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Filip Hronek

Team Czechia Announces 2025 World Championship Roster

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Team Czechia has named their roster for the 2025 World Championship. The Czechs face the tough task of maintaining their top play after winning Gold at this tournament with a 4-0-2 record last season. Only 10 players from the championship-winning roster will participate this year. That includes goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who operated as the third-string behind Lukáš Dostál and Petr Mrázek last summer. Vejmelka could be in line for the starer’s role this summer, after posting a stout .904 save percentage and 26-22-8 record with the Utah Hockey Club this season. That consistency, in an NHL starting role, should be enough to win a role over Daniel Vladař, who served as the Calgary Flames backup, and Josef Kořenář, a starter in the Czcehia Extraliga.

Czechia’s announcement of the roster made sure to specifically mention that Boston Bruins superstar David Pastrňák will join the team sometime during the tournament. Pastrnak also joined last summer’s tournament midway through, and uncharacteristically scored just one goal in four games en route to the Gold medal. But Pastrnak once again posted an incredible season in the NHL, with 43 goals and 106 points in 82 games. This is his first season not participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2017, which could provide a bit more reason to play hard for his country. Pastrnak will be joined by Roman Červenka, leading scorer of the country’s 2024 squad, on Czechia’s top line. The 39-year-old Cervenka scored 11 points in 10 games last year, and recently posted a dazzling 19 points in 15 games of the Czechia Extraliga’s Playoffs.

With old and new leading the charge up front, and Vejmelka looking to duplicate Lukas Dostal’s performance in back, Czechia balances out their lineup with an experienced blue-line group. Their defense is headlined by top-pair Vancouver Canucks defender Filip Hronek, who will likely be partnered up with former New York Ranger Libor Hájek. Hronek scored 33 points in 61 NHL games this season, while Hajek scored 10 in 47 Extraliga games.

In the race for their first back-to-back titles since 2000/2001, Czechia’s current roster is as follows:

F Ondřej Beránek (Karlovy Vary, Extraliga)
F Roman Červenka (Padubice, Extraliga)
F Jakub Flek (Brno, Extraliga)
F Adam Klapka (Flames)
F Petr Kodýtek (HIFK, Liiga)
F Jáchym Kondelík (Pardubice, Extraliga)
F Jakub Lauko (Bruins)
F David Pastrňák (Bruins)
F Lukáš Sedlák (Pardubice, Extraliga)
F Matěj Stránský (Davos, NL)
F Daniel Voženílek (Zug, NL)
F Filip Zadina (Davos, NL)

D Daniel Gazda (Ilves, Liiga)
D Libor Hájek (Pardubice, Czechia)
D Filip Hronek (Canucks)
D Jakub Krejčík (Praha, Extraliga)
D Tomáš Kundrátek (Třinec, Extraliga)
D Filip Pyrochta (Mladá Boleslav, Extraliga)
D David Špaček (Wild, AHL)
D Jiří Ticháček (Karpat, Liiga)

G Josef Kořenář (Praha, Extraliga)
G Karel Vejmelka (Hockey Club)
G Daniel Vladař (Flames)

West Notes: Landeskog, Copley, George, Vilardi, Ehlers, Hronek

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After flirting with an official comeback in Games 1 & 2, Gabriel Landeskog will suit up for the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3. The NHL proudly announced that Landeskog will play in his first game for the first time in 1,032 days.

Landeskog’s return to the NHL minutes is one of the most remarkable comebacks in professional sports. After captaining the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, the Swedish winger underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, which is an operation more inclined to return an individual to a generic standard of mobility rather than professional sports. Through intense willpower, Landeskog was able to overcome.

It’ll be important for the rest of the Avalanche, too. Based on multiple interviews with players on the team, the void of Landeskog has been present for some time, and having him back in the lineup, even for a few shifts, should lead to intense motivation.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Los Angeles Kings have switched up their emergency third goalies for Game 2. The Kings announced they’ve recalled netminder Carter George from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and have reassigned Pheonix Copley in a corresponding roster move. Should George play, which is incredibly unlikely, it would be the first NHL appearance of his career.
  • There are a few injury updates for the Winnipeg Jets as their opening-round series transitions to St. Louis. Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reported that forward Gabriel Vilardi will travel with the team while Nikolaj Ehlers will not. Still, it’s important to note that Vilardi has yet to practice without a non-contact jersey, meaning he could remain a ways away from returning.
  • Team Czechia will have a quality defenseman join them for their IIHF World Championship gold medal repeat bid. Earlier today, it was announced that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek will join his international team for the upcoming tournament. It’ll be the first time since the summer of 2022 that Hronek has played in the tournament when he tallied two assists in 10 contests.

