I thought that the invitation might not come for a long time, says the novice Kučeřík
Lubomír
Budny
Last year, the head of the Hockey Comet, Libor Zábranský, was impressed by the quality of the season in the evaluation of the season. A year later, the already talented Brno defender Radek Kučeřík, at the age of twenty, is gaining his first experience in the senior national team just below Zábranský, who is now the assistant national team coach Kari Jalonen. In Wednesday’s duel of the Czech national team against Austria, Kučeřík made his national team debut when winning the national team in Znojmo 5: 1.
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The introductory preparatory duel of the national team against Austria was marked by the prime ministers of Brno. It was won by Libor Zábranský, Martin Erat, Radek Kučeřík and Tomáš Bartejs.
| Photo: Deník / Lubomír Budný
“When the Junior World Championships ended in January a year ago, I thought that another invitation to the national team might not come long. But now I’ve been here for a while and I want to take advantage of every rotation I get. We gave a great performance against Austria, “said the sharp Brno quarterback.
He could hardly imagine a calmer debut. The national team dominated against the young selection of Austria from the opening minutes and in front of the sold-out Nevoga arena in Znojmo decided to win practically in the first period, when they scored three goals. “We also had outages when we made mistakes or left the system. But overall, we introduced ourselves to the Finnish style that Kari brought, we try to listen to him and it bore fruit. We have to continue to perform, “said a native of Kyjov in the Hodonín region, who also has two friends from Brno, Petr Holík and Tomáš Bartejs, in the current team.
Hockey player Holík goes to camp from campsite. Comets from Kometa are seconding him in Znojmo
Kučeřík, who has gone through all the youth categories of the national team, praises the professionalism of the new implementation team, which also includes former ace of the Brno Comet Martin Erat or the assistant of the Brno coach Jiří Horáček in the role of video coach. “They are all excellent coaches and the whole implementation team is made up of experienced guys. We have an awful lot of videos and analysts, “Kučeřík revealed.
In this, it definitely became an integral part of the basic set of the Comet. He was the only one on the team to play all sixty-one matches of the Brno team in each point, in which he scored ten points. The impression spoils the ugly eighteen negative points in the plus or minus statistics. In addition, Brno did not advance to the quarterfinals of the extra league for the first time in six years, when they lost in the preliminary round with Liberec 2: 3 for matches. “It’s great that we can extend the season in the national team. Everyone regrets it when he leaves early because I don’t know what he will do. Hockey is our life, we train every day, so it’s great that we can continue to do that, “said Kučeřík.
On Thursday, he left Znojmo with the national team and set out for Linz, twenty kilometers away, where the Czech national team will retaliate with Austria on Friday from half past five in the evening. Then Kučeřík’s time in the national team for this season may begin. Maybe they will extend the season for another week, when the Czech national team will settle in Chomutov and play two duels with Germany. “I’m going camping from camp and I’m very happy for every chance I get,” he concluded.
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