JAROMIR JAGR was selected twice by the Czechoslovakia national team, for the 1990 IIHF World Championships and the 1991 Canada Cup. Including his totals with the former Czechoslovakia, Jagr has appeared at 12 major international events (73 ga, 25 go 38 as, 63 pts) in his career.

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CZECH REPUBLIC NATIONAL TEAM — major int’l tournaments all-time

• 67 pts – 28 go – 39 as — 14 app — David VYBORNY
• 57 pts – 21 go – 36 as — 10 app — Jaromir JAGR *
• 57 pts – 28 go – 29 as — 10 app — Martin PROCHAZKA
• 53 pts – 20 go – 33 as — 11 app — Pavel PATERA
• 48 pts – 20 go – 28 as — 10 app — Martin RUCINSKY *
• 47 pts – 21 go – 26 as — 10 app — Robert REICHEL *
• 40 pts – 21 go – 19 as — 12 app — Jiri DOPITA
• 37 pts – 15 go – 22 as —– 9 app — Petr CAJANEK
• 33 pts – 16 go – 17 as —– 8 app — Martin STRAKA
• 32 pts – 13 go – 19 as —– 5 app — Vaclav PROSPAL
• 31 pts – 10 go – 21 as —– 8 app — Jaroslav HLINKA
• 31 pts – 10 go – 21 as — 11 app — Frantisek KABERLE
• 30 pts – 14 go – 16 as —– 6 app — Jan HLAVAC
• 28 pts — 6 go – 22 as —– 7 app — Tomas KABERLE
• 27 pts – 12 go – 15 as —– 5 app — Tomas VLASAK
• 27 pts – 10 go – 17 as —– 6 app — Pavel KUBINA
• 26 pts – 17 go — 9 as —– 5 app — Viktor UJCIK
• 25 pts – 10 go – 15 as —– 6 app — Marek ZIDLICKY
• 23 pts — 6 go – 17 as — 10 app — Jaroslav SPACEK
• 21 pts — 7 go – 14 as —– 6 app — Robert LANG *

NOTE – Asterisk denotes player competed for the national team of the former Czechoslovakia at major international event(s).

Defenseman TOMAS KABERLE of the Toronto Maple Leafs is having an outstanding offensive season with 2 goals and 31 points in 35 National Hockey League games this season. A two-time Olympian, Kaberle has appeared at seven major international tournaments (50 ga, 6 go 22 as, 28 pts) for the Czech Republic.

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PHIL COFFEY of NHL.com has offered up his latest opinion on whom the Czech Republic will select to their Olympic squad for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver :

Goaltenders

• 28 ga – 2.63 avg – 3 so — Tomas VOKOUN — FLORIDA
• 30 ga – 2.79 avg – 2 so — Marek SCHWARZ — BK Mlada Boleslav
• 21 ga – 3.18 avg – 2 so — Ondrej PAVELEC — ATLANTA

Defensemen

• 2 go – 31 pts – 35 ga — Tomas KABERLE — TORONTO
• 3 go – 18 pts – 33 ga — Marek ZIDLICKY — MINNESOTA
• 3 go – 17 pts – 32 ga — Pavel KUBINA — ATLANTA
• 2 go – 14 pts – 26 ga — Filip KUBA — OTTAWA
• 5 go – 14 pts – 34 ga — Roman HAMRLIK — MONTREAL
• 3 go – 11 pts – 34 ga — Jaroslav SPACEK — MONTREAL
• 2 go — 9 pts – 26 ga — Zbynek MICHALEK — PHOENIX
• 1 go — 9 pts – 32 ga — Ladislav SMID — EDMONTON
• 1 go — 5 pts – 27 ga — Jan HEJDA — COLUMBUS

Centers

• 15 go – 40 pts – 29 ga — Martin STRAKA —- HC Plzen
• 6 go — 29 pts – 35 ga — Vaclav PROSPAL — NY RANGERS
• 6 go — 28 pts – 36 ga — Tomas PLEKANEC — MONTREAL
• 13 go – 21 pts – 24 ga — Tomas FLEISCHMANN —- WASHINGTON
• 10 go – 19 pts – 36 ga — Michal FROLIK — FLORIDA
• 7 go — 19 pts – 31 ga — David KREJCI — BOSTON

