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Petr Mrazek

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)

Evening Notes: Mrazek, Soderblom, Holloway, Stastney

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The Detroit Red Wings received split injury updates early on Thursday. Head coach Todd McLellan shared that goaltender Petr Mrazek will continue to sit out with a head injury, but that winger Elmer Soderblom could return from his undisclosed injury on Friday, per Max Bultman of The Athletic. Both players have missed Detroit’s last four games.

The Red Wings have maintained a duo of Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon while Mrazek’s been absent – the same tandem they ran before acquiring Mrazek at the Trade Deadline. Talbot has returned to the starting role after briefly missing time in March – and quickly found a hot streak. He’s posted a .922 save percentage and 2.48 goals-against average in four games since returning – though the low numbers have only led to a 1-2-1 record. His performances have lifted up Alex Lyon’s struggles as of late, with a 1-4-0 record and .843 save percentage in his last five games. Detroit will hope that pair continues to balance each other out as they continue to chase the Eastern Conference Wild Card.

Meanwhile, Soderblom will return looking to find his spark again after netting two goals in his last three games before injury. The pair doubled Soderblom’s year-long totals up to that point, pushing him to four goals and 10 points in 23 games this season. The six-foot-eight winger is playing through his rookie season in the NHL, though he did appear in 21 games and score eight points last season. He’ll step back into a role in Detroit’s bottom-six when he’s good to go.

Other notes from around the league:

  • St. Louis Blues winger Dylan Holloway exited their Thursday night game against the Pittsburgh Penguins before the second period with a lower-body injury. He appeared to sustain the injury on a check from Penguins rookie Rutger McGroarty early in the first period. Holloway has been a major proponent of St. Louis’ 10-game winning streak. He’s scored 15 points across the streak, and was riding an 11-game scoring streak of his own before the early exit. That scoring brought Holloway up to 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games this season. Any missed games as a result of this injury would be his first as a Blue.
  • Across the Central Division, the Nashville Predators were without defenseman Spencer Stastney for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars due to an upper-body injury. He was slated to serve as the team’s seventh dressed defenseman in the matchup, but in his absence, the Predators decided to instead promote rookie forward Ozzy Wiesblatt to the rotation. Stastney has tallied three points, all assists, in 22 games this season and filled a minimal role in Nashville’s lineup as of late.

East Notes: Mrázek, Söderblom, Dahlin, Hughes

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Despite a 3-7-0 record in their last 10 contests, the Detroit Red Wings are sticking around the Eastern Conference wild-card race. They’ll have a good opportunity to pull within one point of the final spot against the Boston Bruins tonight but will have to do so without goaltender Petr Mrázek and forward Elmer Söderblom.

According to MLive’s Ansar Khan, neither player will be in the lineup tonight, although the latter could return as early as Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. Söderblom, who’s been solid for Detroit, scoring four goals and 10 points in 23 games since being recalled in late January, has missed the Red Wings’ last three games (including tonight) and four out of the past five.

Meanwhile, there have been no updates regarding Mrázek’s status. Since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline, Mrázek’s second stint in Detroit had gone well, with a 2-2-0 record in five games and a .902 SV%. Unfortunately, due to a collision with Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther early in the team’s matchup this past Tuesday, Mrázek has been sidelined with an apparent head injury.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Buffalo Sabres suffered a glaring loss to the Philadelphia Flyers earlier today. One of the main reasons for their defensive issues may have been captain Rasmus Dahlin’s absence. According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, Dahlin missed today’s game due to illness, and he’s doubtful to play for the team on Sunday against the Washington Capitals. Without Dahlin, Buffalo’s only defensive pairing with a positive rating in today’s matchup was the duo of Bowen Byram and Connor Clifton.
  • Sticking on defense, New Jersey Devils’ defenseman Luke Hughes missed yesterday’s contest due to a minor groin issue. Still, it didn’t prohibit Hughes from factoring into the lineup tonight, although team reporter Amanda Stein shared he was a game-time decision heading into warmups. New Jersey holds a two-goal advantage at the time of writing, and Hughes has recorded one assist in 19:55 of ice time, also putting three shots on goal.

Afternoon Notes: Malkin, Shea, Talbot, Cossa, Svechnikov

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday without lineup pillar Evgeni Malkin, who is set to sit out with a day-to-day upper-body injury per NHL.com’s Michelle Crechiolo. This will mark Malkin’s 12th absence since January 1st.

