Czech Hockey Shocks: Repeat of ’98?

“The Czech Republic will return to Olympic glory.” The Czech Republic will play in the men’s tournament for a medal.” Optimistic scenarios that Radi Rulík et al. several hockey journalists (out of a total of dozens of tipsters) from the renowned overseas server The Athletic predict behind a big puddle. And surprisingly not only him.

After all, the domestic selection is not one of the main favorites for the Olympics, not even at home. Until now, it seemed that (not only) in the Czech Republic, few dared to question the reputation of the hockey powerhouses – primarily Canada and the USA – for which a constellation of stars speak slowly as if from another planet. For example, the names Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews probably do not need to be introduced further.

But the first predictions that appeared on the North American continent as part of a comparison of the twelve participating representations were even more surprising…

“In the past, the Czech Republic was one of the elite hockey powers, led by a generational duo in the form of Jaromír Jágr and Dominik Hašek. The Czechs may have fallen from the golden peak in 1998, but they seem to be a country on the rise in hockey,” Dom Luszczyszyn, hockey journalist for The Athletic, began with a reminder of Nagano.

At the same time, the much-hyped “Tournament of the Century” arouses sentiment primarily in the home basin. General manager Jiří Šlégr himself he pulled out the iconic games already a year ago in an interview for Deník. He repeated his golden memories in connection with the upcoming mega-event several times, the same to fans, journalists and experts. In short, the memories of Nagano have not weakened even after years.

Stars in attack and strong goalkeepers

But let’s flash back to February 2026. “What the current roster lacks in quality breadth (only 11 NHL players), it makes up for in star power (David PastrnakMartin Nečas) and potentially strong goalkeepers. It is the second fact that brings the Czech Republic back to the podium,” Luszczyszyn came up with a bold tip.

Even his editorial colleague Mark Lazerus did not forget the power of the trio Dostál, Vladař, Vejmelka. “Goalie play can close the gap in a single-elimination tournament. The goaltender is the only player on the ice who can single-handedly close the gap in potential between opposing nations. Little-known Latvian goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis gave Canada a real scare in Sochi,” the hockey journalist mentioned.

“Lukáš Dostál is much more experienced than Gudlevskis and is able to win one or two matches. In the quarter-finals, he will knock out one of the big four teams, which will put the Czech Republic in one of the medal matches,” he praised the golden hero from the World Cup in Prague.

“Especially an intruder like him Czechiawhich is fighting for a medal this year,” said Shayna Goldman, another journalist of The Athletic, when she compared the chances against the traditional rival from Sweden, which, of course, the group around David Pastrňák will certainly not encounter in the first three matches of the tournament. They are currently looking at Canada, France and Switzerland in Group A.

Other media behind the big puddle then firstly mentioned the stellar composition of the overseas selections. “In the men’s hockey competition, Canada will be the favorite to win its first gold medal since 2014,” said the American station ESPN, pointing to the odds of the local bookmakers, who see the distribution of forces similar to the domestic bookmakers. The highest expected selection is the Maple Leafs (local gold exchange rate of 2.2:1) followed by the Americans (2.75:1). Interesting? For the Czechs, the figure is 26:1.

“Canada and the United States have the most talent on the roster, but a handful of European nations will try to disrupt the North American hierarchy,” Bleacher Report assessed.

However, the website also attributes certain hopes to the hype around the world champions from Prague 2024. “If you are looking for a dark horse in connection with medal ambitions that might interest you, the Czech Republic is worth considering. The Czechs have two solid goalkeepers active in the NHL, Dan Vladař and Karel Vejmelkaand David Pastrňák and Martin Nečas will play in the elite attack.” However, the portal rather mysteriously left out Lukáš Dostál, who is the hottest candidate for the post of goalkeeper number one.

With an interesting list of non-NHL players “that you need to know”, then the specialized server Daily Faceoff rushed in. He named the forty-year-old doyen Roman Červenka as the first of all the participants under the five circles, followed immediately by his partner Lukáš Sedlák.

“Červenka played a key role in winning the gold at the 2024 World Championships, forming a formidable duo with Boston Bruins star David Pastrňak. It is expected to be the same in Italy, where Červenka is preparing for his fifth Olympic tournament,” noted hockey analyst Steven Ellis.