Right Wings

• 13 go – 25 pts – 29 ga — Jaromir JAGR — Avangard Omsk
• 12 go – 24 pts – 33 ga — Martin ERAT —- NASHVILLE
• 12 go – 20 pts – 29 ga — Milan HEJDUK — COLORADO
• 8 go — 20 pts – 35 ga — Jakub VORACEK — COLUMBUS

Left Wings

• 14 go – 33 pts – 35 ga — Jiri HUDLER — Dynamo Moscow
• 15 go – 21 pts – 34 ga — Milan MICHALEK — OTTAWA
• 7 go — 17 pts – 19 ga — Patrik ELIAS — NEW JERSEY

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Nine defenseman, six centers and two skaters over the 20-player limit not including goaltenders on Coffey’s list then. 

No room for on the roster for right wing ALES HEMSKY of the Edmonton Oilers (22 ga, 7 go 15 as, 22 pts) who is averaging a point-per-game and has a + 7 rating.

None, justifiably, either, for left wing ROSTISLAV OLESZ of the Florida Panthers (36 ga, 7 go 12 as, 19 pts), who is struggling with a – 8 rating and a shooting percentage of only 6.9 % from 101 shots-on-goal.

Coffey wisely dropped from his prior list ALES KOTALIK of the New York Rangers (32 ga, 6 go 13 as, 19 pts) as the right wing has a shooting percentage of just 8.1 % and is saddled with a -15 rating.

Czech Repubic wing PATRIK ELIAS (62) collides with Germany defenseman ALEXANDER SULZER (52) behind the net at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. The Czech Republic won this Olympic opener 4-1 but lost Elias for the remainder of the tournament. Elias, a two-time Olympian, has been selected for six major internationals (20 ga, 12 go 6 as, 18 pts) by the Czech Republic.

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Nearly sixteen minutes into the first period, PATRIK ELIAS took a backhand centering pass from VLADIMIR ZHARKOV and one-timed his shot from the slot past Philadelphia Flyers netminder BRIAN BOUCHER to extend the New Jersey Devils’ lead in Saturday night’s National Hockey League contest to 3-0.

In doing so, the 33-year-old Czech Republic winger earned his 300th career NHL goal.  

Elias closed out the scoring in for New Jersey’s 4-1 victory by finishing off the two-on-one with BRIAN ROLSTON with less than a minute remaining in the second period.

(Note – Swedish Olympic hopeful NICKLAS BERGFORS, who scored the game’s first two goals, opened the New Jersey account with a smart solo rush through the Flyers defense.)

http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20092010,2,468&fr=false

Having missed time earlier this season thru injury, Elias now posts six goals and 15 points from 17 games heading into the holidays.

A former 2nd round draft pick (# 51 overall) in 1994, the two-time Stanley Cup champion has spent his entire career in the New Jersey Devils organization since arriving from HC Kladno to start the 1995-96 campaign. In his fourteen seasons with New Jersey, Elias now totals 301 goals and 721 points from 839 NHL games.

Top Czech / Slovak NHL goalscorers, all-time :

• 646 go — 1273 ga — Jaromir JAGR — Cze
• 450 go —– 977 ga — Peter STASTNY — Svk
• 354 go — 1012 ga — Miroslav SATAN — Svk
• 342 go —– 783 ga — Marian HOSSA — Svk
• 326 go — 1314 ga — Robert HOLIK — Cze
• 329 go —– 684 go — Zigmund PALFFY — Svk
• 324 go —– 812 ga — Milan HEJDUK — Cze
• 313 go —– 786 ga — Petr KLIMA — Cze
• 310 go —– 982 ga — Petr NEDVED — Cze
• 302 go —– 931 ga — Petr SYKORA — Cze
• 301 go —– 819 ga — Pavol DEMITRA —Svk
• 301 go —– 839 ga — Patrik ELIAS — Cze
• 259 go —– 957 ga — Robert LANG — Cze
• 257 go —– 954 ga — Martin STRAKA — Cze
• 252 go —– 650 ga — Anton STASTNY — Svk
• 252 go —– 830 ga — Robert REICHEL — Cze
• 241 go —– 531 ga — Marian GABORIK — Svk
• 241 go —– 961 ga — Martin RUCINSKY — Cze
• 200 go —– 745 ga — Richard ZEDNIK — Svk

MAREK ZIDLICKY made the decisive rush in the Minnesota Wild's victory over the Calgary Flames in the NHL Friday night. Zidlicky, who has appeared at six major interntionals (42 ga, 10 go 15 as, 25 pts), is an offensive weapon on the blueline for the Czech Republic.

