Czech Republic all-time WJC starting lineup includes Jagr, Reichel, Hasek

The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship is scheduled for Dec. 25-Jan. 5 at Rogers Place in Edmonton. To celebrate the tournament, which was first contested in 1974, NHL.com has compiled an all-time starting lineup for some of the participating countries based solely on the players' performances at the World Juniors. Today, we look at the ideal three forwards, two defensemen and goalie to start a game for the Czech Republic.

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Forwards

Robert Reichel
Tournaments:1988, 1989, 1990
Statistics: 21 games, 18-22-40
Reichel was named best forward at the 1990 WJC after leading the tournament with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in seven games. It's the fourth-most points ever scored in a World Juniors, and his 11 goals tied for the fourth-most in a single tournament. He's second all-time in scoring at the WJC (Peter Forsberg, Sweden; 42 points) and is tied for fourth in goals. Reichel helped Czechoslovakia finish third in 1989, when he scored eight points (four goals, four assists) in seven games, and in 1990. He played 11 NHL seasons with four teams.
Vladimir Ruzicka
Tournaments:1981, 1982, 1983
Statistics: 19 games, 25-9-34
Ruzicka led the 1983 WJC in goals (12), assists (eight) and points (20) and helped Czechoslovakia finish second. His 12 goals are tied for the second-most in a single tournament (Markus Naslund, Sweden; 13, 1993), and his 20 points are tied for fifth. Ruzicka tied for the tournament lead in 1982 with eight goals, and his 25 goals are tied for second all-time in the WJC, behind Pavel Bure of the Soviet Union (27). He played five NHL seasons with three teams.
Jaromir Jagr
Tournament: 1990
Statistics:7 games, 5-13-18
Jagr's only WJC appearance saw him finish second to Reichel in scoring. He made the tournament all-star team and helped Czechoslovakia finish third. His 13 assists are tied for the fourth-most in a single World Juniors. Jagr played 24 NHL seasons with nine teams.

Second line
Michal Pivonka:21 games (1984, 1985, 1986), 15-11-26; Vaclav Varada: 13 games (1995, 1996), 11-5-16; Rostislav Olesz: 13 games (2004, 2005), 10-5-15

Defensemen

Jiri Slegr
Tournaments:1990, 1991
Statistics: 14 games, 3-13-16
Slegr was named the best defenseman at the 1991 WJC after he led defensemen with nine points, all assists, in seven games and Czechoslovakia finished third in the tournament. The nine assists are tied for the second most by a defenseman at a World Juniors. Slegr was named to the tournament all-star team at the 1990 WJC after tying for the lead among defensemen with seven points (three goals, four assists) in seven games. His 16 points are the most by a defenseman for the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia at the World Juniors. Slegr played 11 NHL seasons with six teams.
Jan Vopat
Tournaments:1992, 1993
Statistics: 14 games, 6-5-11
Vopat led defensemen in goals (six) and points (10) in seven games and helped Czechoslovakia finish third at the 1993 WJC. The six goals are the most scored by a defenseman at a World Juniors. He played five NHL seasons with two teams.
Second pair
Petr Pavlas: 14 games (1987, 1988), 5-10-15;
Libor Hajek
: 7 games, (2018), 1-7-8

Goalie

Dominik Hasek
Tournaments:1983, 1985
Statistics:13 games, 9-1-0, 2.43 GAA
Hasek went 5-0-0 with a tournament-best 1.58 goals-against average to help Czechoslovakia finish second at the 1985 WJC and had a 3.33 GAA in six games to help them finish second at the 1983 WJC. Hasek played 16 NHL seasons with four teams.

Backup
Tomas Duba:7 games (2001), 7-0-0, 1.14 GAA, .947 save percentage