Multiple Czech media outlets reported on Monday that David Pastrňák has finally agreed to play for his home country in this year’s IIHF World Championship. Czech national team GM Jiří Šlégr confirmed the news after the team’s practise.

“I spoke with David today before practise and his final decision is positive for all of us,” said Šlégr. “He decided to participate in the World Championship, which we are all very happy about.”

It was previously confirmed that the Boston Bruins had medically cleared Pastrňák to play, and many had interpreted that as confirmation that he would. However, the player himself had not committed until now.

Šlégr was also asked about Calgary Flames winger Adam Klapka, who became available when the Calgary Wranglers were eliminated from the AHL playoffs.

“We are in communication,” Šlégr said about Klapka. “On the way here, I communicated with the Calgary general manager and we are negotiating.”

Adam Klapka: “I knew deep down that I would play in the NHL one day” At 6-foot-8 and 236 pounds, Adam Klapka is a hard guy to miss. But the Czech winger managed to fly under the radar for much of his amateur career and even in his early years as a pro. He never played in the U18 Worlds or the World Juniors, was never drafted by an NHL team and at age 21, split the season between the Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga and HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the tier-two Chance Liga.

The final leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour will be played this weekend, Thursday through Sunday, in Brno, Czechia. This leg of the tour, which is almost always hosted by the Czechs, is used by the four teams as a final tune-up for the World Championship. It is generally the only part of the tour that includes any NHL players. Here is the lineup that the Czechs will take:

Goaltenders: Daniel Vladař (Calgary, NHL), Karel Vejmelka (Utah HC, NHL), Josef Kořenář (HC Sparta Prague).

Defensemen: Filip Pyrochta (BK Mladá Boleslav), Jan Košťálek (HC Vítkovice Ridera), Tomáš Kundrátek (HC Oceláři Třinec), Radek Kučeřík (Ässät Pori, Finland), Michal Kempný, Jakub Krejčík (both HC Sparta Prague), David Špaček (Iowa Wild, AHL), Filip Hronek (Vancouver Canucks, NHL), Daniel Gazda (Ilves Tampere, Finland), Libor Hájek (HC Dynamo Pardubice).

Forwards: Jiří Černoch, Ondřej Beránek (both HC Energie Karlovy Vary), Petr Kodýtek (IFK Helsinki, Finland), Radan Lenc (HV 71, Sweden), Michal Kovařčík (Kärpät Oulu, Finland), Ondřej Kovařčík (HC Oceláři Třinec), Daniel Voženílek (EV Zug, Switzerland), Kristian Reichel (Adler Mannheim, Germany), Matěj Stránský, Filip Zadina (both HC Davos), Michael Špaček, Filip Chlapík, Pavel Kousal (all HC Sparta Prague), Kevin Klíma (Mountfield HK), Jakub Lauko (Boston, NHL), Adam Klapka (Calgary Wranglers, AHL), Jakub Flek (HC Kometa Brno), Lukáš Sedlák, Jáchym Kondelík, Roman Červenka (all HC Dynamo Pardubice).

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.

NOTE: This roster has been updated since its original publication with players from the two teams involved in the Czech Extraliga finals. 

Kometa Brno Returns To Top Of Czech Extraliga Kometa Brno is once again the champion of the Czech Extraliga, defeating Dynamo Pardubice 3-0 in the seventh and decisive game of the finals on Tuesday night in Pardubice. It was the second series in a row that the team won a seventh game on the road.