Czechia will bring a deep lineup including several PWHL stars to the opening stop of the Women's Euro Hockey Tour later this month in Switzerland.
Czechia will bring a deep lineup including several PWHL stars to the opening stop of the Women's Euro Hockey Tour later this month in Switzerland.
Head coach Carla MacLeod and general manager Tereza Sadilova have named their charge for the August stop, the first of of the 2024-2025 season, of the Women's Euro Hockey Tour.
They're the second team to name their roster for the upcoming Four Nation event after Switzerland named their lineup earlier this month. The year long event which will also feature stops in Finland, Czechia, and Sweden following the opening event in Kloten, Switzerland, has been called "ground breaking" this year for the expansion of regular international competition, which will also include participation from Germany at two events, as well as the USA and Canada in December.
Czechia's roster features many familiar faces from their 2024 World Championship lineup. Back in net will be starter Klara Peslarova. She'll be backed up by Dartmouth rookie Michaela Hesova and the reigning U-18 World Championship best goaltender Aneta Šenková who is slated to play in Canada this year with the Kingston Ice Wolves.
On the backend, the continued absence of Dominika Laskova remains a concern as she continues a nearly year long rehab aiming to return to PWHL Montreal's lineup this Fall. PWHL Boston defender Daniela Pejsova and PWHL Ottawa blueliner Aneta Tejralova will be staples of the blueline. Joining them will be Brynas' Sara Cajanova and RPI's Andrea Trnkova who will round out the top four. Tereza Radova who plays for Leksand is also back, while two players who have yet to secure a roster spot for next year, Karolína Kosinová and Anna Vaníčková are also on the roster.
Up front a growing contingent of PWHL players will guide Czechia's offense. The group includes PWHL Minnesota's Denisa Krizova and Klara Hymlarova, PWHL Ottawa's Katerina Mrazova and Tereza Vansiova, and Toronto's Noemi Neubauerova are all in the lineup. They'll be joined by projected top five pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft prospect Natalie Mlynkova who will play for the University of Minnesota this season. A large group of players competing in top European leagues are also headed to Switzerland with Czechia, including Michaela Pejzlova who will play in Switzerland's top league this season with HC Ambrì-Piotta. From Sweden a larger group is on the way including Adela Sapovalivova and Vendula Přibylová from MoDo, and Tereza Pišteková and Tereza Plosova from Djurgardens. Teenager Barbora Juříčková who is playing for HPK in Finland is also back, as is Anežka Čabelová, who plays for RHA Kelowna in Canada.
Czechia wil open their 2024-2025 Women's Euro Hockey Tour on August 29 against Finland, followed by an August 30 game against Switzerland, and a game against Sweden on August 31 to close out the first stop for Czechia.