Canucks To Activate Filip Hronek From Long-Term Injured Reserve

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Jan. 14: Hronek will indeed come off LTIR and enter the lineup tonight against the Jets, Tocchet told Dan Murphy of Sportsnet. He’ll play in his usual spot alongside Hughes but will have his minutes “monitored.” Depth defender Guillaume Brisebois, who skated 16:56 and had two shots on goal in Saturday’s win over the Maple Leafs, comes out of the lineup. Vancouver has an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding transaction to formally activate Hronek.

Jan. 13: The Vancouver Canucks are potentially only one day away from a fully healthy blue line. As expected, the team has recalled defenseman Filip Hronek from his LTIR conditioning loan without him having played a game for their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Hronek practiced with the team but there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to suit up tomorrow night. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman passed along a note from head coach Rick Tocchet indicating Hronek is being listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Vancouver hasn’t had their entire defensive core intact since American Thanksgiving since Hronek went down with a lower-body injury on November 27th. In Hronek’s absence, and a brief four-game absence of captain Quinn Hughes, the Canucks have produced an 8-6-7 record and have fallen to the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference with the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and Utah Hockey Club breathing down their necks.

Hronek’s return is perfectly timed for Vancouver for a few reasons. First, the organization is dangerously close to falling out of the playoff race and Hronek should help stabilize the back end for the most part. He’s only scored one goal and nine points in 21 games this season but he’s still second on the team in CorsiFor% at even strength and third in on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Secondly, the Canucks are expected to be one of the increasingly active teams leading up to the trade deadline and have already been linked to Pittsburgh Penguins’ defenseman Marcus Pettersson. The team should still be in the market for a left-handed shooting defenseman but a fully healthy blue line should give them a better vision of who they should ultimately target.

Canucks Assign Filip Hronek To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve loaned defenseman Filip Hronek to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, on a conditioning loan. Should he suit up in Abbotsford’s next contest on January 10th, it’ll be Hronek’s first game since suffering a lower-body injury on November 27th.

Since Hronek has been on the long-term injured reserve the transaction won’t have the same requirements as the standard 14-day conditioning loan. Hronek’s loan will last for six days or three games, with an opportunity to extend the loan for another two games. His contract remains on LTIR until he’s activated and placed on the NHL roster.

Given that AHL Abbotsford has three games, with the final coming on January 14th, Hronek will trigger the eligibility requirements on the same day. Vancouver has the option of activating Hronek at any point during the conditioning loan meaning he could feature at any point during the Canucks’ upcoming road trip.

Ultimately, he’ll likely return to game action on January 16th against the Los Angeles Kings should he not suffer any setbacks during the loan. His return to the lineup will help alleviate many of Vancouver’s defensive woes over the last few weeks.

Although the Canucks have the luxury of deploying Quinn Hughes on most nights the team has looked completely different during Hronek’s absence. Vancouver has managed an 11-7-3 record with Hronek in the lineup this year but has struggled through a 7-5-6 run after he suffered the injury.

Hronek should reprise his role on the team’s top-pairing next to Hughes and look to build upon his one goal and nine points already scored this season. He’s coming off a career-year last season in which he scored five goals and 48 points in 81 games and will look to near that 0.60 point-per-game average upon his return.

Canucks Recall Three, Place Filip Hronek On LTIR

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The Canucks announced a series of transactions Thursday, most notably placing defenseman Filip Hronek on long-term injured reserve. They’d already announced Tuesday that he’ll miss the next eight weeks after undergoing a lower-body procedure, so it’s purely a roster move to gain flexibility and cap space for the time being.

Before doing so, they recalled winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki and defenseman Cole McWard from AHL Abbotsford to maximize their LTIR capture. After placing Hronek on LTIR, they also recalled center Max Sasson. They got within $12,138 of the cap, per PuckPedia, setting their LTIR pool at roughly $7.24MM. Their active roster now has a full 23 players, and they have roughly $6.37MM in current cap space after Sasson’s recall.

It’s unclear if Lekkerimaki and McWard will remain on the roster for an extended period of time or if they were purely paper call-ups for cap purposes. Lekkerimaki, Vancouver’s first-round pick in 2022, scored one goal in five games last month in his first NHL recall but has been in the minors since Nov. 21. He has six goals and two assists for eight points in 12 games with Abbotsford this season with a -10 rating that’s tied for the worst on the team.

