Czechia men's national ice hockey team

The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. Since 2021, the team has been officially known in English as Czechia. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in history and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is governed by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czech Republic has 85,000 male players officially enrolled in organized hockey (0.8% of its population).

History The Czech national team was formed following the breakup of Czechoslovakia, as the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic was recognized as the successor to Czechoslovakia and retained in the highest pool (A), while Slovakia was required to start international play in pool C. See also Post-Cold War period of the IIHF world championships.

The Czechs won the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 2024, the team was recognized with the IIHF Milestone Award, given by the International Ice Hockey Federation to a team that made a significant contribution to the development of international hockey. The 1998 Olympic hockey tournament was also the first the include National Hockey League players. The IIHF reported the gold medal to be "the most important event in the country's history after the 1968 Uprising".

The Czechs won three straight gold medals at the world championships from 1999 to 2001. In the next three years, the team did not get a medal at the world championships—not even home at the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships held in Prague and Ostrava, thus keeping the "world championship home ice curse" alive. The following year, however, the Czechs won gold at the 2005 tournament, the only world championship where, due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, all NHL players were available to participate.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Czechs won a bronze medal, defeating Russia 3–0 (roster) in the bronze medal game. At the 2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, the Czechs earned silver, falling to Sweden in the final, the only time the Czechs have lost the final game of the tournament. The Czech Republic won the 2010 World Championships in Germany. For the first time in history, the Czech Republic did not qualify for the quarterfinals at the 2022 Winter Olympics and finished in ninth place, their lowest placement in history. However, they won a bronze medal at the 2022 IIHF World Championship later the same year, ending its longest medal drought in IIHF tournaments history, which had lasted since 2012. In 2023, the Czech Republic finished in eighth place at the World Championship, which is the worst placement in history. At the 2024 IIHF World Championship, they ended their 14-year gold drought after winning it for the first time since 2010, also as hosts.

Tournament record Olympic Games Games GP WOW TOL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank1920–1992 As part of 1994 Lillehammer 8 5 0 0 0 3 30 18 Ivan Hlinka Otakar Janecký 5th place match 5th 1998 Nagano 6 5 0 0 0 1 19 6 Ivan HlinkaVladimír Růžička Champions 2002 Salt Lake City 4 1 0 1 0 2 12 8Josef Augusta Jaromír Jágr Quarter-finals 7th 2006 Turin 8 4 0 0 0 4 23 20 Alois Hadamczik Robert Lang Bronze Medal Game 2010 Vancouver 4 2 1 – 0 2 13 11Vladimír Růžička Patrik Eliáš Quarter-finals 7th 2014 Sochi 5 2 0 – 0 3 13 15 Alois Hadamczik Tomáš Plekanec Quarter-finals 6th 2018 Pyeongchang 6 2 2 – 0 2 16 15 Josef Jandač Martin Erat Bronze Medal Game 4th 2022 Beijing 4 0 2 – 0 2 11 12 Filip Pešán Roman Červenka Playoffs 9th 2026 Milan / Cortina d'Ampezzo 5 2 0 – 2 1 15 18 Radim Rulík Roman Červenka Quarter-finals 8th 2030 French Alps Future event

World Championship Championship GP W OW T OL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank1920 – 1992 As part of 1993 Munich, Dortmund86–1103310Ivan HlinkaOtakar JaneckýBronze medal game 1994 Bolzano, Canazei and Milan61–2–31720Ivan HlinkaOtakar JaneckýQuarterfinal7th 1995 Stockholm, Gävle84–0–41716Luděk BukačJiří KučeraBronze medal game4th 1996 Vienna87–1–04215Luděk BukačRobert ReichelChampions 1997 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku96–0–33020Ivan HlinkaRobert ReichelBronze medal game 1998 Basel, Zürich96–2–13316Ivan HlinkaRobert ReichelBronze medal game 1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer129–0–34624Ivan HlinkaPavel PateraChampions 2000 St. Petersburg9800014119Josef AugustaRobert ReichelChampions 2001 Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover9621003713Josef AugustaRobert ReichelChampions 2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping7600013117Josef AugustaJaromír JágrQuarterfinal5th 2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku9601023621Slavomír LenerRobert ReichelBronze medal game4th 2004 Prague, Ostrava760010288Slavomír LenerMartin StrakaQuarterfinal5th 2005 Vienna, Innsbruck980001259Vladimír RůžičkaDavid VýbornýChampions 2006 Riga9412022624Alois HadamczikDavid VýbornýFinal 2007 Moscow730 –132319Alois HadamczikDavid VýbornýQuarterfinal7th 2008 Quebec City, Halifax731–212919Alois HadamczikTomáš KaberleQuarterfinal5th 2009 Bern, Kloten740–032614Vladimír RůžičkaMarek ŽidlickýQuarterfinal6th 2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen952–022516Vladimír RůžičkaTomáš RolinekChampions 2011 Bratislava, Košice980–013618Alois HadamczikTomáš RolinekBronze medal game 2012 Helsinki, Stockholm1061–033219Alois HadamczikTomáš PlekanecBronze medal game 2013 Stockholm, Helsinki831–042014Alois HadamczikJiří NovotnýQuarterfinal7th 2014 Minsk1032–232427Vladimír RůžičkaTomáš RolinekBronze medal game4th 2015 Prague, Ostrava1051–133226Vladimír RůžičkaJakub VoráčekBronze medal game4th 2016 Moscow, St. Petersburg851–202712Vladimír VůjtekTomáš PlekanecQuarterfinal5th 2017 Paris, Cologne832–032317Josef JandačJakub VoráčekQuarterfinal7th 2018 Copenhagen, Herning833–022918Josef JandačRoman ČervenkaQuarterfinal7th 2019 Bratislava, Košice1070–124723Miloš ŘíhaJakub VoráčekBronze medal game4th2020Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic 2021 Riga832–032719Filip PešánJan KovářQuarterfinal7th 2022 Helsinki, Tampere1060–133224 Kari JalonenRoman ČervenkaBronze medal game 2023 Tampere, Riga840–132219 Kari JalonenRoman ČervenkaQuarterfinal8th 2024 Prague, Ostrava1071–203617Radim RulíkRoman ČervenkaChampions 2025 Stockholm, Herning851–023719Radim RulíkRoman ČervenkaQuarterfinal6th 2026 Zurich, Fribourg840–132021Radim RulíkRoman ČervenkaQuarterfinal5th 2027 Düsseldorf, MannheimFuture event