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National team netminders NIKLAS BACKSTROM and MIIKKA KIPRUSOFF faced off and demonstrated why they are the second and third highest-paid Finnish performers as the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames skated in the National Hockey League last night.

Backstrom (26 ga, 2.50 avg, 1 so) turned aside all but one of the Flames’ 23 efforts on goal. Kiprusoff (28 ga, 2.15 avg, 3 so), meanwhile, stopped no fewer than 45 Wild shots. Needless to say, the goaltending duel developed into overtime. 

In the end, it was the Czech Republic’s MARTIN HAVLAT, however, who tipped the balance in Minnesota’s favor, 2-1.

http://www.nhl.tv./team/console.jsp?hlg=20092010,2,464&fr=false

It is Czech MAREK ZIDLICKY who initiates the play by aggressively taking open space at center ice on the breakout play in overtime. Following his clever drop pass in the offensive zone, Zidlicky works the one-two with his countryman Havlat to perfection. The 32-year-old defenseman now boasts 15 assists to match two goals in 30 games for the Minnesota Wild this NHL season.

A much needed goal then from Havlat for Minnesota, who signed the 28-year-old to a six-year, $ 30 million dollar deal as a free agent this past summer. Havlat was given the most lucrative contract in Wild team history and brought in to replace star scorer MARIAN GABORIK, who was snapped up by the New York Rangers. While Gaborik has been leading the league with 21 goals and is second with 39 points on Broadway, Havlat has just three goals in contrast to go with 10 assists for Minnesota from 25 games. 

Havlat registered 29 goals and 77 pts in 81 games for the Chicago Black Hawks and added another five goals and 15 points in 16 playoff games last season. Havlat, who has hit the back of the net 172 times in 495 career NHL games over the course of eight-plus seasons since starting with the Ottawa Senators in 2000-01, has five campaigns of twenty goals or more.

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The list of 60 players on the Czech Republic Olympic preliminary roster as announced this past October by head coach VLADIMIR RUZICKA, who was the captain of his nation’s gold medal squad at the 1998 Nagano Games:

CZECH REPUBLIC PRELIMIINARY ROSTER

Goaltenders

• 44 — 6’2″ 180 lb — Dominik HASEK — HC Pardubice
• 33 — 6’0″ 205 lb — Tomas VOKOUN — FLORIDA
• 26 — 6’3″ 196 lb — Miroslav KOPRIVA — HC Kladno
• 25 — 5’8″ 168 lb — Lukas MENSATOR — HC Karlovy Vary
• 23 — 6’3″ 220 lb — Ondrej PAVELEC — ATLANTA
• 23 — 5’11″ 190 lb — Marek SCHWARZ — HC Mlada Boleslav
• 23 — 6’0″ 160 lb — Jakub STEPANEK — HC Vitkovice
• 22 — 6’1″ 190 lb — Alexander SALAK — Rochester (AHL)

Defensmen

• 36 — 6’1″ 190 lb — Frantisek KABERLE — HC Kladno
• 35 — 6’2″ 207 lb — Roman HAMRLIK — MONTREAL
• 35 — 6’0″ 210 lb — Jaroslav SPACEK — MONTREAL
• 33 — 6’1″ 203 lb — Radek MARTINEK — NY ISLANDERS
• 33 — 6’4″ 230 lb — Filip KUBA — OTTAWA
• 32 — 6’4″ 250 lb — Pavel KUBINA — ATLANTA
• 32 — 5’11″ 190 lb — Marek ZIDLICKY — MINNESOTA
• 31 — 6’3″ 229 lb — Jan HEJDA — COLUMBUS
• 31 — 6’2″ 205 lb — Michal ROSIZVAL — NY RANGERS
• 31 — 6’1″ 214 lb — Tomas KABERLE — TORONTO
• 30 — 6’3″ 226 lb — Martin SKOULA — PITTSBURGH
• 30 — 6’2″ 200 lb — Karel RACHUNEK — Dynamo Moscow
• 30 — 6’4″ 220 lb — Petr CASLAVA — IK Timra
• 27 — 5’11″ 183 lb — Miroslav BLATAK — Salavat Yulayev Ufa
• 27 — 6’2″ 210 lb — Zbynek MICHALEK — PHOENIX
• 26 — 6’3″ 205 lb — Lukas KRAJICEK — TAMPA BAY
• 25 — 6’3″ 225 lb — Michal BARINKA — HC Vitkovice
• 25 — 5’11″ 203 lb — Ondrej NEMEC — HC Karlovy Vary
• 23 — 6’1″ 225 lb — Roman POLAK — ST. LOUIS

