Bruins’ David Pastrnak Headlines Czechia’s Winter Olympics Roster

Czechia’s roster, while not filled to the brim with NHL players, does have its fair share of formidable forces. Headlining the group is Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak, who, like many of his fellow countrymen, will be participating in the Olympics for the first time in his career. Other key pieces include Colorado Avalanche forward Martin Necas, Vegas Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas.

Star Power Leads Deep Czech Forward Group

For a team like Czechia, having a forward group with as much talent as this one does is an impressive feat. Pastrnak and Necas are the obvious leaders of the bunch, but don’t count out other stalwarts like Hertl, Bruins center Pavel Zacha and veteran Dallas Stars center Radek Faksa — someone who has been consistently reliable for large swaths of his career. The other two NHL forwards on the roster are Vancouver Canucks center David Kampf and New Jersey Devils left wing Ondrej Palat.

A key omission from the roster was Canucks center Filip Chytil, who suffered a concussion in mid-October and has yet to fully recover.

Defense Relies on Mix of NHL, European Talent

Unlike the forwards, the defensemen who will be representing Team Czechia do not come en masse from the NHL. Only Gudas and Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek are from the league. It will be up to those two to anchor the unit in its pursuit of a medal.

But should one of Michal Kempny, Tomas Kundratek, Jan Rutta, Radim Simek, David Spacek or Jiri Tichacek make a big play when the lights are at their brightest, then the storybook ending that Team Czechia is looking for might just come true.

Dostal Tapped as Czechia’s Primary Goaltender

Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal, who has had stretches this season that bordered on brilliance and others not as much, is slated to be Czechia’s main goalie throughout the tournament, though his decline in performance this season might make the leash a bit short (3.22 GAA, .887 save percentage). Utah Mammoth keeper Karel Vejmelka and Philadelphia Flyers goalie Dan Vladar are the other two who will man the posts for Czechia during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

The puck drops on Czechia’s pursuit of its first Olympic medal since 2006 on Feb. 12, when the team faces off against Team Canada. It will then play France on Feb. 13 before matching up with Switzerland on Feb. 15 to round out the group stage.