The Czech Mates: A Tale of Beer and Brotherhood

Czech David Sklenicka, Radek Faksa, Michal Moravcik, Radko Gudas, Libor Sulak, Pavel Francouz celebrate their victory at the end of the group A match France vs Czech Republic of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 13, 2018. - Czech Republic won 6-0. (Photo by Lars Moeller / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Lars Moeller has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [adding DENMARK OUT]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo credit should read LARS MOELLER/AFP/Getty Images) /

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LAVAL, QC – NOVEMBER 13: Montreal Canadiens Laval Rocket Michal Moravcik David Sklenicka (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

And the similarities don’t end there, folks.

In addition to the fact they’re both defencemen and hail from the same team, they also put up eerily similar numbers last season, with Moravcik totalling 16 points in 52 games while Sklenicka countered with 14 points in 49 games. And just for good measure, they’re both left-handed shots.

So what do you do when faced with the task of trying to recruit two very similar players?
For Bergevin, the answer was simple: sign them to identical contracts, both on the same day.

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And that he did, with Moravcik and Sklenicka each earning a two-year, two-way deal for identical sums of money, and both contracts coming with a “European Assignment Clause” loophole written in.

So how are the two defencemen from the same team with the same contract doing, you might ask? Not surprisingly, they’re doing about the same actually, with Sklenicka having dressed for a couple of games more while Moravcik holds a two-point to one lead in the first annual Pilsner beer league scoring race.

At 6’4” and 215 pounds, Moravcik portrays as more of a stay-at-home defenceman, although there are signs of offensive life, as evidenced in his post-season performance last year with Plzen in the Czech Extraliga, where he collected seven points in ten games with an impressive +5 rating.

To compare his style of play, think of a poor man’s Shea Weber. Or at least a middle class Jordie Benn.

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