The World Juniors Coaches Q&A Series: Team Czechia's Pavel Trnka
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EP Rinkside
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The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship is just around the corner, and I had the opportunity to chat with an assistant coach of Team Czech Republic and former NHL player Pavel Trnka about this year’s squad. What follows is an exclusive question and answer session with Trnka, as we continue a series of Q&A articles with some of the coaches participating in the World Junior Hockey Championships later this month in Edmonton. Julie Robenhymer: Before we get into the team, I want to talk about you for a little bit. You were an assistant for this team in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and now you’re back.
Working with these guys and helping them get better is really rewarding because they still have that dream to be somewhere higher and they’re going to work for it, and you get to see them improve and know that you had a part in it.
They give us the plan, tell us we have to do it, so we do it.
Do you have a starter in mind?PT: We have four really good goalies and we have a good idea of the guy who we’d like to start the tournament, but I don’t think it would be fair to say it until we know he will be available to play for us.
How do you get that to happen again?PT: Well if everything goes right, we’ll have eight players from last year’s team on this roster and that will definitely help.
Working with these guys and helping them get better is really rewarding because they still have that dream to be somewhere higher and they’re going to work for it, and you get to see them improve and know that you had a part in it.
They give us the plan, tell us we have to do it, so we do it.
Do you have a starter in mind?PT: We have four really good goalies and we have a good idea of the guy who we’d like to start the tournament, but I don’t think it would be fair to say it until we know he will be available to play for us.
How do you get that to happen again?PT: Well if everything goes right, we’ll have eight players from last year’s team on this roster and that will definitely help.