoresheet regularly while maintaining a point-per-game average. However, it still wasn’t enough to lift his team to the next round.

Prucha also found a home on the international stage in 2003-2004, playing the complete schedule of the Czech senior national team. His speed and tricky puckhandling brought him success and Prucha wasn't out muscled as often on the larger international surface. For his efforts he was named to the World Championship team and was the youngest member of a squad full of NHL players whose teams had been eliminated from the playoffs.

Petr Prucha has still a long way to go before he will be ready for NHL duty, but he finally showed that he might be on the right track.