Former Oilers D Smid coaches Czechia at 2025 World Juniors | Edmonton Journal
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Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid behind the bench for Czechia at 2025 World Juniors
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Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid behind the bench for Czechia at 2025 World Juniors
Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid behind the bench for Czechia at 2025 World Juniors
When Patrik called and offered me this job, I didn’t hesitate"
Author of the article:
Jim Matheson
Last updated 13 hours ago •
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Czechia players celebrate a goal by teammate Jiri Kulich, bottom left, during third period IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal action against Canada in Halifax on Thursday, January 5, 2023.
Photo by Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press
Whenever the world junior hockey tournament hits our TV screens during Christmas and into the New Year with Gord Miller on the TSN call, we’ll see kids we’ve never seen before, cheering for kids we know little about, and, sometimes, the cameras will pan the benches of the country’s coaches and you’ll go “wonder who that is?”
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid behind the bench for Czechia at 2025 World Juniors Back to video
If you look closely at the Czechia bench, you’ll find headman Patrik Augusta, a very productive player in the AHL and IHL after Toronto drafted him and is in charge of a team that won silver two years ago and bronze in last year’s world U20 junior.
He’ll be ably aided by Ladislav Smid, the 38-year-old, one-time Oiler, and Robert Reichel, 53, whose best NHL days were in rival Calgary.
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Smid is looking after the Czechia junior defence and the PK in his first kick at the can as an international coach, while Reichel is looking after the forwards and PP with many of the kids on both ends playing in the top pro league back home as Smid did when he was a teenager and playing in the tournament two decades ago.
“It’s not like I retired 20 years ago…some of these players still remember when I played,” said Smid, who was on three straight Czechia world junior teams (2004, 2005 and 2006), starting as a 17-year-old, and still looking like he could still play but leaving the NHL at 30 because of neck and other injuries to head back to the Czech league.
Reichel, who has been an assistant Czechia coach on U16, U18, and at the U20 worlds, also played in three straight tournaments 35 years ago (1988-1990).
Reichel and Augusta have had lots of reps as international coaches.
Smid is a newbie, dipping his toes in the water with a team that continually impresses and will probably go as far as their 6’7” goalie Michael Hrabal (Utah first-round pick), who struggled last year in the tournament but has been red-hot at UMass Amherst as a college sophomore.
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“I like coaching and it’s something I would like to do for sure (long-term) but with a younger family (nine-year-old twinse—a boy Ladislav and a girl Zoey—and a three-old boy) I want to be with my kids.
They are sad I’m not going to be there for Christmas.
Committing to a full-time job in the WHL would be tricky at this time,” said Smid, who has been a development coach with the junior Edmonton Oil Kings, though.
When Patrik called and offered me this job, I didn’t hesitate.
He was my head coach at the end of my career in Czechia.
Our dads played together on the national (senior) team and for club teams.
So there’s the connection there,” said Smid, who came to the Oilers from Anaheim in 2006 in the blockbuster Chris Pronger trade, and has been a world junior fan forever.
Edmonton Oilers Ladislav Smid happy to be putting on an Oilers jersey at the Kinsmen Arena while practising with teammates Corey Potter, Eric Belanger and goalie Devan Dubnyk as they start to prepare for the upcoming season as the NHL lockout comes to an end in Edmonton, January 7, 2012.
He played in the 2004 event in Finland, in 2005 in Grand Forks, N.D.
when Canada had a stacked team because of the NHL lockout, and in 2006 in B.C.
when he was playing in the AHL as a teammate of Corey Perry and Dustin Penner after Ducks drafted him in the first round.
“I’d like to pass the positive experience that I had onto these guys.
There’s going to be a lot of media attention, especially in Canada, with all the scouts, the GM’s.
Maybe I can help them cancel the outside noise,” said Smid, who was on junior teams with Roman Polak, David Krejci and Jiri Hudler.
“I’m learning from the other coaches (today)…I’m new to this, but I do have some experience playing.
Maybe I can share that with these guys, I hope that connection helps,” said Smid, who was a fiery player (junior and pro) but may have to be a tad quieter as a bench coach.
Smid is living in the here and now as a Czechia bench coach but as player, sure, he looks back.
“I was always very nervous playing in the world junior, but the right amount of nervousness, so it didn’t screw up my game plan.
That’s human nature when you are doing something you care about and want to do well at.
Just a huge honour when you can put your national team jersey over your head.
Everybody has a different journey and I’ve seen it from both sides,” said Smid, whose first world junior was an eye-opener at 17 even if he was playing pro back home.
“Yeah, a pretty good tournament, but the second one in Grand Forks…man, Team Canada was unbelievable.
Arguably the best team ever for Canada (only one close was in 1995 in Alberta),” said Smid, who saw Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook, Dion Phaneuf on defence, Sidney Crosby Getzlaf, Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and Andrew Ladd at forward.
But the plucky Czechs only lost 3-1 in the semi-finals.
“They outplayed us but our goalie was amazing,” said Smid.
“Having the world juniors in Canada … it doesn’t get any better than that.
When it’s in Europe it doesn’t get the same attention, not as many people.
In Canada, people show up for almost every game.
I hope that’s the case in Ottawa,” said Smid.
Team Czechia gets one past Latvia goalie Janis Fecers in second-period World Juniors exhibition action at the Brockville Memorial Centre on Friday, Dec.
Photo by RONALD ZAJAC / The Recorder and Times
Smid’s defence for this tournament in Ottawa (in a pool with Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland and Kazakhstan) should be good, with a large IF.
Adam Jiricek, the Blues’ first-round pick in 2024 and brother of David, who was traded a few weeks ago from Columbus to Minnesota, has been hurt.
He damaged his right knee at the 2024 World Juniors and while playing junior for OHL Brantford, suffered another lower-body injury in November, but he’s back.
He had ACL surgery and missed almost a full year and came back (juniors) and got injured again.
Not serious but a knee again,” said Smid.
We have a couple of exhibition games (before the tournament) and hopefully, it’ll all work out.
Smid also has Los Angeles second-round draft Jakub Dvorak, who is playing for Ontario Reign in the AHL, and former Oil King Vojtech Port, who was also on Moose Jaw’s Memorial Cup team last season and is now with Lethbridge.
The Oil Kings traded Port to Moose Jaw, a team loading up to try and win the WHL, and now he’s bounced around again.
“Not an easy situation for him because Moose Jaw is now in a rebuild.
But since he got traded to Lethbridge, he’s picked up his play,” said Smid.
Is it an advantage coming from an NHL farm team to the world junior?
For me, I was coming from Anaheim’s farm team in my third year (worlds) and I thought it would be easy.
The guys in the world juniors are super-skilled.
Just because you’re coming from a better (pro) league…you still have to earn the minutes,” said Smid.
ON THE BENCH: Two Oil King forwards Adam Jecho (Blues draft) and Miroslav Holinka (Leafs draft pick) will likely be in the top 6 on the Czechia team.
Holinka will play centre and Jecho on the wing.
A December to remember for the Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers put a bow on Christmas, wrap up another heavyweight
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Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid behind the bench for Czechia at 2025 World Juniors
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