McWard, 23, is almost certainly a short-term recall. The Canucks already had an extra healthy defenseman on hand in Hronek’s absence after recalling Mark Friedman.

An undrafted free agent signing out of Ohio State in 2023, McWard has yet to see a recall this season and has only six NHL games to his name over the previous two years. In those contests, he has a goal on seven shots while averaging 13:22 per game and controlling 48.9% of shot attempts at even strength. A stay-at-home defender by trade, he has six points and a -2 rating in 21 appearances for Abbotsford in 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Sasson was sent down just yesterday for cap purposes and should stick on the roster for a while yet. Signed as an undrafted free agent along with McWard in 2023, he received his first NHL recall last month and has stuck around with two assists in his first five contests, averaging 8:45 per game. The 24-year-old had nine points in 16 games with Abbotsford before his recall.

Pacific Notes: Hronek, Vlasic, Hyman, Evans, Whitecloud, Stone

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It’s already been public knowledge for a week that the Vancouver Canucks would be without defenseman Filip Hronek for the foreseeable future. We now have a more concrete timeline for Hronek as the Canucks announced he’s expected to miss the next eight weeks after undergoing a lower-body procedure. On a positive note, the team shared in the same announcement that Hronek avoided surgery for his upper-body injury.

Vancouver has won two games in a row without Hronek on the top defensive-pairing but will have a much more difficult matchup tonight against the Minnesota Wild. The Kralove, Czechia native had one goal and nine points for the Canucks in 21 games and will look to build upon that when he returns in late January or early February. Tyler Myers has filled the void left by Hronek over the last two games but Vancouver would do well to add a better right-handed option on defense from the trade market.

Reports from a few days ago indicated that the New York Rangers were interested in acquiring J.T. Miller from Vancouver. Assuming that the reports are true, and factoring in the Rangers’ recent desire to move on from Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, the two teams could get involved in a blockbuster deal that would benefit both sides.

Other Pacific notes:

  • According to Tom Gulitti of the NHL, the San Jose Sharks are expecting defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic back before the conclusion of their current six-game road trip. An upper-back injury has prohibited Vlasic from debuting in his 19th NHL season up to this point in the NHL calendar. His return will give a slight boost to the surprisingly solid left side of the defense for San Jose.
  • Zach Hyman’s absence from the Edmonton Oilers will reportedly enter its fifth game tonight (X Link). Edmonton is lucky it’s only been five games for Hyman but the team had a five-game break at the end of November to lean on. Still, on the opposite side of a 50-goal campaign, the Oilers could use Hyman’s goal-scoring touch back in the lineup if they hope to stay competitive in a tough Pacific Division.
  • The Seattle Kraken won’t have defenseman Ryker Evans in the lineup tonight due to injury. Television broadcaster Piper Shaw shared that Evans is out with an undisclosed injury but there were no further updates regarding his timeline. It’s a big loss for the Kraken before a tough contest against the Carolina Hurricanes as Evans sits tied for second on the team in scoring with three goals and 16 points in 25 games.
  • It’ll still be a few days before defenseman Zach Whitecloud returns to the Vegas Golden Knights lineup. According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Whitecloud is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will miss his fifth straight game tonight. It’s not all bad news on the injury front for the Golden Knights as Granger later reported that captain Mark Stone was upgraded to a full-contact jersey at today’s practice meaning he should return soon.

Snapshots: Hronek, Friedman, Pickering, Sillinger, Chinakhov

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Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek is expected to miss a “while” with an upper-body injury per Irfaan Gaffar of Daily Faceoff. Hronek seemed to suffer a shoulder injury in Vancouver’s Wednesday loss to the Penguins, after getting hit awkwardly into the boards by Pittsburgh defenseman Jack St. Ivany.

Any extended absence from Hronek would be hard for Vancouver to bear. He’s continued to serve a top-line role this season, averaging over 23 minutes of ice time a game opposite of Canucks superstar Quinn Hughes. Hronek has managed one goal and nine points in 21 games in the role – on pace for 35 points, a dip from the 48 points he scored last season.

Hronek’s stat line may not jump off the page, but he’s seemed to be the key to unlocking a Norris Trophy-level Quinn Hughes. The two have outscored opponents 18-to-10 at even-strength this season, compared to Hughes’ tying opponent scoring five-to-five without Hronek. The two have recorded a 55.07 expected-goals-for percentage since being paired together last year.

