Czech Roster For Euro Hockey Tour ‘The Best We Have In Europe At The Moment’

Four months before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, the competition is fierce for spots on Olympic rosters and the Czech team that will head to Tampere, Finland, this week for the Karjala Cup – the first leg of this season’s Euro Hockey Tour – is full of players with their eyes on the prize.

“An Olympic year is special for everyone,” said national team coach Radim Rulík. “From the beginning, we want to work with players who have the potential to fight for a spot in Milan. At the same time, we want to reward those who are playing well for their clubs. We see the tournament in Finland as an important test and an opportunity to try different options.”

With only 10 forwards and three defensemen from Czechia that have skated in the NHL so far this season, and not all of those are healthy at the moment, the players all know that there are spots on the Olympic team up for grabs.

“I think everyone can count, everyone’s watching and knows how many players we have in the NHL,” said Rulík. “Everyone knows that players from Europe have a chance. With the Olympics in mind, we will want to invite the best of what we have in Europe to the EHT tournaments.”

While none of the players on this roster are currently in the NHL, they collectively have over 1,000 games of NHL experience, led by Dominik Kubalík, Michal Kempný, Radim Šimek, Jakub Lauko, Lukáš Sedlák and Libor Hájek.

Czechs have lots of options for 2026 Olympics It's often difficult to know what to expect from the Czechs, who can produce wildly different results depending on which players are in their lineup. They surely have some elite talent and then a lot of rather mediocre depth players on both sides of the Atlantic that almost seem interchangeable. For that reason, predicting their roster is a bit of a guessing game. If Radim Rulík remains head coach through the 2026 Winter Olympics, he might stick with the team that gelled very nicely at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and won gold on home ice, especially with the Olympics on a wider European ice surface.

Interestingly, although there are only 13 Czech skaters in the NHL right now, seven Czech goalies have played at least one game and four have played at least half of their teams’ games. As such, Rulík admitted that Josef Kořenář and Petr Kváča weren’t selected because they have a realistic shot at earning an Olympic job, even though Kořenář does have some NHL experience.

"Both of them fit our age range – they have a promising future,” the coach said. “At the same time, we know how many goalies we have in the NHL, and unless there is a disaster, they will cover the Olympic tournament. Now we can give space to younger goalies who already have experience with the national team.”

Roman Červenka and Ondřej Kaše are both missing this tournament due to injuries, but the Czech staff expects them to be available for the December EHT tournament in Switzerland. Interestingly, ex-NHLer Filip Zadina, who has 19 points in 18 games for HC Davos in Switzerland, was not selected.

“Zadina did not do well at the World Championship, but the door is certainly not closed for him,” said Rulík. “If he keeps up his form, we can take him to the next tournament.”

The coach figures, “We have selected the best we have in Europe at the moment.”

Switzerland's Roster For Euro Hockey Tour An Early Olympic Audition Switzerland unleashes its Euro Hockey Tour roster, showcasing National League talent aiming for a shot at the Olympic team. Who will shine for the national team selection?

The Karjala Cup starts on Thursday and runs through to next Sunday. In addition to Czechia, other teams competing are Sweden, Switzerland and host Finland. 

Goaltenders: Josef Kořenář (HC Sparta Prague), Petr Kváča (Bílí Tygři Liberec), Pavel Čajan (HC VERVA Litvínov).

Defensemen: Jan Košťálek, Libor Hájek (both HC Dynamo Pardubice), Jan Ščotka, Libor Zábranský (both HC Kometa Brno), Marian Adámek (HC Oceláři Třinec), Tomáš Cibulka (Banes Motor České Budějovice), Michal Kempný (Brynäs IF, SWE), Radek Kučeřík (Ilves Tampere, FIN), Filip Pyrochta (BK Mladá Boleslav), Radim Šimek (Bílí Tygři Liberec).

Forwards: Jáchym Kondelík, Jakub Lauko, Lukáš Sedlák (all HC Dynamo Pardubice), Ondřej Beránek, Jiří Černoch (both HC Energie Karlovy Vary), Ondřej Kovařčík, Daniel Kurovský (both HC Oceláři Třinec), Jakub Flek (HC Kometa Brno), Luboš Horký (Rögle BK, SWE), Filip Chlapík (HC Sparta Prague), Matyáš Kantner (Kärpät Oulu, FIN), Dominik Kubalík (EV Zug, SUI), Kristian Reichel (Adler Mannheim, GER), Matěj Stránský (HC Davos, SUI), Radim Zohorna (Färjestad BK, SWE).

Team Staff:

General Manager: Jiří Šlégr. Manager: Milan Hnilička. Head Coach: Radim Rulík. Assistant Coaches: Marek Židlický, Jiří Kalous, Tomáš Plekanec. Goaltending Coach: Ondřej Pavelec.

Opt-Out Deadline Passes, No NHL For Kubalík This Season When <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/confirmed-dominik-kubalik-returns-to-switzerland">Dominik Kubalík signed with Swiss club HC Ambrì-Piotta in early September</a>, it included an opt-out clause in the event Kubalík came to an agreement with an NHL club before Dec. 15. That date has now passed, which means he is under contract with Ambrì the rest of the season, <a href="https://hcap.ch/it/news/dominik-kubalik-rimane-in-biancobl%C3%B9-fino-al-termine-della-stagione">the National League club announced on Monday</a>.