Malkin has continued to make a strong impact when he’s healthy. He has three points in his last five games, and 15 points in 23 games since the calendar turned over. Those marks have brought Malkin’s season-long scoring total up to 15 goals and 46 points in 62 games. That’s an 82-game scoring pace of just 61 points – the lowest of Malkin’s 19 year career in the NHL. Even still, he’s ranked fifth on the Penguins roster in scoring and fourth among forwards in average ice time (18 minutes). Malkin remains the focal point of Pittsburgh’s second-line, and leaves a noticeable hole in Tuesday night’s lineup. Kevin Hayes will see a boost in minutes in Malkin’s absence, while Joona Koppanen is expected to step into the lineup once again. Koppanen scored his first NHL goal on March 18th – his only point in four games.

While losing Malkin is always terrible news in Pittsburgh, the team will have a silver lining in the return of oft-used defenseman Ryan Shea, who missed the last seven-games with an upper-body injury – per Crechiolo. Shea has just five points in 30 games this season, though he’s heated up as of late – and played a season-high 24 minutes of ice time in his last game on March 9th. Shea has averaged 20 minutes of ice time in 10 games since January 1st. He likely won’t return to those heights immediately upon returning from injury – but could see his minutes slowly climb over Pittsburgh’s next few games.

Other notes around the league:

  • Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot will be healthy enough to serve as backup in Thursday night’s game, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. St. James adds that Talbot’s return will require Detroit to reassign top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa, who was recalled with Detroit facing injuries to Talbot and Petr Mrazek. Mrazek remains out. Talbot will ease back into the lineup looking to build on his .898 save percentage through 38 games this season. Meanwhile, Cossa will return to the minor leagues looking to maintain his .913 save percentage through 35 AHL games. Cossa has held steady at a .913 Sv% in each of the last three seasons. The Red Wings’ starter’s crease will continue to be manned by Alex Lyon, who’s saved 39 of 44 shots against over his last two starts. Those marks have brought Lyon to a .899 Sv% in 27 games this season – second-highest on the Wings behind Mrazek’s .902 in five games played.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have received a boost of good news, with winger Andrei Svechnikov set to return to the lineup after he missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. The missed games brought Svechnikov up to eight absences this season – his fewest since the 2021-22 campaign. The 24-year-old winger has 18 goals and 43 points in 63 games this season. With such a chunk of missing games behind him, and just 11 games left on Carolina’s schedule, the ’Canes will likely ease Svechnikov back into the lineup. He’ll likely rotate through a top-six role with wingers like Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, and Jack Roslovic.

Red Wings Recall Sebastian Cossa, Petr Mrazek And Cam Talbot Out

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The Detroit Red Wings have recalled top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa under emergency conditions. Detroit is currently dealing with a mix of unavailability and injury in their goaltending room. Petr Mrazek sustained an undisclosed injury just two minutes into the team’s Monday win over Utah, after catching the stick of Dylan Guenther in a netfront collision. Backup Alex Lyon took over for Mrazek and led Detroit to a 5-1 victory. Lyon will have to man the starter’s net for a second night in a row on Tuesday, with Cam Talbot also out of the lineup for undisclosed reasons, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Talbot has only played four games in the month of March, and just one in the last week.

With Mrazek and Talbot on the shelf, Cossa will receive his first NHL call-up since December. He made his NHL debut in relief of Talbot on his last recall, and managed to lead Detroit to a shootout victory in 45 minutes of ice time. Cossa was returned to the minors in the days after, where he’s been up to his usual antics. He has a 19-11-5 record and .913 save percentage through 35 games on the year and is in firm control of the Grand Rapids Grffins’ starting role. This now marks the fourth consecutive season that Cossa has posted a .913 save percentage. Dating back to his 2021-22 season, Cossa has managed the exact same mark through 46 WHL games, 46 ECHL games, 40 AHL games last year, and now 35 games this year. The performances have been shockingly unwavering through the start of his pro career.

Detroit will be able to hold onto Cossa for 30 days or 10 games before his emergency recall expires. With a full house in the goaltending room, it’s hard to picture Detroit hanging onto their minor-league starter for too long – especially as the Griffins pursue a playoff chase of their own. Mrazek has managed a team-leading .902 save percentage in five games since joining Detroit at the Trade Deadline. Lyon is closely challenging that title, though – with a .944 on Monday bringing his year-long save percentage up to a .901. While Cossa seems like a surefire bet to post a .913 wherever he goes, Detroit might find more comfort in sticking with their vets through the end of the year. The Red Wings are currently three points behind an Eastern Conference Wild Card, down a game.

Blackhawks Acquire Joe Veleno From Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings announced that they’ve traded forward Joe Veleno to the Chicago Blackhawks for netminder Petr Mrázek and forward Craig Smith.

