Four players that have already been drafted by NHL teams are on the Czech roster for a five-team U-20 tournament that will take place Nov. 5 to 9 in Piešťany, Slovakia.

The tournament will be the last U-20 event in Europe prior to this winter’s IIHF World Junior Championship and should include the best eligible players from Czechia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and host Slovakia (scroll to the bottom to see the schedule).

The four drafted players are all forwards: Vojtěch Čihař of the Los Angeles Kings, Štěpán Hoch of the Utah Mammoth, Ondřej Kos of the St. Louis Blues and Petr Sikora of the Washington Capitals.

Kos and Sikora were members of last year’s bronze-medal-winning team in Ottawa. Sikora had seven points in seven games and drew a lot of attention during the quarterfinal game against Canada following a collision that saw Cole Beaudoin ejected from the game for kneeing. Canadian fans accused Sikora – who appeared injured on the play but returned to the ice on the following power play – of embellishment, which Sikora strenuously denied.

Czech Petr Sikora: “It’s A Charley Horse – I Got Hit In The Thigh” By Beaudoin While Canadian hockey fans suffered through a near-existential crisis on Thursday during Canada’s 4-3 loss to Czechia in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarterfinals, one of the outlets for their anger and frustration – in addition to referees, coaches and Hockey Canada itself – was Czech center Petr Sikora.

The only other European-based player eligible to return from last year's team is 19-year-old undrafted defenseman Tomáš Galvas, who is currently out with a shoulder injury.

All players on the roster were born in 2006 or 2007 – the youngest player on the team and the only one on the roster who has not already been exposed to the NHL Entry Draft is 17-year-old Jakub Frolo, a December-born forward who plays in Finland.

12 NHL Draftees, 8 World Junior Returnees On Finland's U-20 Five Nations Squad Finland's U-20 squad boasts 12 NHL draftees and eight returnees from last year's IIHF World Junior Championship, led by captain Aron Kiviharju.

Goaltenders: Adam Ebenstreit (Slavia Prague), Matyáš Mařík (České Budějovice).

Defensemen: Vojtěch Pilíšek (Liberec), Martin Švec, Marek Chaloupka (both Pardubice), Vashek Blanár (HV71 Jönköping, SWE), Pavel Průšek, Aleš Zielinski (both Třinec), Ondřej Postl (Karlovy Vary).

Forwards: Adrien Bartovič (Liberec), Šimon Fasner (Vítkovice), Oskar Lisler (Kladno), Vojtěch Čihař (Karlovy Vary / Los Angeles Kings), Petr Tomek (Karlovy Vary), Štěpán Hoch (České Budějovice / Utah Mammoth), Richard Žemlička (SaiPa Lappeenranta, FIN), Ondřej Kos (Ilves Tampere, FIN / St. Louis Blues), Jakub Frolo (Ilves Tampere, FIN), Samuel Karol Jung (Kärpät Oulu, FIN), Danny Chludil (Kometa Brno), Petr Sikora (Třinec / Washington Capitals), Matěj Kubiesa (Třinec).

Kings 2nd-Round Draft Pick Contemplates Staying In Czechia Or Moving Overseas Czech left winger Vojtěch Čihař, who turned 18 in March, was drafted in the second round, 59th overall, by the <a href="http://thn.com/losangeles">Los Angeles Kings</a> at this year’s NHL Entry Draft, which happened to be in Los Angeles.

Reserves:

Goaltenders: Stanislav Žbánek (Sparta Prague). Defensemen: Marek Macháček (Liberec), Jakub Zubíček (Kometa Brno), Petr Soušek (Litvínov), Alex Drábek (Vítkovice), David Svozil (Tappara Tampere, FIN). Forwards: Matyáš Humeník, Jakub Lev (both České Budějovice), Vasyl Špilka (Liberec), Patrik Král (Mladá Boleslav), Artur Matějovský (Slavia Prague), Matyáš Úbl (Škoda Plzeň), Lukáš Král (Lulea, SWE).

Manager: Otakar Černý. Head Coach: Patrik Augusta. Assistant Coaches: Pavel Trnka, Robert Reichel. Goaltending Coach: Martin Láska.

Slovakia Ready To Host U-20 Tournament ‘Without Stars’ Slovakia hosts a U-20 tournament featuring top European talent ahead of the IIHF World Junior Championship. Lacking star power, the team emphasizes grit and team spirit to forge a path to junior hockey's elite.

Tournament Schedule (all times CET)

Wednesday, Nov. 5:
13:30 Switzerland – Sweden
17:00 Finland – Slovakia

Thursday, Nov. 6:
13:30 Czechia – Finland
17:00 Sweden – Slovakia

Friday, Nov. 7:
13:30 Sweden – Finland
17:00 Switzerland – Czechia

Saturday, Nov. 8:
13:30 Finland – Switzerland
17:00 Slovakia – Czechia

Sunday, Nov. 9:
11:30 Czechia – Sweden
15:00 Slovakia – Switzerland 

Four Draft-Eligible Players Named to Sweden’s Five Nations Roster Jacob Smeds provides a recap of Sweden’s U20 roster for the November Five Nations Tournament in Piestany, featuring four draft-eligible players.