Bucek skated and stickhandled through all the USA skaters, and then potted his own rebound to give his team the lead late in the third period. The play was a thing of beauty (well, for Slovakia and, probably, Canada, which plays the U.S. in an outdoor game Friday).
So, to review: Bucek dangled and darted around opponents. He got to the net, then scored in a tight area. And he was wearing 13? Hmmmm.
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Sure, it’s a stretch, but that’s some Pavel Datsyuk-type work with the stick, even if the American kids were disorganized, running around and flailing in their end.
Bucek, 19, is playing in the U.S. this season, for Chicago of the USHL. He has seven goals in 20 games, so he isn’t an offensive juggernaut. You couldn’t tell it from this play.
