The biggest question surrounding the Czech Republic 2002 Team: How do you top 1998's performance?
Head coach Ivan Hlinka brought a bunch of no-name players from the Czech league, a collection of NHLers and an airtight defensive system and completely shut down USA, Canada and Russia in three consecutive outings.
This year the Czech Republic brings a team that is made up of primarily NHLers and the moniker of defending Gold medallists to the tournament. It's going to be that much more difficult to repeat because of that. Goaltender Dominik Hasek even acknowledged this in a recent interview.
| NO. |
 PLAYER |
 Pos. |
 Ht. |
 Wt. |
 Birth
Date |
 Team |
| x |
Milan
Hnilicka |
G |
6'1 |
195 |
6/25/73 |
Atlanta
(NHL) |
| 3 |
Roman Hamrlik |
D |
6'2 |
215 |
4/12/74 |
NY Islanders (NHL) |
| 6 |
Jaroslav Spacek |
D |
5'11 |
198 |
2/11/74 |
Chicago (NHL) |
| 9 |
Martin Havlat |
RW |
6'1 |
178 |
4/19/81 |
Ottawa (NHL) |
| 10 |
Pavel Patera |
C |
6'1 |
181 |
9/6/71 |
Minnesota (NHL) |
| 13 |
Pavel Kubina |
D |
6'3 |
213 |
4/15/77 |
Tampa Bay (NHL) |
| 15 |
Tomas Kaberle |
D |
6'2 |
190 |
3/2/78 |
Toronto (NHL) |
| 16 |
Petr Cajanek |
LW |
6'1 |
177 |
10/18/75 |
Zlin (Czech) |
| 17 |
Petr Sykora |
RW |
6'0 |
190 |
11/19/76 |
New Jersey (NHL) |
| 19 |
Radek Dvorak |
RW |
6'1 |
200 |
3/9/77 |
NY Rangers (NHL) |
| 20 |
Robert Lang |
C |
6'2 |
216 |
12/19/70 |
Pittsburgh (NHL) |
| 21 |
Robert Reichel |
C |
5'10 |
185 |
6/25/71 |
Toronto (NHL) |
| 23 |
Roman Cechmanek |
G |
6'3 |
176 |
3/2/71 |
Philadelphia (NHL) |
| 24 |
Milan Hejduk |
RW |
5'11 |
185 |
2/14/76 |
Colorado (NHL) |
| 25 |
Patrik Elias |
LW |
6'1 |
195 |
4/13/76 |
New Jersey (NHL) |
| 26 |
Martin Rucinsky |
LW |
6'1 |
205 |
3/11/71 |
Dallas
(NHL) |
| 29 |
Michal Sykora |
D |
6'5 |
225 |
7/5/73 |
Pardubice (Czech) |
| 30 |
Jiri Dopita |
LW |
6'4 |
230 |
2/12/68 |
Philadelphia (NHL) |
| 38 |
Jan Hrdina |
C |
6'0 |
200 |
2/5/76 |
Pittsburgh (NHL) |
| 39 |
Dominik Hasek |
G |
6'2 |
180 |
1/29/65 |
Detroit (NHL) |
| 41 |
Martin Skoula |
D |
6'2 |
195 |
10/28/79 |
Colorado (NHL) |
| 42 |
Richard Smehlik |
D |
6'4 |
222 |
1/23/70 |
Buffalo (NHL) |
| 68 |
Jaromir Jagr |
RW |
6'2 |
235 |
2/15/72 |
Washington (NHL) |
"It's going to be a big tournament," he said. "And of course, (repeating as gold medalists) is always possible. But now, with Mario Lemieux back, Canada will be much better."
Strengths
The biggest advantage the Czech Republic has is in goal. Hasek may not be quite as dominant as he was back in 1998, but he is still one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. They also boast the league's top forward when healthy and motivated – Jaromir Jagr.
Weaknesses
The team's defence is comprised largely of defencemen who are 5-6 on the depth chart of their respective clubs. Beyond Roman Hamrlik and Tomas Kaberle, there isn't much to offer in the way of world-class defencemen. Martin Skoula is an outstanding prospect but likely in over his head in an international tournament such as this one.
History
In 1998, Czech Republic won their first ever Gold in Men's Hockey, defeating Canada 2-1 in a shootout and then defeating Russia 1-0 in the deciding game. They also won Bronze in 1992 in Lillehammer and Silver in 1984 in Sarajevo as Czechoslovakia.
Keys to Victory
The key to victory for the Czech Republic is simple. They need to limit the opponent's offensive chances, and they need Hasek to come up huge whenever that can't be done. They're also going to need some offensive contribution from the likes of Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Robert Lang, Radek Dvorak and Robert Reichel. If the team depends on Jagr to carry their offensive load,
Team Czech Republic
