Olympic Hockey: Czech Republic, defending Olympic Champions
They won the gold medal four years ago in Nagano. There's no reason to believe they won't repeat again in Salt Lake.
They are the defending gold medal champions from 1998 winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
They're the team that has the second best goaltender in the league in Dominick Hasek (sorry folks in Detroit, but that goaltender in Avalanche country is just a wee bit better) and Jarmir Jagr.
They are the odds on favorite to win the gold medal again and looking at their lineup, the odds are in their favor.
You may know some of their players such as Jagr, Hasek, and Roman Turek of the Calgary Flames, but now meet some other members of the Czech Republic, who may or may not sound familiar to you.
Roman Cechmanek, Philadelphia Flyers
He's the man in the net for the orange and black and he may just replace Brian Boucher as the number one goaltender. (That is, if he can keep his mouth shut and not complain about his lack of ice time.)
Roman Hamrlik, Mew York Islanders
(As you can tell, Roman is a common name in the Czech Republic.) He was a member of the gold medal team at Nagano and after the Olympics are over, he's hoping to add his name to the many names that are on the Stanley Cup.
Petr Sykora, New Jersey Devils
He's new to the Czech Republic team, but he's already gotten his name on the Stanley Cup.
Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils
He also knows a thing or two about winning. He's new to the Czech team also, but he plays on the Devils "A" line with Jason Arnott and fellow Czech Petr Sykora.
Radek Dvorak, New York Rangers
He has never played a day of minor league hockey in the United States or Canada, and he was the fourth leading scorer on the Rangers last year.
Martin Skoula, Colorado Avalanche
He played junior hockey in Canada while the Czechs were winning the gold medal at Nagano. No worries. He was signed by the Avalanche and won the Stanley Cup in the same year.
Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche
He also won a gold medal in 1998, and has his name on the Stanley Cup not once, but twice. He's also played in two NHL All-Star games.
The Czech team seems to know all about winning. If you notice, half the players I've spotlighted have their names printed on the Stanley Cup.
At the end of the Olympic hockey tournament, all of them may just have gold medals around their necks.
They're the team that has the second best goaltender in the league in Dominick Hasek (sorry folks in Detroit, but that goaltender in Avalanche country is just a wee bit better) and Jarmir Jagr.
They are the odds on favorite to win the gold medal again and looking at their lineup, the odds are in their favor.
You may know some of their players such as Jagr, Hasek, and Roman Turek of the Calgary Flames, but now meet some other members of the Czech Republic, who may or may not sound familiar to you.
Roman Cechmanek, Philadelphia Flyers
He's the man in the net for the orange and black and he may just replace Brian Boucher as the number one goaltender. (That is, if he can keep his mouth shut and not complain about his lack of ice time.)
Roman Hamrlik, Mew York Islanders
(As you can tell, Roman is a common name in the Czech Republic.) He was a member of the gold medal team at Nagano and after the Olympics are over, he's hoping to add his name to the many names that are on the Stanley Cup.
Petr Sykora, New Jersey Devils
He's new to the Czech Republic team, but he's already gotten his name on the Stanley Cup.
Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils
He also knows a thing or two about winning. He's new to the Czech team also, but he plays on the Devils "A" line with Jason Arnott and fellow Czech Petr Sykora.
Radek Dvorak, New York Rangers
He has never played a day of minor league hockey in the United States or Canada, and he was the fourth leading scorer on the Rangers last year.
Martin Skoula, Colorado Avalanche
He played junior hockey in Canada while the Czechs were winning the gold medal at Nagano. No worries. He was signed by the Avalanche and won the Stanley Cup in the same year.
Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche
He also won a gold medal in 1998, and has his name on the Stanley Cup not once, but twice. He's also played in two NHL All-Star games.
The Czech team seems to know all about winning. If you notice, half the players I've spotlighted have their names printed on the Stanley Cup.
At the end of the Olympic hockey tournament, all of them may just have gold medals around their necks.
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