Late July means the start of training camp for hockey teams across Europe. On Monday, Czech Extraliga club Rytíři Kladno hit the ice for the first time and a familiar face was involved.

At 53, Jaromír Jágr skated with the team he part-owns, further fuelling speculation that he intends to return for his 38th season of professional hockey. Filip Ardon, who has covered the Kladno team for years, reported on the practise for iSport.cz.

“He still looks great,” said veteran right winger Miroslav Forman, who is about to enter his 16th season of professional hockey. Forman, who will turn 35 during training camp, was born in August 1990, just in time for Jágr’s NHL rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On the first day of camp, Jágr skated on a line with Antonín Melka and Kelly Klíma.

“My dad played with him,” said American-born-and-raised Klíma, the son of Czech ex-NHLer Petr Klíma. “Playing with Jágr on the line was a good experience. I didn’t expect him to play this long.”

“He’s a legend, the same as Wayne Gretzky is for Canadians,” said Canadian defenseman Jérémie Blain. “It’s impressive to see how good he is at his age. Crazy.”

It was widely believed that Jágr planned to retire at the conclusion of last season, but the man himself has always been evasive on the topic. In September, reports circulated in North American media that Jágr had declared his intention to retire, based on a statement on his Instagram account that referred to it as his “last season”. This mention went largely ignored by Czech media used to his nature.

Following Kladno’s last game of the season, Jágr avoided questions on his retirement. When directly asked about it on live television after the game, he answered, “Now I’m going to get my teeth fixed and then I’ll see. When I get them fixed, I’ll see what I look like.”

Did Jaromír Jágr Play His Last Career Game On Sunday? Maybe Not, Some Say In the team’s second-to-last game of the Czech Extraliga regular season, and last game at home before a sell-out crowd of 5,200, Rytíři Kladno lost 5-0 to visiting HC Vítkovice Ridera on Sunday, which mathematically eliminated Kladno from playoff contention.

That day, there was already speculation that he planned to return for 2025-26. And now here we are.

Of course, the mere fact that he skated with the team does not absolutely mean that Jágr will play any games for Kladno this season. As coach David Čermák pointed out, Jágr has not signed a contract and is technically a free agent.

But by all accounts, he looked ready to play.

“He’s been preparing since the spring,” said coach Čermák. “We’ll see when he decides whether to continue. He looks ready.”

While he formerly owned 50 percent of the team, Jágr’s ownership stake has been reduced to 20 percent following a significant cash infusion by businesman Tomáš Drastil. Fans of Rytíři (the Knights) hope the stronger financial backing will allow them to be more competitive in the standings – they haven’t made the Extraliga playoffs since 2012-13, and have been relegated and promoted twice since then. The lower ownership stake could also free Jágr from the stress of worrying about off-ice matters and just concentrate on playing. If that’s what he wants.

“I hope he continues,” said Blain. “It would be good to have him on the team.”

Photo© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Tomas Plekanec Joins Jaromir Jagr In Front Office Of Hometown Kladno Team The day after <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/did-jaromr-jgr-play-his-last-career-game-on-sunday-maybe-not-some-say">the team played its final game home game of the season on Sunday</a>, Czech Extraliga club Rytíři Kladno announced that one of its own would be joining its front office. <a href="https://rytirikladno.cz/clanek.asp?id=Prvni-zmena-v-nove-ere-klubu-Do-vedeni-Rytiru-miri-Tomas-Plekanec-9419">Tomáš Plekanec was introduced as the team’s new sports director</a> – a role that is roughly similar to a director of hockey operations on an NHL team.