2026 Winter Olympic Roster Projections: Team Czechia

The excitement is starting to build in the hockey world. For the first time since 2014, there’s a true best-on-best hockey tournament, and it’s happening at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. We have already checked out the teams from Sweden and Finland, as well as thoughts on the Team Canada defence. In this edition of the winter Olympic projections, we’ll take a look at the possible roster Czechia could bring to the event.

Team Czechia Winter Olympics Roster Projections

Rosters are comprised of three goaltenders and 22 skaters to fill out a 25-man roster. Roster selections are due on New Years Eve for the event that is set to begin in Milan, Italy on February 11, 2026. The first six players have previously been revealed and they include, Lukas Dostal (G), Radko Gudas (D), Martin Necas (F), Ondrej Palat (F), Pavel Zacha (F), and David Pastrnak (F). But, what about the rest of the roster?

The Goalkeepers

Starting off, we discuss the goaltenders that Czechia is projected to bring. They do have some options in net, namely Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks. Dostal is off to a great start to the season, sporting a 2.86 goals-against average. However, the options in net are starting to grow.

Lukas Dostal (ANA)
Dan Vladar (PHI)
Karel Vejmelka (UTA)

Dan Vladar has taken over as a 1-A, if not pure number one, goaltender in Philadelphia. After spending last season as the 1-B option in Calgary before Dustin Wolf took control of the position. According to MoneyPuck, his goals-saved above expected of 6.9 is among the top ten for goaltenders in the NHL.

Defence Projections

The options at the NHL level for the Czech’s is relatively limited. In contrast, they have many young options to choose from for future events. Getting some of the young talent experience at an event like the Olympics could go a long way in the country’s hockey development. Some pairings to look for could include the following.

Left Defence – Right Defence

Stanislav Svozil (AHL) – Radko Gudas (ANA)
Jan Rutta (National League) – Filip Hronek (VAN)
Adam Jiricek (OHL) – David Jiricek (MIN)
Jakub Dvorak (AHL) – David Spacek (AHL)

With Adam Jiricek expected to join the U-20 team at the World Junior Championships, the question would be whether or not Czechia see’s him as a future staple of the national team. So far with his OHL team in Brantford, he has 17 points in 16 games. He was also a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft to St. Louis.

Forward Projections

Here is the strength of the Czechia system, the forward group is led by perennial all-star David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. A consistent 40-goal scorer in the NHL with over 400 goals already in his career. The 29 year old has been a fixture for his country since being included to the U-16 team in 2011. Forward lines that Czechia could roll over the boards could include the following.

Left Wing – Centre – Right Wing

Ondrej Palat (NJD) – Martin Necas (COL) – David Pastrnak (BOS)
Tomas Hertl (VGK) – Pavel Zacha (BOS) – Filip Zadina (NL)
Jakob Lauko (Extraliga) – Radek Faksa (DAL) – David Tomasek (EDM)
Matej Blumel (AHL) – Jan Mysak (AHL) – Adam Klapka (CGY)
Filip Chytil (VAN) – David Kampf (VAN)

There’s question marks surrounding Vancouver forward Filip Chytil. He has not returned to the lineup since taking a hit from Tom Wilson in a game. With his history of concussions, it’s a concern as to if he will be healthy enough to join the team. However, if he is able to return before rosters are due, expect him to be higher in the lineup than indicated here.

Czechia has a total of 61 international medals. Conversely, 44 of those medals came when they were the former Czechoslovakia, 14 of those being gold. Included in that total is the historic Olympic gold at the 1998 Nagano games. That was the games that NHLers were allowed to compete at the Olympics. Moreover, their last gold occurred at the 2024 World Championships. Czechia’s tournament begins on February 12 against…Team Canada.