Men's national ice hockey team representing the Czech Republic
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 .[ 2] 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 .[ 3] [ 4] 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).[ 5]
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 start international play in pool C. See also Post-Cold War period of the IIHF world championships .[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
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.[ 10] [ 11] The 1998 Olympic hockey tournament was also the first the include National Hockey League players.[ 11] The IIHF reported the gold medal to be "the most important event in the country's history after the 1968 Uprising ".[ 10]
The Czechs won three straight gold medals at the world championships from 1999 to 2001 .[ 12] [ 13] 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.[ 14] 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.[ 15]
Tournament record
Olympic Games
World Championship
Championship
GP
W
OW
T
OL
L
GF
GA
Coach
Captain
Finish
Rank
1920 – 1992
As part of Czechoslovakia
1993 Munich, Dortmund
8
6
–
1
1
0
33
10
Ivan Hlinka
Otakar Janecký
Bronze Medal Game
1994 Bolzano, Canazei and Milan
6
1
–
2
–
3
17
20
Ivan Hlinka
Otakar Janecký
Quarter-finals
7th
1995 Stockholm, Gävle
8
4
–
0
–
4
17
16
Luděk Bukač
Jiří Kučera
Bronze Medal Game
4th
1996 Vienna
8
7
–
1
–
0
42
15
Luděk Bukač
Robert Reichel
Champions
1997 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku
9
6
–
0
–
3
30
20
Ivan Hlinka
Robert Reichel
Bronze Medal Game
1998 Basel, Zürich
9
6
–
2
–
1
33
16
Ivan Hlinka
Robert Reichel
Bronze Medal Game
1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer
12
9
–
0
–
3
46
24
Ivan Hlinka
Pavel Patera
Champions
2000 St. Petersburg
9
8
0
0
0
1
41
19
Josef Augusta
Robert Reichel
Champions
2001 Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover
9
6
2
1
0
0
37
13
Josef Augusta
Robert Reichel
Champions
2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping
7
6
0
0
0
1
31
17
Josef Augusta
Jaromír Jágr
Quarter-finals
5th
2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku
9
6
0
1
0
2
36
21
Slavomír Lener
Robert Reichel
Bronze Medal Game
4th
2004 Prague, Ostrava
7
6
0
0
1
0
28
8
Slavomír Lener
Martin Straka
Quarter-finals
5th
2005 Vienna, Innsbruck
9
8
0
0
0
1
25
9
Vladimír Růžička
David Výborný
Champions
2006 Riga
9
4
1
2
0
2
26
24
Alois Hadamczik
David Výborný
Final
2007 Moscow
7
3
0
–
1
3
23
19
Alois Hadamczik
David Výborný
Quarter-finals
7th
2008 Quebec City, Halifax
7
3
1
–
2
1
29
19
Alois Hadamczik
Tomáš Kaberle
Quarter-finals
5th
2009 Bern, Kloten
7
4
0
–
0
3
26
14
Vladimír Růžička
Marek Židlický
Quarter-finals
6th
2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen
9
5
2
–
0
2
25
16
Vladimír Růžička
Tomáš Rolinek
Champions
2011 Bratislava, Košice
9
8
0
–
0
1
36
18
Alois Hadamczik
Tomáš Rolinek
Bronze Medal Game
2012 Helsinki, Stockholm
10
6
1
–
0
3
32
19
Alois Hadamczik
Tomáš Plekanec
Bronze Medal Game
2013 Stockholm, Helsinki
8
3
1
–
0
4
20
14
Alois Hadamczik
Jiří Novotný
Quarter-finals
7th
2014 Minsk
10
3
2
–
2
3
24
27
Vladimír Růžička
Tomáš Rolinek
Bronze Medal Game
4th
2015 Prague, Ostrava
10
5
1
–
1
3
32
26
Vladimír Růžička
Jakub Voráček
Bronze Medal Game
4th
2016 Moscow, St. Petersburg
8
5
1
–
2
0
27
12
Vladimír Vůjtek
Tomáš Plekanec
Quarter-finals
5th
2017 Paris, Cologne
8
3
2
–
0
3
23
17
Josef Jandač
Jakub Voráček
Quarter-finals
7th
2018 Copenhagen, Herning
8
3
3
–
0
2
29
18
Josef Jandač
Roman Červenka
Quarter-finals
7th
2019 Bratislava, Košice
10