Thanks to his performance this season, Veleno became an interesting trade candidate from the Red Wings’ perspective. The former 30th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft recently achieved back-to-back 20-point campaigns in Detroit in a bottom-six role but hasn’t performed up to that standard this season. Veleno has registered five goals and 10 points for the Red Wings in 56 games, averaging 11:57 of ice time per game.

The native of Montreal, Quebec, hasn’t translated well to Todd McLellan’s system. In 26 games under the new head coach, Veleno has underperformed, scoring only one goal and accumulating four points, with a disappointing shooting percentage of 4.3%. Even as his physicality has increased in the last several years, Veleno hasn’t added much value in a bottom-six role for Detroit.

Still, he’ll have plenty of runway to produce with Chicago. He’s signed to a reasonable $2.275MM salary through next season and could make for a decent change-of-scenery candidate with the Blackhawks. As a natural center, Veleno allows Chicago to move Lukas Reichel or Nick Foligno to the wing in the team’s bottom six.

Veleno’s inclusion in the deal is the only non-puzzling portion for the Red Wings. Mrázek is signed to a relatively expensive $4.25MM contract through next season and becomes the third NHL-caliber goalie on Detroit’s roster. Additionally, since July 1st last summer, Mrázek has become the fourth goalie brought in by general manager Steve Yzerman in the past eight months.

Although the Red Wings’ tandem of Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon have disappointed recently, Mrázek won’t be much of an improvement should he maintain his production from the Blackhawks. Without factoring in his W/L record, Mrázek has a .890 SV% and 3.46 GAA in 33 starts this year with a 93rd-ranked goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck.

Meanwhile, Smith probably wouldn’t have been on Detroit’s radar if rookie Carter Mazur wasn’t injured in last night’s contest. Mazur was expected to fill the void of Christian Fischer in the team’s bottom-six after they lost him on waivers to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The veteran winger has recorded nine goals and 16 points in 40 games for Chicago this season, losing a handful of games to a nagging back injury.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report on the deal. 

Blackhawks Trying To Move Petr Mrázek

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The Blackhawks will aggressively try to find a new home for goaltender Petr Mrázek this week, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. It’ll be difficult given a limited goalie market this season, but it’s no surprise they want to clear the veteran from their books after acquiring 2019 first-rounder Spencer Knight in last weekend’s blockbuster deal with the Panthers.

Mrázek was scratched for Knight’s stellar Chicago debut last night, with 25-year-old Arvid Söderblom serving as the backup instead. For the season as a whole, Mrázek has an underwhelming 3.46 GAA over 33 games, with a .890 SV% and similarly below-average numbers across the board – with the glaring exception of his .788 high-danger SV% that ranks 21st out of 55 qualified goalies, per MoneyPuck.

His dip from last season’s admirable showing in a career-high 56 appearances behind a lottery-bound Blackhawks defense only adds more fuel to Mrázek’s reputation as an inconsistent fringe starter option. Add in the fact he signed through next season at a $4.25MM cap hit and Chicago doesn’t have any open salary retention spots until the summer, and it’s clear they’ll likely need to wait to clear up their goalie logjam until after July 1 despite their best efforts to do so now.

There’s always the option to incorporate a third team into trade talks to retain the salary that the Blackhawks can’t. Still, with how quiet the goalie market is, it’s doubtful that interested parties would be willing to go through the trouble of such a complicated transaction with more significant needs to address. Only two starter/tandem options had been moved this season before Knight, and it was Mackenzie Blackwood heading from San Jose to Colorado with Alexandar Georgiev coming the other way. Anaheim’s John Gibson is Mrázek’s only other company on The Athletic’s latest trade board, and the only contenders needing netminding help (i.e. the Oilers) can’t afford either without damaging their ability to add elsewhere.

Blackhawks Activate Petr Mrazek Off IR, Drew Commesso Re-Assigned To AHL

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The Chicago Blackhawks have reportedly activated goaltender Petr Mrazek off the injured reserve and re-assigned netminder Drew Commesso to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (as per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720). Mrazek was considered close to a return on Tuesday but was not activated until this morning. The 32-year-old has been dealing with a left groin strain that has kept him out of action since December 7th.

Mrazek has dressed in 20 of Chicago’s 32 games to start the year and has put up a 7-11-1 record with a respectable .906 save percentage and 2.83 goals-against average. He dressed in 56 games for Chicago last season, posting a goals saved above expected of 1.6 (as per Money Puck), and a save percentage of .907, with an 18-31-4 record.

