Czech Republic U20 vs USA U20 Ice Hockey World Championship

Czech Republic U20 — USA (U20)
Tournament:World / Wch U20 - Play Offs
Date:Wednesday, 02 January 2013 13:00

The Czech men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Czech Republic. The team represents Czech Republic at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship.

Being a Czech hockey fan hasn't been too encouraging when looking at the World Juniors in recent years. Sure, the team has had success at the senior men's level, but their greatest generation is well past their prime, and the idea of competing with Russia and Canada seems to be a thing of the past as the USA and Sweden surpass them.


However, things may be stabilizing for the country. The national program took a huge hit with the death of legendary coach Ivan Hlinka in 2004, and combined with a bit of a collapse in the structure of the hockey program in the post-communist era, the hockey federation has had some reorganizing to do.

The past two years have seen a re-emergence of top Czech talent in the NHL Entry Draft. It's too early to say if it's just a random fluctuation or the start of something more regular, but this year's World Junior entry benefits tremendously compared to the past few years as a result.

The United States men's national junior ice hockey team won the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. In the gold medal game, Team USA defeated the pre-tournament favorites and host country Canada 6-5 in overtime to win their second gold medal, thus ending Canada's bid for a record-breaking sixth consecutive gold medal.