The people of Prague requested that the attacking pair be allowed to miss the tournament’s opening duel at Prague’s O2 arena on December 16 (then the action will head to Moscow).

Two days earlier, Sparta would play on the ice Swedish club Rögle BK for their Champions League quarter-final rematch. He lost the first game 2:5. Now he doesn’t know if he will use epic and Sobotka in a duel.

“The health of our players is a priority for us. Excessive match workloads could cause them injury before a truly important phase of the additional league season,” wrote Prague club representatives in a joint statement, namely general manager Barbora Snopková Haberová, sporting director Petr Ton and sports manager Jaroslav Hlinka.

Pešán brings a very experienced team to the Channel One Cup. Striker Michael Frolík and goalkeeper imon Hrubec were also nominated. Center David Krejčí will also take part in one match.

The reason is the uncertainty surrounding the Winter Olympics in Beijing. If the NHL finally leaves participation on January 10, which is possible, though unlikely, the national team will have to rely primarily on hockey players from Europe. Therefore, the Russian tournament served as a kind of practice.

However, Sparta doesn’t think that epic and Sobotka need much testing. He agreed to their flight to Moscow, but wanted them not to play their opening home game against Finland.

“This is about the representation of players who have been tested many times, especially in the case of the Spartans and the captain of the national team Michal epík. He and the several-time representative Vladimír Sobotek have more experience of the national team than, for example, the acquitted Milan Gulaš,” the statement reads.

Despite the hatred, Sparta will release epic and Sobotka for the entire tournament: “While it is not our job to release the players, we will not allow the management of the national team to take our hockey players hostage, who could lose their potential participation in the Olympics if they refuse.”