Photos: iSport

Washington Capitals defensive prospect Martin Hugo Has participated in an exhibition game to celebrate HC Letci Letnany’s 20th anniversary on Saturday in Czechia. The game included former Washington Capitals forward Jakub Vrána and goaltender Vitek Vanecek. All three players spent time with the club at some point in their careers.

Participants in the exhibition game included a wide-range of current and former NHL stars:

VETERANS TEAM
Vítek Vaněček, Jakub Voráček, David Pastrňák, Jan Novák, Ivan Majeský, Jaroslav Nedvěd, Petr Čáslava, Jan Rutta, Filip Zadina, Matěj Blümel, Jan Hlaváč, David Výborný, Jiří Tlustý,

YOUNG STARS TEAM
Lukáš Pařík, Jan Zedek, Milan Antoš, Karel Klikorka, Ivan Lytvynov, Martin Hugo Haš, František Hrdinka, Jan Mišner, Ladislav Kadaně, Dominik Řepík, Adam Kellerstein, Kryštof Pejchal, Vojtěch Kropáček, Václav Adamec, Dominik Sklenář, Jiří Průžek, Lukáš Rousek, Jakub Vrána.

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“I haven’t seen such a full arena for a long time,” said Jakub Vrána, the most successful graduate of the program. In 2018, he won the Stanley Cup with Washington and now plays for Detroit. At the recent World Championship, he helped the Czech team win bronze.

“The memories of when I started here came back. It’s wonderful that so many people came,” explained the 26-year-old winger, who grew up playing hockey in Letňany. Zbyněk Zavadil, a famous youth coach who nurtured a lot of talent, played a huge role in his upbringing.

“He is like a second father to me. We reminisced, he still takes it as seriously as before. Which is the beauty of it. He has a big part in my career, everyone knows that,” said Vrána,.

Vrána and Has’ team eventually won 11:8, with Vrána scoring five goals. “We didn’t want to let it go, we kept going. Both teams enjoyed it. I believe that the fans were also satisfied. You just don’t see such players,” Vrána commented on the packed roster.

Vitek Vanecek donned his Capitals goalie mask for the event. I guess he’s waiting to make sure he was really traded after what happened in the expansion draft.

Photos: Denik/Filip Areon

20 Years In The Making

The year 2022 symbolically completed two decades since the founding of the club by František and Vojtěch Kučerová. The brothers also participated in today’s event.

“This year we are commemorating the history of the club, which in two decades has already produced a lot of talent for world hockey,” says Tomáš Divíšek, general manager of Letci. “

Hugo Boss

Martin Hugo Has played a full season in 2021-22, including 57 regular season games and 16 postseason games for the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL. Has played the entire season on the right side of Shawinigan’s top defensive pairing. Offensively, he recorded 8 goals and 12 assists in the 57 games played,

Has and Shawinigan would ultimately win the QMJHL title on June 11. He recorded two goals and four assists in the 16 postseason games.

By Jon Sorensen

IMAGES FROM THE EVENT
(iSport)

By Jon Sorensen