After being a confirmed addition to the Czech team on Friday, Martin Nečas arrived in Prague on Saturday morning. In the early afternoon, he showed up in the Czech dressing room where his teammates were getting ready for this evening’s game against Great Britain. Reportedly, Nečas wants to play tonight but the team has not confirmed he will. In any case, he should be good to go on Tuesday against Canada.
“We are waiting to speak with Martin in person so we can make arrangements accordingly,” Czech assistant coach Jiří Kalous told media after practise. “Plans are one thing, reality is another. We'll see how he feels after the long journey. We know he would like to play, but we will wait.”
But are more reinforcements on the way? Czech media outlet iDnes.cz has spoken to the parents of David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha, whose Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
“Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side,” Pastrňák’s mother Marcela said about the Bruins’ loss in game six of their second-round series to the Florida Panthers. “But they had a great season and I believe it will turn out well in the playoffs one day. And as for the World Championship, we all know how important the national team is to David, but nobody plays completely healthy in the playoffs, so it depends on him.”
“Pavel has been determined to come to the World Championship for a long time, this is also the agreement with the national team,” said Pavel Zacha Sr. “He wasn’t seriously injured in the playoffs, so there’s nothing stopping that. I think both he and David will come, but of course I don’t know for sure. We will see more during the day.”
Pastrňák has played in four previous World Championships, winning a bronze medal in 2002 in Tampere, a tournament in which he led in goals with seven. He has joined the Czechs mid-tournament before, in 2018, when the arrival of him and Boston teammate David Krejčí gave the team a sudden offensive burst.
“Boston was knocked out overnight, and (GM) Petr Nedvěd and (assistant GM) Martin Havlát are dealing with that. We're waiting to connect with the guys and then we'll know more," said Kalous.
When asked about a potential line of Pastrňák, Zacha and Nečas, Kalous smiled and said, “It’s too soon for that.”