Canadians with Czech roots: Musil and Konecny celebrate Hlinka victory

"It´s an incredible feeling. I´m sure glad I chose Canada," said Musil, a dual citizen, and whose older brother David represents the Czech Republic internationally. He spent a good part of his childhood living in the Czech Republic, therefore it means something to him to win this tournament here. "It´s something special for me, of course. My parents and a lot of relatives and people we know were here watching. That gave it a bit more of a special flavor."

You won all games by at least four goals. But was the final against the Czechs the toughest game?

"Probably yes. It was a tough game, but none of the previous games were easy, either. They were all good teams."

What as the reason the team was so dominant in this tournament?

"I think we had a really deep roster and each of the four lines were strong and could decide a game. We were able to wear down our opponents, and they just couldn´t play with us for 60 minutes."

I guess this is the end of the line for team. Everyone will go their own way now. How will you celebrate? "Surely we´ll enjoy it. But just for a little while because training camp starts in Red Deer soon, so it´s almost time to start preparing for the new season."

The other player on the Canadian team with Czech roots is captain Travis Konecny. However, he has to go back a few generations to find a connection. However, it´s still a special trip for him, and like all players on the team, he was euphoric afterward.

"It feels great," the Canadian captain said after the final game. "We were all pulling the rope together. Throughout the tournament we played a lot of high-tempo hockey. To experience this kind of thing with a group of guys like this is pretty rare, I think."

How difficult an opponent were the Czechs in the final game? "The Czechs were probably the toughest opponent we played in the tournament. We knew that it wasn´t going to be an easy game, so we were mentally ready to go and we came out really strong."

Your teammate Adam Musil said that the success of this team came from all four lines playing equally. You´re probably all stars on your teams. How does everybody put their ego aside and do that so quickly?

"I think we all came together as a team because we wanted to win. We also learned a lot quickly. In addition, we wanted to show that we were all born to the same style of hockey, and it worked."

Most of the players on your team and in this tournament are looking forward to next year´s NHL draft. How do you think this tournament has helped you and your teammates?

"Certainly it´s helped us. We all want to get taken in the draft and playing well in a tournament catches the attention of NHL teams. I think our play here has moved all of us forward," he said at the end with a smile.