Czech World Junior Roster Has 8 Returnees From Last Year's Bronze Team

The Czech Ice Hockey Association named its 27-man training camp roster ahead of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. They will be whittled down to 22 by the time the Czechs open the tournament on Dec. 26 against Switzerland.

The Czechs will go into the tournament having medalled in the last two World Junior Championships – the first time they’ve accomplished that since 2004 and 2005. This year they’ll go for three in a row for the first time since 1996 to 1998.

Eight players – Michael Hrabal, David Jiříček, Tomáš Galvas, Matteo Kočí, Adam Židlický, Matěj Maštalířský, Jakub Štancl and Eduard Šalé – are returning from last year’s bronze-medal team, with Šalé also on the 2023 silver squad.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgvexUhxzo0[/embed]

The roster includes 17 players born in 2005, eight born in 2006 and two – forwards Vojtěch Čihař and Adam Novotný – who were born in 2007 and will be draft-eligible for the first time in 2025. It does not include 17-year-old defenseman Radim Mrtka, who recently transferred from Oceláři Třinec to the Seattle Thunderbirds and is on a lot of projections to be a first-round pick, or late-2006-born Jan Skok.

Thirteen NHL-drafted players are on the list but 18-year-old Colorado Avalanche prospect Maximilian Curran is not.

Training camp will run Dec. 11 to 22 in Belleville, Ont., with pre-tournament games scheduled for Dec. 20 in Brockville, Ont. against Latvia and Dec. 23 in Ottawa against Canada. Not all 27 players will be in camp right from the start, however.

“We are in contact with the general manager of the Seattle Kraken – we have a preliminary agreement that Eddie Šalé should be on our team before the start of the World Championship,” said head coach Patrik Augusta. “At the moment, the discussions are about when (that will be).”

Augusta also said that they’re in contact with the St. Louis Blues regarding the health of Jiříček, who suffered a knee injury and hasn’t played an OHL game since Nov. 7.

Goaltenders (3): Jan Kavan (Kometa Brno), Michael Hrabal (Univ. of Massachusetts, NCAA / Utah HC), Jakub Milota (Cape Breton, QMJHL / Nashville Predators).

Defensemen (9): Tomáš Galvas (Liberec), Patrik Volas (Třinec), Vojtěch Husinecký (Chomutov), Matteo Kočí (Kamloops, WHL), Jakub Fibigr (Brampton, OHL / Seattle Kraken), Marek Ročák (Kelowna, WHL), Vojtěch Port (Lethbridge, WHL / Anaheim Ducks), Jakub Dvořák (Ontario, AHL / Los Angeles Kings), Adam Jiříček (Brantford, OHL / St. Louis Blues).

Forwards (15): Vojtěch Hradec (Mladá Boleslav / Utah HC), Matěj Maštalířský (Litvínov), Vojtěch Čihař (Karlovy Vary), Adam Novotný (Hradec Králové), Petr Sikora (Třinec / Washington Capitals), Jiří Felcman (Langnau, SUI / Chicago Blackhawks), Richard Žemlička (SaiPa Lappeenranta, FIN), Ondřej Kos (Ilves Tampere, FIN / St. Louis Blues), Eduard Šalé (Coachella Valley, AHL / Seattle Kraken), Adam Židlický (Brampton, OHL), Jakub Štancl (Kelowna, WHL), Miroslav Holinka (Edmonton, WHL / Toronto Maple Leafs), Adam Jecho (Edmonton, WHL / St. Louis Blues), Dominik Petr (Brandon, WHL), Pavel Šimek (Rimouski, QMJHL).