Czech Protecting Americans: Tomáš Suchánek - by Austin Patterson

    On September 27th, I had the gracious opportunity to interview Tomáš Suchánek, goalie for the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. During the interview, it’s clear that he has had a journey from his past life in Czechia to his current life in the United States. 

Tomáš Suchánek prepares for his first home game of the season.

    Tomáš was born in Olomouc, Czechia. Tomáš started off playing hockey when he was three years old, but when asked about playing goalie and if he always wanted to play goalie, he responded, “No, I hated being goalie. I always wanted to be forward, but they just put me to the net, and I was good, so they just left me there”. While playing hockey in Czechia, he played for HC Zubr Přerov. During his third year playing for them, he put up a dominant season bolstering a 21-13-0 record with five shutouts, a .921 save percentage, and a 2.37 goals-against average, all of which he accomplished while being sixteen years old. With a great season, he was selected to represent Czechia at the U16 International tournament. When asked about his favorite part of being goalie, “You can decide the game, you know... decide whether you win or lose. You’re the most important guy on the ice." 

Tomáš Suchánek and teammates Lukas Dragicevic (2) and Andrew Fan (11) prepare for a face-off.

    During the 2019-20 season is where he showed his true potential. When playing for HC Zubr Přerov U17 team, he put up another dominant season. In 18 games, he had a 2.53 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage with a 7-11-0 record. The following season he improved his skills, getting better and better each game, then he went on to play at the DHL cup playing for HC Ocelari Trinec U20 team. During the DHL Cup, Tomáš was the best goalie for Ocelari Trinec during that tournament. He would then return to the World Junior stage again and represent Czechia at the U17 league, putting up a 3.17 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage. 

    The following year during the 2020-21 season, he would play for HC Frýdek-Místek, putting up more outstanding stats. In 21 games played, he had 3.12 goals against average, and a .908 save percentage, with one shutout and a 7-11-0 record. Then for the third year in a row, he will represent Czechia at the World Junior Championships. However, he would only play seven games as the tournament would be cut short due to COVID-19. Bob Tory with the Tri-City Americans had been noticing Tomáš, and they wanted him, so before the 2021-22 season, the Americans decided to take Tomáš and make him their number one goalie. 

    Coming to the United States would be daunting as European and North American hockey is much different. When asked about the challenges of playing in the United States, Tomáš responded, “I think just faster pace, smaller rinks, so I think just a lot faster.” The standard European rink is one hundred ninety-seven feet in length and ninety-eight and a half feet in width. While the length is identical between the two countries, the width is where it gets cramped at eighty-five and a half feet wide, which does not seem like a major difference, but once you are on the ice, one can recognize the difference.

Tomáš Suchánek (1) in action against Edmonton's Cole Carrier (34).

    On Friday, October 2nd, 2021, Tomáš would play his first career WHL game against their division rivals, the Spokane Chiefs. Tomáš’s first start would also be his first win. Facing forty-five shots, Tomáš would turn away forty-two of them, also netting him the first star of the game. He then would play the rest of the season, playing forty-two games with a 3.87 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. When asked about the season, Tomáš said, “Oh yeah, I would face almost forty shots per game, so it was tough.” All of these games would tire out Tomáš, so he would “spend time with the guys and hang out with my billet family” on his days off. Or he would do some team activities, such as golfing at Horn Rapids. A typical day for Tomáš would be “Wake up at like 8:00 in the morning, go to the rink for a workout, then go for lunch with the boys, and then we’ve got practice at the ice."

    At the end of his first season, Tomáš would take another trip to Edmonton, Alberta, to continue the 2022 World Junior Championships. Czechia would take on Canada in the round-robin portion, and it would be no easy task. Tomáš would get the start, which would be the hardest challenge they faced in the tournament. The Czechs would end up falling 5-1, but Tomáš had a sensational game. Bryan Murphy from The Sporting News would write, “Tomas Suchanek kept the game close in the first period, stopping over 20 shots and making a couple of sensational saves to keep the contest tight...enough to win Player of the Game for Czechia”. Tomáš would face fifty-seven shots, turning away fifty-two. The Czechs would play the rest of the round-robin part of the tournament, finishing 1-2-1. They would make it to the quarterfinals but would face the very challenging task of playing the undefeated United States team, who are 4-0. Tomáš would get the start once again. The Czechs would come out on top, winning 4-2. When asked about the game, Tomáš would say, “I feel the best part was beating USA in the quarterfinal.” After beating the USA, they would move along to the Semi-Finals to play Canada again. They would fall short, though, losing 5-2. They would then play Sweden in the bronze medal game. They would go into the game looking for Czechia’s fifteenth medal in their history. They would fall short; however, Tomáš got the start but could no longer bail the Czechs out. Tomáš would turn away twenty-one out of the twenty-three shots. After having a fantastic World Juniors tournament, Tomáš would take his skills to Buffalo to attend the Buffalo Sabers rookie camp. Tomáš would end up returning to Tri-Cities to continue his excellent WHL career. This season so far, he has faced one hundred twenty-eight shots in three games, averaging forty-two shots per game. 

    Tomáš will continue his career in the WHL, and with his skills improving, only time will tell to see where his career will lead him.