COMMENT – The Executive Committee of Czech Hockey has decided. On Thursday afternoon, he approved a brand new trefoil of the chosen ones, which will take over the bench of the national team. The choice did not surprise in part, but in part it struck some fans. A lot has been asked about it in the last 14 days, but no one expected Kari Jalonen, Libor Zábranský and Martin Erat.
The gallows deadline for the selection of a new coaching team was March 17. In the end, however, the whole process took place a week earlier. This is despite the fact that the search for new saviors is probably quite rubbing.
For several days now, it has been a public secret in the hockey environment that the general manager of the national team, Petr Nedvěd, will put Kari Jalonen, Pavel Gross and Miloslav Hořava on the table of the Czech Hockey Executive Committee.
But in the end, these plans failed. Gross gave up the new role because he wants to work with the team on a daily basis, and Hořava, whose reasons were not even presented anywhere, eventually backed away from the whole plan.
In addition to Nedvěd, the head of the Brno Comet, Libor Zábranský, also took part in the selection. In a situation where the original plan fell apart, he slammed his fist on the table and decided to take on the burden of the precarious situation.
He had previously turned down several direct offers for the post of head coach or assistant. Now he practically screwed himself into this role. But what about Comet?
The question of priorities
Anyone familiar with the hockey environment will first have this question. Libor Zábranský stated several times aloud that the national team will not lead mainly because it has time to devote itself fully to its Comet.
But now he claims to have shifted priorities after much deliberation. He considers the national team to be the highest peak of his hockey career, in other words, it’s time to rely on the international scene.
This year, Zábranský is still working as Jiří Kalous’ helping hand at the Brno inverter. However, he completely excludes this engagement from the next year. Seven seasons have reportedly been enough.
However, the functions of owner, coach and sports manager are not the only issues that the head of Kometa is in charge of. In the last two years or so, he has had his hands full negotiating a new Brno arena.
Now he wants to put all this aside. Basically, I have one thought. If Zábranský can give the national team as much as he could give to Kometa, I would not be afraid of the Czech national team. However, the question is whether he can really completely overwhelm his priorities by pushing the Comet to the next track.
He has also been the company’s Vice President for several years and is a member of the Executive Committee of Czech Hockey. However, my impression is that from this position he always kicked exclusively for Kometa, which partially delayed the quality of Czech hockey.
On the other hand, he himself is now willing to resign as vice president so as not to create a feeling of conflict of interest. For a start, he gave up the vote in approving the new implementation team in which he himself figures. How it will be with membership in the executive committee is still a question.
And one more thing that can be given a thumbs up – Zábranský will have a symbolic 1 crown paid per month for the function of national team assistant. He intends to send the rest of the fee to help war-torn Ukraine. The national team is said to be such an honor that it seems silly to take money for it.
Erat as a right hand
Throughout this scenario, Zábranský had one ace up his sleeve from the beginning. He chose the former NHL player, but also Kometa, Martin Erat, as his second assistant. This name probably surprised everyone the most.
After the end of Filip Pešán, the management of the association and especially Petr Nedvěd made it clear that the three coaches will consist of three first-class and experienced professionals. However, there is no coaching past in Erat’s biography.
Zábranský justified this by saying that he hires Erata as a specialist in power games. According to him, Erat can literally start a half-meter power play. As proof, he won two titles in Brno, where Erat managed virtually all overpowering games on the ice.
However, it is probably something a little different from the inverter, perhaps I don’t even have to be an expert recognized by Zábranský to be a bit of a truth about this statement. I think Erat is a bit of a risk that may or may not work. However, the new boss of the national team, Kari Jalonen, was reportedly in favor, so the whole deal was concluded relatively quickly.
Division of roles
The whole coaching team should already have clearly defined roles. Jalonen will focus exclusively on the offensive game, Zábranský will take care of the defense and Erat the already mentioned special formations.
In the end, Zdeněk Orct will continue to lead the national team goalkeeper, even though he and Pešán were recalled two weeks ago.
Zábranský especially appreciated the approach of Finn Jalonen. After his position as head coach has been confirmed, he allegedly no longer intends to travel back home to Finland. He will stay in the Czech Republic to watch playoff matches directly at the stadiums.
Source: Czech hockey
