Welcome to Prague. You know that you have definitely arrived in the land of Jaromir Jagr upon reaching the customs gate. Jagr, after all, is one of the top eight celebrities of all time in the Czech Republic. What better way to greet people coming into his homeland then by putting up large signs flashing his classic big smile (and pretending to start a food fight)? This is a land that cherishes their most famous export.

So imagine the disappointment of Czech fans upon learning that he would not be appearing in the NHL Premiere in Prague. The arena sold out in a matter of two days back in March. Jagr made the decision to play for Omsk Avangarde in Siberia a few months later in July. Most citizens in Prague are well aware of the 'ticket problems' with the games. The Czechs I've stopped to talk to while out touring Prague have told me about the ticket issues (it's been all over the news) and how it was disappointing that Jagr would not be appearing in the games (but what can you do, right?).

But rest assured, the NHL had a backup plan promoting the other Czechs playing for both the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their backup plan worked.

When I arrived (a little jet-lagged) at the arena, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was standing out in the hallway across from the interview room. While I waited for the New York Rangers press conference to begin, I stood in the hallway with Mr. Bettman watching the swarm of Czech reporters interviewing Vaclav Prospal from the Tampa Bay Lightning (in Czech, of course).

I may not completely understand the language, but I can read body language, and you can tell that every single Czech NHLer in Prague right now feels like they are celebrities (and they love it). How much do they love it? Forget that Prospal had to head to the ice for practice. He told the NHL staff member with a lot of excitement in his voice, "I don't have to go just yet. We can give them two more minutes. It's my country, after all." Perhaps that little bit of English he spoke helped in this publicity stint, because at least he let Mr. Bettman understand that coming to Prague was a great thing.

After he left, Coach Tom Renney came in for his time with the press. This was when it became very apparent that there was a language barrier that separated the Czech reporters from the American reporters. The non-Czech speaking reporters were left out of the loop during the interviews with the Czech players from both teams. Only a couple of Czech reporters sat in on the very small group of American reporters interviewing Tom Renney.

Being in the Czech Republic and practicing before a group of 10,000 hockey fans on Thursday at O2 Arena, Renney said of the experience, "I think the guys are putting on a bit of a show." He wasn't talking about the two Rangers from the Czech Republic (Michal Rozsival and Petr Prucha), but the entire team.

I was able to catch Rozsival and Prucha out on the ice after practice. The amount of pride they displayed (especially Rozsival) in being able to play in their home country as NHL players radiated from the ice. Rozsival skated around with a big smile on his face while he and Prucha practiced alongside a group of disabled Czech hockey players.

"It is special because there are not many people in Europe that get the chance to play an NHL game in their country," Rozsival told the NHL. "I'm excited for hockey fans in the Czech Republic because they get a chance to see the NHL and they don't have to travel outside the country to do so." Hockey is, after all, the Czech Republic's number one sport.

The Czech reporters sitting in on Coach Renney's press conference wanted to know the exact same thing that had been on my mind throughout pre-season: what has it been like for the New York Rangers since the departure of Jaromir Jagr? "Jagr was such a huge presence," Renney responded. "He was very well liked. There is something in the wake of his absence. We try to fill the void of a great player." He further commented that sometimes it takes two players to fill that void left by him.

As for Henrik Lundqvist, he has been very down on himself during the pres-season, considering himself a 5 on a scale of 10 as far as his performance was concerned. But that little stopover in Berne, Switzerland boosted his confidence and Renney was very proud of his performance stating, "He is a world class goaltender and he plays for us."

The New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning faceoff on both Saturday and Sunday at O2 Arena in Prague at 12 p.m. EDT.

Other Czech Players in the NHL Facts

Dominik Hasek (G, Detroit Red Wings) brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Pardubice this past summer. Jiri Hudler and Jakub Kindl, part of the 2007-08 Stanley Cup Team, also toured with the Cup in the Czech Republic over the summer.

Jaromir Jagr and Jiri Slegr are the only two Czech-born players that are amongst the 22 players that are members of the Triple Gold Club (players who have won the Stanley Cup, the Olympics and the World Championships).

The Czech Republic has won the Olympic gold once in 1998. They are also five-time World Champions (1996, 1999, 2000,2001 and 2005).

Jaromir Jagr is ranked 12th on the all-time NHL scoring list with 646 goals, making him the most prolific European-born scorer in NHL. He is ranked 9th with 1,599 points, the top of the list amongst all European-born players. He has won five Art Ross Trophies as the NHL scoring champion and the 1999 Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player.