David Pastrňák defined himself against the international tournament that the hockey NHL planned for February next year. Reason? There are no Czechs among the participants.
David Pastrňák, the best Czech hockey player of the moment, was one of the most talked about stars at the recent NHL All Star weekend. Thanks to his skill and also his temperament.
However, he will be missed in this company in a year.
Instead of the All Star weekend, the overseas league will hold an international tournament. From February 12 to 20, 2025, Canadians, Americans, Swedes and Finns will compete against each other. That’s all.
The Czechs did not receive an invitation. Pastrňák, Tomáš Hertl or Filip Hronek will be missing. The Swiss Roman Josi or the German Leon Draisaitl will also not show up.
The plans that leaked to the public already in November last year were thus confirmed. Many hockey players, including Canadian ones, at that time perceived this format with embarrassment.
“I would like the next World Cup to look like a World Cup. The more countries the better. What if not all of them are strong. It’s more interesting than having only four or six teams. You don’t want your opponents to they kept repeating,” said Colorado’s Canadian superstar Nathan MacKinnon, for example.
The planned tournament will not be called the World Cup, but “4 Nations Face-Off”. According to journalist Frank Seravalli, it should be played in Boston and Montreal.
According to Pastrňák, players from non-participating countries are “sad and angry”.
He himself is no exception. “It’s a huge disappointment. I don’t know what to say about it. I’m definitely not happy. I understand that it was organized in a hurry. The game is already next year. They probably didn’t have much time to organize something bigger,” he started.
“But they left out a lot of players, the Czech Republic is also missing. This will hurt quite a bit. To be honest, I won’t be watching,” he added.
According to the overseas league, each participating country will have 23 NHL players on their roster – all of them must have a valid contract in the competition next season and must be on the roster of a club by the end of December. So he will not go to select farmers from lower competitions.
This is also the reason why the Czech Republic did not receive an invitation. Although there are plenty of forwards and goalkeepers in the famous league, the same is not true of defenders. Currently, only Hronek, Radko Gudas and Jan Rutta are playing in the NHL.
David Jiříček also got a chance in the current season, but Columbus – despite the back’s displeasure – recently sent him to the farm.
Pastrňáka et al. however, he can be pleased that the NHL has given its nod to participation in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics. Czech hockey players are certain to participate in the upcoming games in Italy.
So far, the last Olympics with NHL stars took place in Sochi 2014. In 2016, the overseas competition organized the World Cup. Since then, fans have been waiting for the international convention of the best of the best.