The Canucks are expected to recall veteran defenseman Mark Friedman in response to Hronek’s injury, per Noah Strang of Daily Hive. Friedman has four points through eight AHL games this year but has yet to make his season debut with Vancouver. He recorded one assist in 23 games with the Canucks last year, marking his sixth season serving the role of seventh or eighth defenseman for an NHL club. Friedman has tallied 13 points in 88 career games in the minutes he’s earned. Friedman will likely step right into the lineup hole, though he’ll face pressure from Vincent Desharnais on the bench – and Jett Woo and Cole McWard from the minors. With a potential long-term vacancy opening up, all four defenders could find a way into the lineup.

Other Thanksgiving notes:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Owen Pickering missed another practice due to illness shares Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Head coach Mike Sullivan added that the rookie is still being evaluated, and remains questionable for the team’s road game in Boston on Friday. Pickering sat out of Wednesday’s game against Vancouver. He has one point – an assist – through the first four career games. Pickering will return to competition with Ryan Shea when he’s back to full health.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets will have the services of Cole Sillinger on Friday, but Yegor Chinakhov is “banged up” and questionable, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers. Both players missed Columbus’ Thursday practice. The two have returned as core pieces of Columbus’ middle-six. They sit next to each other on the team’s scoring ranks, with Chinakhov posting 14 points in 21 games and Sillinger posting 12 in 20 games.

Canucks Sign Filip Hronek To Eight-Year Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Filip Hronek to a maximum eight-year contract extension, shares the team (Twitter link). The deal will carry an annual cap hit of $7.25MM, for a total value of $58MM. This deal will carry Hronek, 26, through his age-34 season in 2031-32. The deal featured signing bonuses in all but one year, costing the Canucks as much as $4MM annually, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link). Seravalli also shares that Hronek will carry a full no-move clause from 2025 to 2028 – suggesting the first year of the deal will be clause-free – and a partial no-move clause from 2028 to 2032.

The Canucks take care of a major piece of business with this extension, locking up the first defenseman capable of keeping up with Quinn Hughes. The pair spent nearly every second of their even-strength ice time together – and to good effect, with Hronek posting 48 points in 81 games, both career-highs. It was an incredibly successful start to Hronek’s career in Vancouver, building nicely on his pair of 38-point seasons to end his time with the Detroit Red Wings.

Hronek’s strong scoring slowed down substantially in the postseason – the first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs of his six-year career. He totaled just two points across 13 games, though he did his best to curb the low-scoring with a lofty 25 hits and 15 blocks, respectively ranking second and fourth among Vancouver’s blue-line. The Canucks don’t seem bothered by Hronek’s meager postseason, now solidifying his spot next to Hughes for the foreseeable future.

With this extension, the Canucks are down to $16.83MM in projected cap space with 10 pending free agents. Headlining the list is now forward Elias Lindholm, who Vancouver acquired in exchange for top prospect Hunter Brzustewicz, depth forward Joni Jurmo, and two draft picks earlier this season. Lindholm posted just 12 points in 26 games with the Canucks, never finding a perfect fit in the team’s lineup. He’s been rumored to be asking for a hefty extension for quite some time – something that may be difficult for Vancouver to stomach with less than $17MM to spend.

Lindholm is joined atop Vancouver’s list of pending free agents by defenseman Nikita Zadorov – Vancouver’s other trade acquisition from the Flames this year. Zadorov came into his own with the Canucks, recording 14 points and 102 penalty minutes across 54 games with the team – matching his scoring pace from his 21-point season last year. Zadorov has expressed a very strong interest in returning to Vancouver, though limited cap space could make that a challenge. Of course, Vancouver will be helped along by the ceiling Hronek’s deal sets, giving them a better gauge of what price they could hand out to Zadorov.

Still, the Canucks will likely focus their spending much more on solidifying depth pieces, with late-season breakouts Dakota Joshua and Arturs Silovs both up for new deals as well. Joshua became a core piece of Vancouver’s lineup late into the year, totaling eight points and a team-leading 75 hits in 13 postseason games. His claim as Vancouver’s playoff workhorse is only challenged by Silovs, who recorded five wins and a .898 save percentage in 10 playoff appearances – filling in for Thatcher Demko following an untimely injury.