22-year-old Commesso started his first NHL game on December 14th for Chicago and played okay as he carried a shutout into the third period but ultimately lost the decision 4-1. He spent nearly two weeks in Chicago during Mrazek’s absence but saw just two appearances during that time. The former second-round pick now heads back to Rockford where he has put up pedestrian numbers in ten games this season with a 4-6 record and a 3.34 goals-against average as well as an .879 save percentage.

Chicago is at home tonight to face the Seattle Kraken, and we should know later today whether Mrazek will start or will be the backup.

Blackhawks Notes: Sorenson, Mrazek, Jones

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Scott Powers of The Athletic writes about Chicago Blackhawks interim head coach Anders Sorensen. Powers says that the major change for Chicago has been on the forecheck where the team has deployed a more aggressive forecheck, rather than the conventional 1-2-2 that former head coach Luke Richardson liked to utilize. Sorensen’s structure does make the Blackhawks more prone to odd-man rushes, but it should allow the team’s offense to have more opportunities to put the puck in the net.

The Blackhawks’ defensive structure has also changed since the move to a new coach. Sorensen’s style has Chicago’s defensemen less concerned about getting back to defend and more apt to move up in the play to try and suppress opposing plays earlier as well as being involved more in the offensive zone.

In other Blackhawks notes:

  • Injured Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek skated this morning before the team’s morning skate (as per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720). He has been dealing with a left groin strain but was called “Real close” by Sorensen when asked about a return to the lineup. The 32-year-old dressed in 20 of the Blackhawks’ first 27 games but hasn’t played since December 7th. He is not playing tonight but could return on Thursday when Chicago takes on the Seattle Kraken.
  • Blackhawks injured defenseman Seth Jones also skated today and was upgraded to day-to-day (as per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720). Jones isn’t playing tonight and has not played since November 14th, missing 14 games thus far with an injury to his right foot. Jones appears close to a return and, much like Mrazek, could do so on Thursday against Seattle. The 30-year-old was playing a ton before his injury, averaging 25:43 of ice time per game. Jones has dressed in 17 games this year, posting two goals and eight assists.

Blackhawks Place Petr Mrazek On IR; Recall Kevin Korchinski, Drew Commesso

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Kevin Korchinski and goaltender Drew Commesso, per Charlie Roumeliotis of Chicago’s WGN Radio. The duo will help fill in for starting goaltender Petr Mrazek and top-four defender Alec Martinez. Both players left Chicago’s Saturday game early with injury – Mrazek after getting his legs swept from under him, and Martines after a deflected shot found its way under his visor. Roumeliotis adds that Mrazek has been moved to injured reserve with a left-groin injury.

With Martinez joining top Hawks defender Seth Jones on the list of injuries, Chicago will give top prospect Korchinski another chance to establish an NHL role. The 20-year-old spent the entirety of last season on the NHL roster amid a severe lack of defense depth. He recorded five goals, 15 points, and a -39 in 76 games – prompting Chicago to start him in the minors this year. That’s proven the right move early on, with Korchinski leading Rockford IceHogs defenseman in scoring with two goals and 11 points in 21 games. He’s served a top-line role for Rockford and seems to be gaining more and more confidence on the puck, with routine highlights showing him driving play from end to end.

This call-up likely won’t guarantee Korchinski minutes. He’ll have to first earn a role over Nolan Allan and Wyatt Kaiser – assuming Chicago doesn’t play any of their defenders on their off-hand. Allan has proven a stout fill-in amid injuries, with four assists and a -5 through 20 games this season. Kaiser has been far less productive, boasting just one assist, 14 penalty minutes, and a -1 in 25 games. Korchisnki’s scoring upside could be enough to earn minutes, but he’ll likely have to quickly take advantage of the opportunities he’s provided.

Commesso has spent the last two seasons splitting starts in Rockford. He found his way into the role of de facto starter last year – his first professional season – stepping into 38 games and recording 18 wins and a .906 save percentage. He narrowly beat out Jaxson Stauber in ice time and save percentage – with Stauber posting a .902 in 31 games – but Commesso hasn’t found the same success this year. He’s lost the majority share of starts to three-year pro Mitchell Weeks, who has a .901 save percentage in 12 starts to Commesso’s .879 in 10 starts. Both netminders have four wins.

Mrazek’s forced week-long absence should give Commesso a chance to earn his NHL debut. Meanwhile, Rockford has recalled ECHL starter Benjamin Gaudreau to help support the AHL lineup in Commesso’s absence. Gaudreau – another top goalie prospect in his draft year – has set a 5-5-2 record and .907 save percentage in his first 12 pro games this season.

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