2026 Milan Olympics Team Czechia Preview
Team Czechia is set for Milan, and the rosters are in. See how our projections stacked up, which players made the cut, and what to expect in the preliminary round.
This article is part of an ongoing series that follows up on Predicting Olympic Rosters as Chris, Roberto, and Chip take note of how their predictions match each countries official line up for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. To view more of the series go here.
As mentioned in our predictions, Team Czechia certainly has the potential to be a dark horse candidate in these Olympics. They may not be the country with the deepest roster, but their stars and goaltending could be enough for them to make some noise throughout the qualifying round and beyond. They'll be on the hunt for their first medal since 2006 when they won bronze in Turin. They last won gold in 1998.
Names To Get Familiar With
Jiri Tichacheck is a 22-year-old left-shot defenseman who is having an impressive year with Karpat of SM-Liiga. In just 31 games played, he’s collected 22 points split across seven goals and 15 assists. He definitely falls on the smaller side, clocking in at 5-8 and 169 pounds, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in his skating, puck moving, and high hockey IQ. Tichacheck has represented Czechia in the 2022 and 2023 U20 World Juniors, and has performed well both in Czechia’s top league and now in Finland’s.
If you’re asking yourself why Tomas Kundratek is a name that kind of sounds familiar, that might be because in 2008, he was a 90th overall draft pick by the New York Rangers. While he would only play 77 games split across two seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Connecticut Whale (why did they ever think that was a good idea?) Kundratek went on to have a respectable career in the KHL and, eventually, in Czechia’s top league. The 36-year-old right-shot defenseman won three championships with Trinec Ocelari HC which surely had to have played a role in Team Czechia’s decision to take him. An offensive defenseman with a good shot, Kundratek adds experience and a splash of offense to a pretty defensive defense corps.
Matej Stransky was a sixth round pick (165th overall) for the Dallas Stars back in 2011 who actually helped the Texas Stars win the 2014 Calder Cup. While he never made the jump to the NHL, Stransky made the jump to the KHL, and eventually to Cezchia, where he helped Trinec Ocelari HC win a championship alongside Tomas Kundratek. The 6-2, 216 pound right winger has a goal scoring touch and has put up impressive numbers in Switzerland's top league the last four seasons.
Chris (19 of 25 correct)
Cervenka - Zacha - Pastrnak
Palat - Hertl - Necas
Kulich - Faksa - Flek
Sedlak - Ivan - Tomasek
Kubalik - Lauko - Kase
Jiricek - Hronek
Rutta - Gudas
Hajek - Spacek
Kempny - Kostalek
Dostal - Dobes - Vejmelka
Forget Adam Fox or Jason Robertson, Libor Hajek is the biggest Olympic snub, possibly of all time. Jokes aside, I’m a bit surprised he didn’t make the cut, but am more surprised David Jirieck didn’t. In one their places, Radim Simek—who isn't too far removed from playing in the NHL—made the roster. Additionally, Jiri Tichacek and Tomas Kundratek make it in place of Jan Kostalek.
Simek is actually a name I've considered as a depth free agent target for the Rangers in recent memory. Simek spent six seasons with the San Jose Sharks organization but has spent the last two seasons with Liberec Bili Tygri HC in Cezchia's top league. A physical, shut-down defenseman who can play important minutes, Simek comes as a responsible depth player for Team Czechia.
Of the 14 forwards that made the team, I had 12 of them correct with David Kampf and Matej Stransky being the two omissions from my projected roster. The biggest surprise to me was Jiri Kulich, but I suppose it shouldn’t be too big of a surprise that they opted for experience over youth. Kampf, despite his lack of recent success in the NHL, is a versatile depth forward who can add some value to the team's bottom six.
Chip (18 of 25 correct)
Cervenka - Zacha - Pastrnak
Palat - Hertl - Necas
Kubalik - Faska - Jagr
Kulich - Ivan - Flek
Sedlak - Lauko - Tomasek
Jiricek - Hronek
Rutta - Gudas
Hajek - Spacek
Kempny - Kostalek
Dostal - Dobes - Vejmelka
Like I said in the preview piece, there was no real hope for this group. Any sliver of chance they had to even make noise went out the window when news came down that Pavel Zacha would miss the tournament.
They went heavy with experience over youth, which is fine in theory, but the experienced players they're going with aren't NHL caliber against a lot of NHL talent. That, to me, is a problem. Also, if you're going to reward guys like that then you should have gone all in and invited Jaromir Jagr.
Roberto (18 of 25 correct)
Necas - Zacha - Pastrnak
Cervenka - Hertl - Palat
Kulich - Faksa - Flek
Sedlak - Chytil- Tomasek
Kubalik - Ivan- Kase
Jiricek - Gudas
Ruutta - Hronek
Kostalek- Spacek
Kempny - Krejcik
Dostal - Dobes - Vejmelka
It was all but guaranteed there would be no Filip Chytil, so I'm not that shocked about the misses I had in my projection. Bringing Vladar over Dobes also makes sense as he has valiantly backstopped an inconsistent Philadelphia Flyers squad and is still posting acceptable numbers. However, I am impressed at my seer -ike ability to predict the exclusion of Libor Hajek. I felt it coming, or perhaps even saw it spelled out in my son's alphabet soup. Hajek or no, Czechia has the skill at the top of their roster to disrupt some other nation's plans and sneaky depth that could play an important role as the round-robin tournament progresses.
Team Czechia Preliminary Round Schedule
- Feb. 12, 2026, 10:40 a.m. ET vs. Team Canada
- Feb 13, 2026, 10:40 a.m. ET vs. Team France
- Feb 15, 2026, 6:10 a.m. ET vs Team Switzerland
Predictions
Chris: Opening against Canada is about as tough as it gets. I expect Czechia to put up a fight, but it's clear they're the underdog. That said, they should have an easier next two games so I'm expecting a 2-1 record through the preliminary round.
Chip: Canada is going to crush them and I wouldn't bet against Tom Wilson injuring a key player or two. The French and Swiss shouldn't give them much trouble, but you never know. The head says 2-1, but it could easily go 1-2.
Roberto: Czechia's World Junior team has recently had some success against Canada, but expecting their Olympic squad to replicate that is a hard sell. Canada is far and away the best team on paper, so getting this litmus test out of the way for Czechia will almost be a relief. I foresee Canada dominating, but Czechia, when the right combination of lines is on the ice, grabbing some of their own opportunities to make some noise. They will outclass France and Switzerland. I fully expect their top line to put on a show against those two nations.