7
0
–
1
2
47
23
Miloš Říha
Jakub Voráček
Bronze Medal Game
4th
2020
Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic [ 16]
2021 Riga
8
3
2
–
0
3
27
19
Filip Pešán
Jan Kovář
Quarter-finals
7th
2022 Helsinki, Tampere
10
6
0
–
1
3
32
24
Kari Jalonen
Roman Červenka
Bronze Medal Game
2023 Tampere, Riga
8
4
0
–
1
3
22
19
Kari Jalonen
Roman Červenka
Quarter-finals
8th
2024 Prague, Ostrava
10
7
1
–
2
0
36
17
Radim Rulík
Roman Červenka
Champions
2025 Stockholm, Herning
–
World Cup of Hockey
Euro Hockey Tour
Team
Current roster
Roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship .[ 17] [ 18]
Head coach: Radim Rulík
Retired numbers
Coaching history
Olympics
World Championships
National team jerseys
1994 Olympic jerseys
IIHF jerseys 1996–1998
IIHF jerseys 1998–2002
2006 IIHF jerseys
2009 IIHF jerseys
2014 Olympic jerseys
2015–2019 IIHF jerseys
2018 Olympic jerseys
2019–2021 IIHF jerseys
2021– IIHF jerseys
[needs update ]
2022 Olympic jerseys
2022–2023 IIHF jerseys
2024 IIHF Jerseys
See also
References
^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking" . IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024 .
^ Miller, Gord [@GMillerTSN] (20 December 2021). "the Czech Federation officially requested that it be referred to as 'Czechia' in all competitions" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ "NHL announces World Cup of Hockey for 2016" . The Canadian Press . 24 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015 .
^ "Russia – Czech Republic" . IIHF. 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015 .
^ "About" . czehockey.cz. Retrieved 29 April 2022 .
^ "Story #22" . IIHF Archive . Retrieved 21 January 2024 .
^ "Story #75" . Retrieved 21 January 2024 .
^ Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew (May 2008). "Story #77–Recently separated, Czechs and Slovaks meet in World Championships final" . International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 11 March 2009 .
^ "IIHF - Brotherly but divided" . IIHF . Retrieved 21 January 2024 .
^ a b Podnieks, Andrew (15 January 2024). "IIHF names new Hall of Fame Class" . International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 13 November 2024 .
^ a b "Mezinárodní hokejová federace ocenila český zlatý tým z Nagana" . Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic. Czech News Agency . 25 May 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024 .
^ Marc Di Duca (2006). Czech Republic: The Bradt Travel Guide . p. 31. ISBN 9781841621500 . Retrieved 25 October 2016 .
^ Sioras, Efstathia; Spilling, Michael (2010). Czech Republic . p. 112. ISBN 9780761444763 . Retrieved 25 October 2016 .
^ "Swiss avenge group stage loss, advance to QF" . International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 15 February 2022 .
^ Aykroyd, Lucas (26 May 2024). "Czechs strike gold on home ice" . IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 27 May 2024 .
^ Steiss, Adam. "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled" . IIHF . Retrieved 21 March 2020 .
^ "A-tým: Nominace české hokejové reprezentace na domácí mistrovství světa 2024" (in Czech). ceskyhokej.cz. 5 May 2024.
^ "Team roster: Czechia" (PDF) . International Ice Hockey Federation . 10 May 2024.
^ "Jalonen převzal hokejovou repre sebevědomě. Cíl z MS? Jedině zlato" . TV Nova (in Czech). 11 March 2022.
External links
National teams
Active leagues National cup Related
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* IIHF associate members
** IIHF affiliate members
† IIHF suspended members
N Not an IIHF member