Rangers’ Chmelar assists on game-winner for Czechia at World Championship
New York Rangers forward Jaroslav Chmelar assisted on the winning goal Monday as Czechia upended Sweden 4-3 in their Preliminary Round game at the IIHF World Championship in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Chmelar took a hit in his own zone to start the play that ended up with Jiri Cernoch beating Swedish goaltender Magnus Hellberg at 3:21 of the second period, giving Czechia a 4-2 lead. Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Toronto Maple Leafs) cut the deficit to one goal at 6:00, but Czechia goaltender Josef Korenar was flawless the rest of the way, finishing with 24 saves.
Czechia led 3-0 after Jakub Flek scored at the 13-minute mark. Sweden got goals from Joel Persson and Simon Holmstrom (New York Islanders) to cut the deficit to one goal after 20 minutes.
Chmelar’s assist was his first point in Czechia’s three games during the tournament. He ended up playing 9:56, finishing with the assist and ending up plus-1 to help the Czechs (2-0-1-0, 7 points) move into second place behind Canada in Group B. Canada scored five times in the third period to defeat Denmark 5-1 and improve to 3-0-0-0 (9 points).
The 22-year-old was among a number of young players to see ice time late in the season. New York’s fifth-round selection (No. 144 overall) in 2021 impressed coach Mike Sullivan while playing right wing on the fourth line.
He ended the season with four goals and six points in 28 games, averaging 9:09 of ice time.
Rangers rookie Jaroslav Chmelar helps Czechia edge Sweden
Weighing in at 6-foot-4 and 226 pounds, Chmelar possesses more than just the size the Rangers crave. His strong skating yielded two highlight-reel goals, his first two in the NHL, in March. His first came March 5 in a 6-2 home victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, when he grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone and broke in alone on goaltender Joseph Woll, then beat him with a nifty move that showcased a scorer’s hands.
Chmelar’s second tally came March 14 in a 4-2 road victory over the Minnesota Wild, on a similar play to his first goal. He got behind the defense, took a feed from Taylor Raddysh and used his size to hold off a Wild defenseman before scoring on a backhander to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead in the second period.
“The biggest observation I’ve had this time around is Jaro is playing the game with a lot more pace,” Sullivan said four days later. “Both with his anticipation skills, his recognition skills, and his physical foot speed. His ability to get on top of people, and get on top of pucks, and he’s using his size to his advantage. He’s a physical guy, he’s a big man. And he’s strong and he’s hard to play against. When he finishes checks, he can create anxiety; he can unnerve the opponent.
“I think he’s picked up a step. He’s faster in all the forms that I think is helping him have more success.”
Chmelar consistently showed his strength, skating ability, and improved awareness to read the game during the final weeks of the season. His speed was especially noticeable: According to NHL Edge, Chmelar hit a top speed of 23.25 mph, enough to be in the 91st percentile among all NHL skaters.
He’s aware that his game still has room for improvement, but playing for his native country can only help by giving him more valuable experience playing in high-level competition.
“With every game, I just got more comfortable on the puck,” Chmelar told The Athletic before the Worlds. “I could make more plays, be more involved in the offensive zone, and also know where the pressure is coming from — where the guys are on the rink. Sometimes I had more time than I thought in the first couple of games. I think that improved over the course of the year.”
