GM: Peter Ott
Coach: Doug Weight
Last season: 17th overall. Missed playoffs
Ins and Outs
(Season 14 to Season 15)
In: Phillip Schultz (draft)
Out: Mark Scheifele (free agent), Evgeni Kuznetsov (free agent)
Potential Lineup
Alex Galchenyuk/Miro Aaltonen/Jimmie Ericsson
Nail Yakupov/Chris Tierney/Robert Thomas
Brady Tkachuk/Phillip Schultz/Arthur Kaliyev
Michael Rasmussen/Matteo Gennaro/Alexandre Texier
Mikhail Sergachev/Victor Roth
Miro Heiskanen/Torey Krug
Alexander Romanov/Dennis Cholowski
Andrey Vasilevskiy/Anton Forsberg
Three Questions
1. Will Prague make the playoffs this season? It looks like they will. The speedy Spartans were edged out of the playoffs by just 2 points last season, their top players are at their peak, they only lost two veteran starters and they showed a lot of improvement under new coach Doug Weight. Defenseman Bowen Byram should come up to the team this season with a great PO rating. Weight and GM Peter Ott would love to get him some experience, but not at the expense of, say, Dennis Cholowski who has value too. Forward Cole Perfetti will also come up and where he fits into the plan will be another interesting thing to watch in Czechia. Generally speaking, Prague will go as far as the top two units of forwards and defensemen can carry them. They are an accomplished bunch. Behind them is where the questions lie. Rookie Phillip Schultz is talented enough to center the third line, but he still needs to learn the defensive half of his position. The good news is we don’t see anyone in the entire lineup who is a substantial injury risk. They are all relatively young men and they have tremendous stamina ratings.
2. What could hold them back? Prague has become a cohesive team with fewer roster changes than any team in the league these days. Sparta fans can feel safe that if they buy a jersey with one of their team heroes’ name on it, they will be able to wear it for years. The goalie tandem of Andrey Vasilevskiy and Anton Forsberg has been guarding the Prague net for seven seasons, including the upcoming one. If you don’t mentally link the Spartans to names like Sergachev, Aaltonen and Heiskanen, well then you just need to start paying more attention to the world around you. It’s wide and it offers some beautiful things … like a saucer pass from Robert Thomas through the slot and onto the stick blade of Nail Yakupov. Expect to see that often this season, by the way. But you shouldn’t expect to see new names coming to the team (other than prospects Bowen Byram and Cole Perfetti) because Prague is tighter to the salary cap than they and their fans would like to be. You would think they would have a lot of breathing room after $12.5 million worth of contracts expired (Mark Scheifele and Evgeni Kuznetsov) but salary bumps shrunk that hole right up.
3. Who are the key players this season for Prague? Aside from the expected answers of Andrey Vasilievskiy and the others in the lineup’s Top 6, Brady Tkachuk and Robert Thomas could make or break this team. Both are straddling the line between 2nd- and 3rd-line quality. Coach Doug Weight will start Thomas on the second line with Nail Yakupov and Chris Tierney and the 24-year-old will be under intense pressure to perform. Tkachuk not only has to come through with strong play, he will also have to be – at age 24 – the mentor to his two young linemates: Athur Kaliyev and rookie Phillip Schultz. No one can expect Schultz to carry the line, so Tkachuk will have to.
Rose’s Focus
“Last season, I disclosed that Prague General Manager Peter Ott and I are boyfriend and girlfriend. We enjoyed a nice season together until those bastards from Bratislava ruined things for us. Peter had promised me a new dress if they made the playoffs. We didn’t make it so I have nothing to wear. Whoops. Not that I’m naked right now; that’s not what I meant. Stop trying to picture me naked. Filthy animal! I have some older, raggedy clothes. But Peter and I want to go dress shopping for me in about 8 months. We – I mean Prague – were one of the five teams who had a dogfight last season for that last playoff spot. I foresee a very similar race this season but I’m confident I will be dress shopping.
