Czechia Announces First 6 Names For 2026 Winter Olympics Team 

The tournament will consist of 12 teams. As expected, there is not going to be a Team Russia. The 12 teams will be separated into groups, which are as follows: Group A features Canada, Czechia, France, and Switzerland. Group B includes Finland, Italy, Sweden, and Slovakia. Lastly, Group C has Denmark, Germany, Latvia, and the United States. The hockey tournament will take place on February 11th and run until the 22nd.

Now onto the first six players on Team Czechia’s preliminary roster.

Lukas Dostal

At just 24 years old, Lukas Dostal has been named to the Czechia Olympic team and will be their starting goalie. This past season with the Anaheim Ducks, he had a 23-23-7 record along with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. As one of the game’s best young goalies, he has worked hard to be named as one of the first six players on the Czechia roster.

Radko Gudas

Radko Gudas, the teammate of Dostal and the captain of the Ducks, is the second player named. This will be his second time competing at the Olympics for Czechia; the first time came back in 2014 when he played three games for them. This past season with the Ducks, he had one goal and 15 assists for 16 points in 81 games. Over his career, he has played in 829 games and scored 40 goals and 158 assists for 198 points.

Martin Necas

The third member named was Martin Necas of the Colorado Avalanche. The 26-year-old split time between the Avalanche and the Carolina Hurricanes when he was traded as part of the Mikko Rantanen deal. This season, he set a career high in assists and points while playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon. In 79 games, he had 27 goals and 56 assists for 83 points. This will be his first time representing Czechia at the Winter Olympics.

Ondrej Palat

The fourth player named was Ondrej Palat of the New Jersey Devils. Most hockey fans know him from his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he won two Stanley Cups in back-to-back seasons (2020, 2021). In 825 games in the NHL, he has scored 177 goals and 328 assists for 505 points. The 34-year-old has played for Czechia twice in his career. The first time was in 2014 and then again at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

David Pastrnak

This one should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. Boston Bruins star forward David Pastrnak has been named to the Czechia Olympic team. He is the third-highest scoring Czechia-born player in NHL history behind Jaromir Jagr (1,921) and Patrik Elias (1,025). Pastrnak has 391 goals and 442 assists for 833 points in 756 games, all with the Bruins. The 29-year-old has yet to play in the Olympics for his country; however, he has suited up for them numerous times at the international level.

Pavel Zacha

Pavel Zacha is the last member of the preliminary roster to be named. As a teammate of Pastrnak in Boston, he also has yet to represent his country at the Olympic level. The 28-year-old has 125 goals and 217 assists for 342 points in the NHL, split between the Bruins and Devils. He joins most players on this list in winning the gold medal on home soil at the 2024 World Hockey Championships.

The 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina will be the first time in 12 years that NHL players will be allowed to participate in the Olympic Winter Games.