After weeks of speculation, the Canucks have now made their first big step of the off-season – placing their priority on rounding out their defense rather than their top-six forwards or goaltending duo. With a stake now planted, the Canucks can begin to turn their free agent attention towards the open market, where they’ve already been connected to star winger Jake Guentzel. Guentzel posted 77 points across 67 games this season, adding nine points in 11 postseason games. He could be a fantastic replacement for Lindholm should the Canucks get priced out of the latter’s negotiations.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Snapshots: Hronek, Henriksson, Silayev, Klippenstein

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Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek is one of the more prominent pending restricted free agent blueliners this summer.  The 26-year-old had a career year in 2023-24, recording 48 points in 81 games while logging over 23 minutes a night, numbers that would serve him well in an arbitration hearing.  However, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that there has been little action on contract talks on a new deal for several months.  Vancouver has to issue a $5.28MM qualifying offer later this month, something they should have no concerns about doing.  However, with the arbitration filing deadline coming early in July, it stands to reason that they should start discussions with Hronek’s camp in the near future.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • It looks like pending Rangers RFA Karl Henriksson could be heading back overseas next season. Smalandsposten in Sweden reports that SHL Vaxjo is showing interest in signing the 23-year-old.  Henriksson has spent the last two seasons with AHL Hartford and had 11 goals and 13 assists in 64 games in 2023-24.  He already has a fair bit of experience in Sweden’s top level, playing in 94 games in parts of four seasons with Frolunda before coming to North America.  Even if he signs back home, New York can still retain Henriksson’s NHL rights with a qualifying offer later this month.
  • While some of the expected top picks in the upcoming draft could jump to the NHL right away, that won’t be the case for Anton Silayev. He’s already signed through the 2025-26 season in the KHL and there’s no transfer agreement in place between that league and the NHL that could allow him to come sooner.  However, as Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis relays, NHL teams feel the big blueliner doesn’t intend on signing another deal in Russia after this one and instead intends to come to North America in 2026.  Given some of the uncertainty surrounding Russian prospects, his reported intention to come over two years from now should help his draft stock.
  • The Avalanche will soon be looking for a new Director of Amateur Scouting. Notre Dame College announced (Twitter link) announced that they’ve hired Wade Klippenstein as their new Director of Hockey Development.  Klippenstein has been in Colorado’s scouting department since 2016, serving as their top amateur scout for the past three seasons but Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports that Klippenstein was informed that his contract would not be renewed, leading to this move.  He won’t be with them at the draft later this month.

Team Czechia Wins 2024 IIHF World Championship

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Team Czechia has made history on home ice, taking home the Gold Medal at the IIHF World Championship for the first time in 14 years (Twitter link). It is Czechia’s fifth time winning Gold since 2000 – the second-most of any country, behind Canada’s seven wins. Czechia has now medaled in 10 of the 11 visits the World Championship has made to Prague, including winning Gold Medals on home ice in 1947, 1972, 1985, and now 2024.

Czechia entered this year’s tournament as a favorite among the European competition, though they faced a tall order against Team Canada and Team USA teams now filled with hopeful Olympians. That’s the story they started that played out through the preliminary round, with Czechia winning hard-fought games against Finland and Norway – though a surprise performance from Team Switzerland was enough to push Czechia to a shootout loss in their third game. The Czechs bounced back with wins against Denmark, Austria, and Great Britain – and then revealed an ace up their sleeve, adding each of Martin Necas, Pavel Zacha, and international standout David Pastrnak to their lineup ahead of their matchup with Team Canada to finish the preliminary round.

Perhaps jet lagged, the reloaded Czechia lineup fell to another shootout loss against Canada. But they showed their cohesion when the elimination games rolled around – winning a hard-fought, 1-0 quarterfinals game against Team USA, reinspiring their offense in a dazzling 7-3 semifinals win over Team Sweden, and then getting revenge on Switzerland with a strong 2-0 win in the Gold Medal Game.

It was, surprisingly, Martin Necas who made the biggest addition of the late-stage NHL additions – scoring seven points in five games comapred to Pastrnak and Zacha’s one point each through four games. But it was Czech hockey legend Roman Cervenka and former Columbus Blue Jacket Lukas Sedlak who led the way for the country’s offense, recording 11 and 10 points respectively through 10 games. Czechia was also helped along by a standout performance from Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, who posted a .939 save percentage – saving 200 of 213 shots – through eight starts.

This World Championship win gives Czechia fantastic momentum headed into the 2026 Winter Olympics. They should be poised for a few notable additions in that tournament, including Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek, while also holding their breath to see if Cervenka can play into his 40s. But even through changes, this Czech lineup has stamped their place on top of Europe’s hockey world.

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