Adam Najman playing for the Czech national team in an exhibition game against Germany in 2023. Photo: Sandro Halank.Czech forward Adam Najman, 24, is in his first season playing abroad in Finland for Ilves Tampere.
After recording 10 points in 24 Liiga games, Ilves announced on Dec. 17 that Najman would be out of the lineup indefinitely due to health concerns, which were not specified.
On Thursday, Najman revealed via a statement on the Ilves website that he had undergone treatment for testicular cancer and was now medically cleared to resume practising with the team.
In December 2024, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Doctors
in Finland helped me at first and then I was treated in Czechia at
St. Anne’s University Hospital and the Masaryk Institute of
Oncology. I am so thankful for all the help I got from all the
specialists. Luckily, after my surgery, all the test results were
great and on Feb. 15, 2025, I got the green light to start
practising and working out again.
I want to
give huge thanks to my family and friends, my agents Pavel and Petr
Maršoun, all the doctors in Finland and Czechia, who treated me the
best possible way, and the entire Ilves organization – including
management, front office, my teammates, my coaches and all the people
around the team – for helping and supporting me in every possible
way through this difficult time.
It feels great to be a part of this
unbelievable team again. I will enjoy every day and moment, and time
will tell when I’m ready to play again.
I would also like to thank
all the fans and the media for respecting my privacy, as I asked in
the past. After giving this statement about my situation, I hope we
can continue that way in the future as well.
Best regards
Adam
Adam Najman comes from an extensive hockey family.
His older brother Ondřej Najman currently plays in the Czech Extraliga for Sparta Prague. His uncle Patrik Augusta is a former player who had brief NHL stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals and has been the head coach of the Czech teams that have won silver and bronze at the last two IIHF World Junior Championships. His grandfather Josef Augusta was a longtime player on the Czechoslovak national team and later a coach.
Adam was born in Jihlava and played until age 17 with Dukla Jihlava – the club that his family has long been connected to. From 2018 to 2024, Najman played for Bílí Tygři Liberec, recording 127 points in 243 Extraliga games.
Internationally, Najman represented Czechia at the 2019 IIHF U-18 World Championship and the 2021 World Junior Championship.
As mentioned in his statement, Najman isn’t sure exactly when he will return to game action. Ilves currently leads the Liiga standings with a three-point over second-place Lukko Rauma with 10 regular-season games remaining.
Ilves is a young team that, in addition to Najman, has former Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Lukas Svejkovsky, former Minnesota Wild prospect Simon Johansson, and current NHL prospects Jakub Málek (New Jersey Devils), Kalle Väisänen (New York Rangers), Samu Bau (Utah HC), Ondřej Kos (St. Louis Blues) and Sebastian Soini (Minnesota). The team also has veterans Carl Klingberg, Mike O'Leary and Joonas Nättinen.
