2026 Olympic men’s hockey team preview: Czechia
David Pastrnak, Martin Necas, Pavel Zacha, and more will get their first chances to represent Czechia at the Olympics later this month.
Historically one of the most consistent hockey countries in international play, Czechia has medalled twice since NHL players first attended the Winter Games in 1998. But after a disastrous showing four years ago (without NHL player participation), the Czechs will look to get back on track in a big way at Milano-Cortina 2026.
Here’s a closer look at the key players and potential X-factors for Team Czechia at the upcoming Winter Olympics.
LOOKING BACK TO 2022
The less said about the Czechs’ 2022 Olympic team, the better.
Czechia finished third in Group B at the 2022 tournament, behind the Russian Olympic Committee and Denmark (!), before losing to Switzerland in the first round of the knockout stage. In the end, Czechia finished in ninth overall, making it their worst-ever placement at the Winter Olympics.
The Czechs opened the preliminary round by losing 2-1 to the Danes despite outshooting them 40-17. They followed it up with narrow shootout and overtime wins over the Swiss and Russians before blowing an early 1-0 lead and losing 4-2 in their rematch with Switzerland in the opening playoff round. (Switzerland ended up losing decisively to Finland the following day).
Of course, Czechia didn’t have access to its considerable NHL contingent, but then again, neither did the rest of the national teams. They still had a solid roster on paper, including ex-NHLers David Krejci, Vladimir Sobotka, Tomas Hyka, and Roman Cervenka (more on him later). But they flamed out in a big way, and they’ll definitely be looking to bounce back in Milan.
OFFENSE
It all begins with David Pastrnak, who has always been good but has truly levelled up to become one of the NHL’s best players over the past half-decade. The 29-year-old winger has topped 100 points in each of the last three seasons with the Boston Bruins and is on pace to eclipse that mark once again this year. He’s made a Rocket Richard Trophy candidate out of Morgan Geekie, for Pete’s sake. Expect this Czech coaching staff to ride Pastrnak as far as he can take them. But these Czechs are far from a one-man team, and between Martin Necas, Tomas Hertl, and Pavel Zacha, they’ve got a solid collection of top-six NHL producers.
Necas, like Pastrnak, has reached new heights of late. After scoring 83 points in 79 games split between the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche last year, Necas is on pace for 95 this year — and it’s not just because he’s now spending a lot of time with Nathan MacKinnon. Necas is already just six goals shy of tying his career high of 28 in a single season. Necas has always been a strong producer in international competition, and he should be a PP1 fixture at the Olympics.
Hertl hasn’t represented Czechia all that often in recent years, with just one World Championship appearance since 2015, but that shouldn’t impact his usage in Milan. He’s settled in nicely with the Vegas Golden Knights over the last three seasons and will be one of the leaders of this Czech team. The same goes for Zacha, who might not be as dynamic as the aforementioned three but has spent plenty of time with Pastrnak in Boston.
This Czech team does have a large non-NHL contingent, and the key name to watch from that group is Roman Cervenka. Once billed “the best player outside the NHL” prior to his brief tenure with the Calgary Flames, Cervenka has spent the vast majority of his career in Switzerland, Russia, and his home country, and was named the IIHF’s Male Player of the Year in 2024. Now 40, he’s having arguably his best season yet with Pardubice HC. Cervenka has had an illustrious international career, having captained Team Czechia since 2018 — including a remarkable showing en route to a gold medal at the 2024 Worlds. Expect to see a lot of Cervenka and Pastrnak together in Milan.
We’re not completely finished with the NHLers, of course. Radek Faksa, Ondrej Palat, and David Kampf will be featured secondary players for this Czech team, all likely playing larger roles than they do with their respective NHL clubs. Faksa, in particular, should be a go-to guy for the Czechs on the penalty kill and in other defensive situations, although he and Hertl are the only forwards on this team who weren’t at the 2024 Worlds.
While Cervenka’s NHL tenure was limited to just the one shortened season in Calgary, there are a few other forwards for Team Czechia who spent much more time in North America. Dominik Kubalik memorably scored 30 goals in his rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019-20 and ultimately played in 357 NHL games; he’s now a top scorer in the Swiss NL. Ondrej Kase once scored 20 goals in a season with the Anaheim Ducks but always had a tough time staying healthy; he’s now in the Czech league, as is Lukas Sedlak, who spent a few years of his own in the NHL, most prominently in a bottom-six role with the Columbus Blue Jackets. And there’s also David Tomasek, who appeared in 22 games with the Edmonton Oilers earlier this season before heading back to his former Swedish club.
Between all these guys, as well as European league mainstays Jakub Flek and Matej Stransky, the Czechs should be able assemble a competitive forward lineup with multiple options to play in all game situations. It’s not an All-Star team, but it’s a good group.
DEFENSE
The clear No. 1 for this group is Filip Hronek, who has already become more than accustomed to leading a shorthanded defensive group with the Vancouver Canucks over the past few weeks. Although the high-scoring righty isn’t anyone’s idea of a two-way force, he should get plenty of reps on the Czechs’ top power-play unit and in other high-leverage situations.
Then, of course, there’s Radko Gudas, who will undoubtedly bring plenty of physicality to the smaller-than-usual ice sheet in Milan. This will be Gudas’s second Olympic appearance, having appeared in three games with the Czechs at Sochi 2014, and the heavy-hitting Anaheim Ducks stalwart will be tasked with pulling a ton of weight on the PK and other defensive zone starts.