World Cup of Hockey Year GP WOW TOL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank 1996 3 0 – 0 – 3 4 17 Luděk Bukač Jaromír Jágr Round 1 8th 2004 5 2 0 0 1 2 19 15 Vladimír Růžička Robert Reichel Semi-finals 3rd 2016 3 1 0 – 1 1 6 12 Josef Jandač Tomáš Plekanec Group stage 6th

Euro Hockey Tour Year GP W OW T OL L GF GA Rank 1996–97 9 0 – 2 – 7 15 36 4th 1997–98 12 7 – 2 – 3 47 29 1998–99 12 3 – 5 – 4 28 27 1999–00 12 7 – 1 – 4 31 20 2000–01 12 3 1 – 3 5 27 29 4th 2001–02 12 3 2 – 1 6 34 36 4th 2002–03 12 4 1 – 3 4 33 33 2003–04 12 2 4 – 3 3 24 28 2004–05 11 2 2 1 3 3 28 33 4th 2005–06 13 1 1 – 2 9 29 46 4th 2006–07 14 2 2 – 2 8 33 42 2007–08 12 4 1 – 1 6 33 44 2008–09 12 3 1 – 2 6 36 43 4th 2009–10 12 3 2 3 1 3 31 27 4th 2010–11 12 3 1 – 1 7 27 39 4th 2011–12 12 5 2 – 1 4 31 29 2012–13 12 6 0 – 0 6 16 24 2013–14 12 4 1 – 1 6 16 31 2014–15 12 4 1 – 2 5 33 31 2015–16 12 4 2 – 0 6 32 37 2016–17 12 6 0 – 1 5 43 39 2017–18 12 6 1 – 0 5 32 31 2018–19 12 4 1 – 0 7 30 34 4th 2019–20 9 3 3 – 1 2 25 19 2020–21 12 5 1 – 2 4 30 29 2021–22 12 5 0 – 2 5 33 32 2022–23 12 4 2 – 2 4 26 33 2023–24 12 5 1 – 0 6 31 32 2024–25 12 8 0 – 0 4 36 27 2025–26 12 5 0 – 1 6 26 33

Team Current roster Roster for the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Head coach: Radim Rulík

No.Pos.NameHeightWeightBirthdateTeam 6 D Brynäs IF 8 F HC Energie Karlovy Vary 10 F – C HC Dynamo Pardubice 11 F Utica Comets 12 F HC Energie Karlovy Vary 17 D – A Vancouver Canucks 18 F EV Zug 19 F Kometa Brno 23 F – A HC Dynamo Pardubice 24 D HC Kometa Brno 26 D Oulun Kärpät 27 D Florida Panthers 32 G HC Sparta Praha 39 G Ilves 49 F New York Rangers 55 D HC Dynamo Pardubice 60 G HC Bílí Tygři Liberec 61 F HC Dynamo Pardubice 65 D Motor České Budějovice 79 D HC Bílí Tygři Liberec 81 F Providence Bruins 87 F HC Oceláři Třinec 89 F HC Dynamo Pardubice 95 F EV Zug 96 F Färjestad BK

2026 Olympics roster

Retired numbers 4 – Karel Rachůnek 15 – Jan Marek 63 – Josef Vašíček

Coaching history Olympics 1994 and 1998 – Ivan Hlinka 2002 – Josef Augusta 2006 – Alois Hadamczik 2010 – Vladimír Růžička 2014 – Alois Hadamczik 2018 – Josef Jandač 2022 – Filip Pešán 2026 – Radim Rulík World Championships 1993–1994 – Ivan Hlinka 1995–1996 – Luděk Bukač 1997–1999 – Ivan Hlinka 2000–2002 – Josef Augusta 2003–2004 – 2005 – Vladimír Růžička 2006–2008 – Alois Hadamczik 2009–2010 – Vladimír Růžička 2011–2013 – Alois Hadamczik 2014–2015 – Vladimír Růžička 2016 – Vladimír Vůjtek 2017–2018 – Josef Jandač 2019 – Miloš Říha 2021 – Filip Pešán 2022–2023 – Kari Jalonen 2024–2026 – Radim Rulík

Uniform evolution

See also Bohemia national ice hockey team Czechoslovak national ice hockey team Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia men's national ice hockey team

References

External links

IIHF profile National Teams of Ice Hockey