Forwards

• 38 — 6’1″ 205 lb — Martin RUCINSKY — Sparta Prague
• 37 — 6’3″ 229 lb — Jaromir JAGR — Avangard Omsk
• 37 — 5’9″ 179 lb — Martin STRAKA — HC Plzen
• 34 — 6’2″ 198 lb — Vaclav PROSPAL — NY RANGERS
• 34 — 5’11″ 180 lb — Petr CAJANEK — SKA St. Petersburg
• 33 — 6’0″ 190 lb — Milan HEJDUK — COLORADO
• 33 — 6’1″ 195 lb — Patrik ELIAS — NEW JERSEY
• 33 — 6’0″ 190 lb — Petr SYKORA — MINNESOTA
• 33 — 5’10″ 176 lb — Jaroslav HLINKA — HC Linkoping
• 33 — 6’0″ 185 lb — Jaroslav BEDNAR — Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
• 32 — 6’2″ 200 lb — Radek DVORAK — FLORIDA
• 31 — 5’11″ 192 lb — Jan BULIS — Atlant Mytischy Moscow
• 30 — 6’1″ 225 lb — Ales KOTALIK — NY RANGERS
• 30 — 6’0″ 198 lb — Petr HUBACEK — HC Vitkovice
• 29 — 5’10″ 185 lb — Tomas ROLINEK — Metallurg Magnitogorsk
• 29 — 5″10″ 179 lb — Jan MAREK — Metallurg Magnitogorsk 
• 29 — 6’4″ 200 lb — Josef VASICEK — Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 
• 29 — 5’10″ 183 lb — Zbynek IRGL — Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
• 28 — 6’2″ 217 lb — Martin HAVLAT — MINNESOTA
• 28 — 6’0″ 200 lb — Martin ERAT — NASHVILLE
• 27 — 5’11″ 198 lb — Tomas PLEKANEC — MONTREAL
• 26 — 6’0″ 192 lb — Ales HEMSKY — EDMONTON
• 26 — 6’2″ 185 lb — Jiri NOVOTNY — Atlant Mytischy Moscow
• 25 — 6’2″ 225 lb — Milan MICHALEK — OTTAWA
• 25 — 6’1″ 192 lb — Tomas FLEISCHMANN — WASHINGTON
• 25 — 5’9″ 183 lb — Jiri HUDLER — Dynamo Moscow
• 25 — 6’1″ 210 lb — Jakub KLEPIS — Avangard Omsk
• 24 — 6’1″ 214 lb — Rostislav OLESZ — FLORIDA
• 24 — 5’11″ 187 lb — Roman CERVENKA — Slavia Prague
• 24 — 5’11″ 192 lb — Marek KVAPIL — HC Vitkovice
• 23 — 6’0″ 177 lb — David KREJCI — BOSTON
• 22 — 6’6″ 228 lb — Michal HANZAL — PHOENIX
• 21 — 6’1″ 185 lb — Michael FROLIK — FLORIDA

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PETR SVOBODA, who, as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, scored the lone goal in the 1-0 victory over Russia which gave the Czech Republic the 1998 gold medal, is acting as a consultant to Olympic teammate Ruzicka.

Czech Republic national team star JAROMIR JAGR left the New York Rangers following the 2007-08 National Hockey League season to sign with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Jagr, 37, inked a two-year deal worth a reported $ 5,000,000 per season to play in Russia.

Jagr, who started fast this KHL season with ten goals from his first fourteen games for Avangard, has been slowed somewhat by injury since but still leads Omsk with 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 25 games.

