Fellow countryman and Ducks captain Radko Gudas was competing in his second Olympics after being part of the Czech team that participated in Sochi in 2014, the last time NHLers had participated in the Winter Olympics prior to 2026.

“Definitely a lot of excitement going to the tournament,” Gudas said. “NHL players haven't been in this tournament for 12 years, so everybody was happy to get there, happy to get things going. It was a little bit nervous at the start of the tournament, but it was great to see the other athletes, the village, to be able to interact with some other sports and see how they get ready, their different workouts. Just chit-chat with the other parts of the sporting world. 
I was. It was great. Once in a lifetime experience, so really happy that we got the opportunity to go again. It was really fun and the family enjoyed it as much as possible as well.”

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