No team's allowed fewer goals at the world juniors than Czechia. No team has had more offense from defensemen than Czechia. What makes their blueline so good?

HALIFAX - David Jiricek's shot is lethal enough to scare his own teammates – especially those tasked with stopping it in practice. 

"It's not fun, that's for sure," laughed Czech goaltender Tomas Suchanek.

"He has a hard shot, and he likes to use it. So, it's definitely not fun for me." 

Jiricek is the crown jewel of Czechia's blueline these days, and it's not hard to see why. A monster 2021-22 draft year that further established him as one of the sport's best young defenders and ultimately led to him striding across the stage as the sixth overall pick in the draft will do that. 

But the flashy 19-year-old is just one cog in the Czech defensive machine that has dominated the 2023 World Junior Championship through the early stages of the tournament. It's not only placing the nation in a prime position to medal for the first time since 2005 but also offering a sneak peek at the wave of blueline talent getting ready to unleash upon the professional ranks in due time. 

Offensively, it's tough to find a more potent back end than this one. Through five games, Czechia defensemen have combined for 10 total goals – despite only one tally coming in their 9-1 drubbing of Switzerland in Monday's quarterfinal – to lead the tournament in that area by a wide margin. 

"It's nice, but we need to play in the D-zone also," joked Jiricek following the game. 

"These games are going to be tight. One goal, two goals, maybe. So, it's nice. I'm happy for everyone – the defensemen, forwards, everyone."

Those offensive numbers would be impressive enough if it weren't for the unit's complete domination on the other side of the puck, too. Simply put, you are not getting into the Czechia zone easily. And if an opponent does slip by, they're doing so knowing a chunk will be taken out of them in the process. 

The proof is in the pudding. Czechia has allowed just seven goals ahead of their semifinal appearance – a slate of games that includes a tournament-opening match versus a Team Canada squad carrying nine first-round picks, three NHLers and the prospective top two picks in this year's draft. 

Early jitters could be used to wave away the impact of that defensive performance. But Czechia's streak of holding each opponent to two goals or less through regulation to this point, which has yet to be broken, begs to differ. 

This group is, as the kids say, "feelin' it." And they don't look ready to stop anytime soon. 

"A lot of our guys play in North America, so we're used to the smaller rink," said Czech defenseman David Spacek, who was nabbed in the fifth round by the Minnesota Wild back in June, of his blueline's dominance thus far. 

"We know how to move on it, to pass it quick. It's working well so we're not gonna change it."

An affinity for the smaller ice is not the only thing working in Czechia's favour when it comes to their defense corps, either. 

In the small sample size of an international tournament, chemistry is everything, and Czechia has managed to capture it in a bottle by returning every single member of its top six from 2022 for another shot at that elusive medal. Jiricek, Spacek, Jiri Tichacek, Stanislav Svozil, Tomas Hamara and David Moravec. They're all back this time around. And it's that level of familiarity with each other – that knowledge of each player's traits and inclinations – that the Czechs believe to be their secret weapon. 

"This group was even from the U-16," said Jiricek. "The guys are now still the same. We have experience. So, now, we're just scoring goals." 

Jiricek is certainly right about that one. And as the tournament reaches its crescendo and the games become life or death, one sentiment has started to grow among the contingent of world juniors media and participants huddled together in Halifax: No one wants to face Czechia. 

Not in the semifinal, and certainly not with a medal on the line. 

If the defense corps keeps clicking as they have, those remaining teams won't have a choice.