Despite the two-time Stanley Cup champion Jagr’s defection, there are still 40 Czech players currently active on NHL rosters.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 1

• $ 6,000,000 — 33 – for – Patrik ELIAS — New Jersey
• $ 5,700,000 — 33 – gk – Tomas VOKOUN — Nashville
• $ 5,500,000 — 35 – def – Roman HAMRLIK — Montreal
• $ 5,000,000 — 32 - def – Pavel KUBINA — Atlanta
• $ 5,000,000 — 31 – def – Michal ROZSIVAL — NY Rangers
• $ 5,000,000 — 28 – for – Martin HAVLAT — Minnesota
• $ 4,500,000 — 28 – for – Martin ERAT — Nashville
• $ 4,333,333 — 24 – for – Milan MICHALEK — Ottawa
• $ 4,250,000 — 31 – def – Tomas KABERLE — Toronto
• $ 4,100,000 — 26 – for – Ales HEMSKY — Edmonton
• $ 3,900,000 — 33 – for – Milan HEJDUK — Colorado
• $ 3,833,333 — 35 – def – Jaroslav SPACEK — Montreal
• $ 3,750,000 — 23 – for – David KREJCI — Boston
• $ 3,700,000 — 32 – def – Filip KUBA — Ottawa
• $ 3,350,000 — 32 – def – Marek ZIDLICKY — Minnesota
• $ 3,125,000 — 24 – for – Rostislav OLESZ — Florida
• $ 3,000,000 — 30 – for – Ales KOTALIK — NY Rangers
• $ 3,000,000 — 28 – for – Radek VRBATA — Phoenix
• $ 2,750,000 — 27 – for – Tomas PLEKANEC — Montreal
• $ 2,000,000 — 31 – def – Jan HEJDA — Columbus
• $ 1,700,000 — 32 – for – Radek DVORAK — Florida
• $ 1,600,000 — 32 – for – Petr SYKORA — Minnesota
• $ 1,600,000 — 27 – def – Rostislav KLESLA — Columbus
• $ 1,500,000 — 33 – def – Radek MARTINEK— NY Islanders
• $ 1,433,333 — 22 – gk – Ondrej PAVELEC — Atlanta
• $ 1,300,000 — 23 – def – Ladislav SMID — Edmonton
• $ 1,275,000 — 21 – for – Michael FROLIK — Florida
• $ 1,270,833 — 20 – for – Jakob VORACEK — Columbus 
• $ 1,250,000 — 26 – for – Zbynek MICHALEK — Phoenix
• $ 1,200,000 — 27 – for – Petr PRUCHA — Phoenix
• $ 1,150,000 — 34 – for – Vaclav PROSPAL — NY Rangers
• $ 1,100,000 — 26 – def – Lukas KRAJICEK – Tampa Bay
• $ 1,100,000 — 23 – def – Roman POLAK — St. Louis
• $ 1,000,000 — 38 – for – Robert LANG — Phoenix
• $ 980,000 — 22 – for – Martin HANZAL — Phoenix
• $ 750,000 — 22 – for – Vladimir SOBOTKA — Boston
• $ 725,000 — 25 – for – Tomas FLEISCHMANN — Washington
• $ 682,500 — 24 – for – Kamil KREPS — Florida
• $ 575,000 — 30 – def – Martin SKOULA — Pittsburgh
• $ 575,000 — 28 – for – David KOCI — Colorado

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-10 season.

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Jaromir Jagr is not the only Czech international in the Kontinental Hockey League with a lucrative contract.

Former Detroit Red Wing JIRI HUDLER, like his countryman Jagr a Stanley Cup champion, caused a minor stir this past summer by signing a two-year contract with Russian club Dynamo Moscow worth a reported $ 5,000,000 per season.

Hudler, 25, easily enjoyed his best NHL campaign a year ago with 23 goals and 34 assists in 82 games for the Detroit. The former 2nd round pick (# 58 overall) of the 2002 NHL Draft first appeared for the Red Wings during the 2003-04 season. The diminutive center spent three winters as a NHL regular and totaled 255 games (52 goals, 75 assists) overall.

The hubub over Hudler came as a result of the native of Olomouc having apparently agreed to salary arbitration with the Detroit Red Wings. Therefore, he was not a “free agent” and eligible to sign with Dynamo Moscow and, thus, USA Hockey never signed the official paperwork required for a formal international transfer certificate. In the end, the International Ice Hockey Federation ruled that since only documents with the player’s agent signature were produced by USA Hockey, it could not be proven that the agent acted with the player’s consent in filing for salary arbitration.

Currently, Hudler is tied for twelfth place overall in KHL scoring for Dynamo Moscow with 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) from 29 games.