At the end of every World Junior Championship, each team names its top three players.
Two of Team Czechia’s players to receive that award this month were Utah Hockey Club prospects: Vojtěch Hradec and Michael Hrabal.
Czechia won bronze in the tournament. It was Hrabal’s second bronze medal at the World Juniors in two years.
Hrabal, a 6-foot-6, 19-year-old goaltender whom the Arizona Coyotes selected in the second round of the 2023 draft, recorded a .919 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average over six games for Czechia.
After the tournament, he returned to playing NCAA hockey at UMass, where his numbers are even better.
The Hockey East division announced Hrabal as the defensive player of the week on Monday.
On Thursday, Hrabal spoke with the Deseret News about his World Juniors experience and his hockey career as a whole.
Here’s what he said.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Deseret News: How was your World Juniors experience?
Michael Hrabal: It was great. We had a great group of guys, which resulted in a really good result.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it to the finals, but I think bronze is still a great achievement.
DN: How did you guys celebrate?
MH: It’s probably one of the last times we’ll be together as a whole group, so we definitely wanted to enjoy the guys.
We had some fun, but there wasn’t much time because we were flying the next morning.
DN: What was it like to beat Team Canada?
MH: It’s always nice to beat a great team like that, mainly when it was in their country. A lot of people watched it. The atmosphere in the rink was insane.
But at the end of the day, it was a normal team like every other. We went into each game with a goal to win, so that was our goal for that game, too, and we were successful.
DN: Tell me a bit about (fellow Utah HC prospect) Vojtěch Hradec.
MH: I’ve known him for a long time, so it’s great that he’s drafted to the same team as me. He’s a great teammate and a great player. He showed it off at the tournament, so I’m very happy for him.
DN: I asked (current Utah HC goaltender and fellow Czech) Karel Vejmelka about you and he said he spoke with you over the phone on your draft day. What was it like to get a call from an elite Czech goaltender?
MH: He’s one of the goalies I used to watch when I was younger. He played in the NHL and for the national team so he’s definitely one of the guys I looked up to. It’s great that I got a chance to talk to him.
DN: Did he give you any advice?
MH: Just normal stuff, like keep working hard. It doesn’t end with just the draft, which is something I learned this season or even last season. Just need to work hard and always push myself more.
DN: Which other goalies did you idolize growing up?
MH: My idol was always Henrik Lundqvist, but I always try to look at taller goalies, similar to my size, that I can really take something from.
Every goalie is in the NHL for a reason — they’re the best in the world — so it’s always nice to watch everyone. There’s always something I can take from anyone up there.
DN: Which NHL goalie would you compare your game to?
MH: I would probably compare myself the most to Jake Oettinger. Tall, athletic goalie, so I’d say he’s probably the most comparable to me.
DN: What would you say is your greatest asset as a goalie?
MH: Just learning how to use my size. I think my game reading is very good. These attributes are very important for goalies nowadays.
DN: Have you had any conversation with Utah HC management regarding the path they want you to follow?
MH: I’m in contact with them like every week. We talk about what to work on and stuff, so it’s been a great cooperation.
DN: How do the weekly conversations go? Do they point out little things that you can do better, or is it more big-picture stuff?
MH: It’s kind of both. Maybe they want me to work on something in a game that they like, or on the other hand, something I can work on.
There are definitely some talks about my future, but for me right now the most important thing is this season, to make it as far as possible with UMass.