The Czechs have a couple of Stanley Cup champions on their blueline in Jan Rutta and Michal Kempny, both of whom proved to be strong complementary shutdown options in their NHL days. Rutta played in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks as recently as the 2024-25 season, but he had his best days (and won his Cups) with the Tampa Bay Lightning; Kempny skated primarily with John Carlson during the Washington Capitals‘ championship run in 2018. Rutta and Kempny are now playing in Switzerland and Sweden, respectively.
David Spacek is the youngest defenseman on the Czech roster, with his own NHL career thus far being comprised of just two games with the Minnesota Wild this season. The 22-year-old righty could see time on a pairing with veteran lefty and former Sharks rearguard Radim Simek, whose own 209-game NHL career concluded in 2023.
It remains to be seen how the Czech coaching staff will deploy 23-year-old Jiri Tichacek, who stands at just 5’8″ but has put up big numbers over his past few seasons with both Kladno and Karpat. If they need to insulate him, they could do worse than pairing him with Tomas Kundratek, who appeared in 30 NHL games with the Capitals a full 15 years ago before embarking upon a long and successful career in Latvia, Slovakia, China, Switzerland, and his native Czechia.
The Czech defense certainly isn’t as strong as the forward group, particularly given the lack of a true star piece, but they’ve got a few solid options and should be able to suppress chances by committee — especially with enough help from the more defensive-minded forwards on the roster.
GOALTENDING
The goaltending position has long been a strong point for the Czechs, dating back to Dominik Hasek’s MVP turn at Nagano 1998. And while they might not have a Hart Trophy candidate this time around, the Czech coaching staff still has the luxury of choosing between three strong goaltenders on any given night.
In all likelihood, it’ll be a battle between Karel Vejmelka and Lukas Dostal for the starter’s job in Milan, with Dan Vladar settling in as an extremely capable No. 3. But it truly could go any which way. Vejmelka is the most established NHLer of the three, with five seasons under his belt with the Utah Mammoth and Arizona Coyotes, but Dostal is the heir apparent, already with a solid CV of his own with the Anaheim Ducks. And to his credit, Vladar has done an admirable job in his first year as a quasi-starter with the Philadelphia Flyers this season.
Vejmelka’s stat line deserves attention; after his 29-save effort against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday, the rare right-catching netminder has a 26-14-2 record and a .903 save percentage in 44 games with Utah this season. But the net is Dostal’s to lose. He was already named as one of Czechia’s First Six last June and started for the gold-winning 2024 Worlds team, being named the top goaltender in the tournament.
COACHING
The Czechs are bringing back the same coaching staff that helped them win gold at the 2024 Worlds. That group is led by Radim Rulik, who brings with him decades of experience as a coach in the Czech league, as well as a ton of international assignments at the junior and professional levels. Rulik and company have largely elected to stick with the same players from the 2024 tournament, meaning the likes of Adam Klapka, Ivan Ivan, and David Jiricek won’t be taking part.
Rulik’s assistants include former NHLers Tomas Plekanec and Marek Zidlicky, as well as goaltending coach Ondrej Pavelec. The Czech team has been assembled by Stanley Cup champ and veteran coach and executive Jiri Slegr, who has served as the federation’s general manager for international competitions over the past two seasons.
BURNING QUESTION
Does the Pastrnak/Cervenka connection still have the same spark?
While it might not be the most obvious on paper, the red-hot partnership between Pastrnak and Cervenka, two superstars playing on either side of the Atlantic, was one of the defining stories of the 2025 World Championship in Czechia — and, in all likelihood, those two will begin these Olympics on the same unit once again.
Despite only having 17 NHL points to his name, Cervenka has been nothing short of an ageless wonder during his career overseas. He and Pastrnak were phenomenal together at last year’s Worlds, combining for a staggering 12 goals and 29 points in just eight games. They didn’t win gold that time, but Pastrnak was named the tournament’s top forward, and both players have been selected as tournament All-Stars in the last two years (Cervenka in 2024, and Pastrnak in 2025). They’ve shown they can work magic together, and now at 40, this might be Cervenka’s last hurrah. He’ll want to go out with a bang.
PREDICTION
This is a decently well-rounded Czech group, even if the defense isn’t quite on par with the forwards and goaltending. They shouldn’t have any trouble finishing second behind Canada in Group A, with Switzerland and France likely serving as blowout fodder ahead of the knockout stage. Even against the Canadians, it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of those goalies manage to steal the show.
Nobody really expects to see a repeat of 1998 this time around, but it’d be unwise to underestimate these Czechs. Pastrnak is as skilled an offensive player as anybody not on that Canadian team, and if he can rekindle his old chemistry with Cervenka or create something new with the likes of Necas or Hertl, this Czech team could score a lot of goals. Will it be enough to get onto the podium? Probably not, but it’d be fun to see them go on a bit of a run.
FULL ROSTER
GOALTENDERS
Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks)
Karel Vejmelka (Utah Mammoth)
Dan Vladar (Philadelphia Flyers)
DEFENSEMEN
Radko Gudas (Anaheim Ducks)
Filip Hronek (Vancouver Canucks)
Michal Kempny
Tomas Kundratek
Jan Rutta
Radim Simek
David Spacek (Minnesota Wild)
Jiri Tichacek
FORWARDS
Roman Cervenka
Radek Faksa (Dallas Stars)
Jakub Flek
Tomas Hertl (Vegas Golden Knights)
David Kampf (Vancouver Canucks)
Ondrej Kase
Dominik Kubalik
Martin Necas (Colorado Avalanche)
Ondrej Palat (New York Islanders)
David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins)
Lukas Sedlak
Matej Stransky
David Tomasek
Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins)
PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE
Feb. 12 vs. Canada: 10:40 AM ET
Feb. 13 vs. France: 10:40 AM ET
Feb. 15 vs Switzerland: 6:10 AM ET