U-18 WJC: Czech Out Pavelec

The Czech's fourth-place finish at the U-18 WJC was due in large part to the play of goalie Ondrej Pavelec (right), who definitely improved his value for the NHL draft. Martin Hanzal made the All Star team and also made a name for himself, while David Kuchejda showed why an Academy Award could be in his future. Jiri Tlusty and David Kveton also gave us a glimpse of why the Czechs could well be the team to beat at next year's tournament.

STANDING TALL

One of the main strengths of the Czech U-18 WJC team stood between the pipes and his name is Ondrej Pavelec. He delivered consistently strong showings behind a rather unspectacular Czech defense. His tournament highlights included outplaying highly-touted 2005-eligible netminder Tuukka Rask from Finland, who was destroyed by the Czech offensive storm. Pavelec also shut out the Slovak team and held the Czech team in the Semifinals against Canada with numerous key saves.

Pavelec wasn't flawless though and U.S. shooters burned him on the glove side in the quarterfinal game. He also had to be pulled from the Bronze medal game against Sweden after a shaky performance, but overall Pavelec boosted his stock considerably and was a deserving winner of the 'Top goaltender' award and was also an All-Star team member.

QUESTIONS ABOUT VOJTA

On defense, Jakub Vojta and Tomas Kudelka emerged as the two anchors. Vojta arrived at the tournament with the label as the most impressive Czech defenseman in international competition this season, so expectations were high on the Czech captain. Vojta showed that when he is on his game he can be a real force and he even showed improvement in his Achilles heel of defensive zone coverage. On the downside, Vojta still floated at times and didn't look very involved in the game. A more consistent showing would have sent his stock soaring, but teams will still have those occasional off-moments in their minds when looking at his name at the draft.

Tomas Kudelka battled back problems early in the tournament and struggled with the pace late in the first two games, but quickly found his niche and proved that when he doesn't try to do too much with the puck, he can be an effective rearguard who has the size and skating ability to make his living at the pro level.

HANZAL THE HULK

The Czech offense was spearheaded by hulking left winger Martin Hanzal, who made a good name for himself in the tournament. Hanzal scored, passed and hit the opposing players with authority. He started the tournament on a solid note and got even better as the event progressed. He turned out to be most consistent Czech physical presence and was especially effective against Canada, hitting and regularly succeeding in traffic. Even if he could have used his body and offensive instincts more often, Hanzal still separated himself from the rest of the Czech 2005-eligible skaters. The spot on the All-Star team was a deserving one.

Center David Kuchejda overcame adversity in form of a poor showing at the February tournament and showcased a belligerent style with smart passing. Kuchejda took lots of physical abuse, hit even the biggest opponents and generated lots of offense for his wingers. He clicked with Martin Hanzal especially well in this event and the only factor that prevented Kuchejda from getting an elite mark here was his ugly penchant to dive. Sometimes Kuchejda looked more like a Hollywood actor instead of a hockey player.

FROLIK'S EFFORTS UNSUNG

One of the players drawing the most attention was 2006-eligible blue-chipper Michael Frolik. The winger battled fatigue from the season - having experienced playoffs at three age levels - but still pulled off a promising performance and created quality plays for his linemates. Just like Hanzal, Frolik got better as the tournament went on and emerged as arguably the top Czech player in the bronze-medal game despite not being awarded the Czech 'Player of the Game' even once.

FUTURE IS BRIGHT

Next year's Czech U-18 team may be the one to beat and nothing showed that better than 1988-born under-aged forwards Jiri Tlusty and David Kveton. Tlusty started the tournament cold before thriving in his role as a belligerent two-way forward who can succeed in a defensive role. He showed progress with his puckhandling skills and has a faster stride to go along with an ability to play the hit-and-go well. Tlusty is a very good NHL prospect with decent upside.

Kveton impressed with his skill set, control of the puck and prowess in the offensive zone and on power plays. Much to the delight of the crowd, Kveton routinely made nifty puck dekes and even managed to adjust to the style of the more physical teams without being significantly rattled. He won't ever be a gritty pest who will be a thorn in the opponent's butt, but opposing goaltenders will surely be having a nightmare or two about his finishing skills in the coming years.