Wed, May 26, 2004

Czechs say no to Bonk

By CHRIS STEVENSON, Ottawa Sun

Radek Bonk might be regarded as a No. 1 centre by some here in Ottawa, but he's not even on the radar screen in his native Czech Republic. Bonk was snubbed again by Czech hockey authorities when they announced their roster yesterday for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey.

Making the grade from the Senators were winger Martin Havlat and goaltender Martin Prusek, bringing to nine the number of Senators who have been selected to represent their countries.

Havlat, who played on a line with Jaromir Jagr at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake, has first-line potential. Prusek will likely be the backup to Tomas Vokoun, who had an outstanding year with the Nashville Predators, helping them to the playoffs for the first time and then representing the Czech Republic at the world championships.

"I would like to see him there," Havlat said of Bonk during a conference call from the airport in Monaco where Havlat was vacationing. "I played with him the last four years and I think he's a pretty good player. But we can't control that. It's up to the team management and the coaches."

Bonk didn't measure up to years past, with just 12 goals and 32 assists in 66 games last year. He was a non-factor in the Senators' seven-game loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs with just two assists.

LACKING SPARK

Obviously, the Czech officials saw the same traits in Bonk that drive some fans crazy: A lack of passion and an unwillingness to get involved physically.

The Czech team, which will be coached by Ivan Hlinka -- who took over after the Czechs were ousted from the world championships by the USA -- opted for the likes of Robert Lang, Vaclav Prospal, Jiri Dopita, Robert Reichel and Petr Cajanek at the centre position.

For the first time in a long time, the Czechs won't have goaltender Dominik Hasek in goal in a major international competition. He recently underwent groin surgery and was not named to the team yesterday.

That didn't worry Havlat.

"Last year Vokoun had a great season. He helped his team make the playoffs and he was great in the world championships. I think he'll be the No. 1, for sure," he said.

After missing training camp in a contract dispute last fall, the 23-year-old Havlat had 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 points in 68 games with the Senators last year (he added another three assists in the seven-game loss to the Leafs in the first round of the playoffs).