Czech coach Cermak: ​The Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be a tough test

You have completed the camp and the preparatory games before the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. What did they tell you?

We got to know the boys already in June at the camp in Kravaře, where thirty players were invited, because we wanted to see as many players as possible. Now we have selected the final nomination for Switzerland and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. We focused on setting up the attack and aggressive countre attacks. I have to say that we succeeded in something, but of course we want to improve more.

After the first friendly game against Switzerland in Davos, you were somewhat skeptical, how did the next game look to you?

We had a very bad movement in the first game, but the altitude was a little different in Davos, so maybe that had an effect on the boys. In Říčany, we trained on a 26-metre narrow pitch, in Davos it was thirty meters wide, and the boys had a bit of a problem with it in the first game. I think it got better over time and we´ll see how we will play at the Hlink Gretzky Cup. I hope the rising performances continue.

Have did you get to the ideal composition of lines for the upcoming tournament?

There are some couples, but we are still getting to know the boys. We´ve played around a lot with the line-up but I think the boys will deal with it and it won´t be a good performance for them, even if they´re not fully matched or haven´t played that many games together.

How satisfied are you with the team at the moment?

I think the results have not been that important now. What matters is how the guys approach it, which of course we see some gaps in both training and games. We try to talk to the boys a lot and convince them that only hard work and honest preparation can lead them to improve.

So did the preliminaries and the camp fulfill their purpose?

Yes, we had very good conditions for training in Říčany, and I think that even in Davos there were three games that showed us a lot. This year, the Swiss are said to be very successful and they were not easy games at all.

What is your next schedule now?

We already met on Thursday evening, when the first training after the camp was on the program, then on Friday we have two more trainings. On Saturday, in addition to training, there will also be a warm-up match against Canada, and on Sunday there will be only one more training session, because then we have three games in three days. It was the same in Switzerland, so actually the boys will play seven games in ten days. It will be a tough test for them.

What do you expect from the preliminary game against Canada?

It will be a game against a very good opponent and we will see how the boys deal with it. I think it will be hockey on a different level than what we played in Switzerland. Canada should come with the strongest team, probably even stronger than they usually have at the Worlds.

What ambitions are you going to Břeclav with?

We will want to win every game, we will go into the tournament with that. The most important thing will be for the boys to give out everything they have in them.