Alena Polenská (previously Mills; born 9 June 1990) is a Czech

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and former

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of the Czech Republic women's national ice hockey team. She plays in the Swiss Women's League (SWHL A) with the ZSC Lions Frauen. Polenská was part of the first Czech team to participate in a top-level tournament of the IIHF Women's World Championship ( 2013 tournament) and was

of the first Czech team to earn a medal at the Women's World Championship (

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Playing career

She won a bronze medal for the Czech Republic at the 2008 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship. In the bronze medal game, Polenská scored two goals. At the 2008 Roller Hockey World Championships, she won a gold medal. It marked the first time that a European team had won the event. On August 12, 2010, she was named captain of the Czech Republic Olympic Development Team.

NCAA

Polenská joined the

Brown Bears women's ice hockey The Brown Bears women’s ice hockey program is an NCAA Division I College ice hockey, ice hockey team that represents Brown University. The Bears play at the Meehan Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown women's hockey is the oldest wome ...

program in the autumn of 2009 and appeared in 28 games during her freshman campaign. Her five goals tied for first on the squad, and her 96 shots on goal led all Bears skaters. On January 31, 2010, versus

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, she registered two assists. In an exhibition game versus the Etobicoke Dolphins on 17 October 2010, Polenská scored two goals in a 5–2 victory.

Russia

Polenská played in Russia from 2014 to 2022. Her first season was played in the Russian Women's Hockey League (RWHL) with Dinamo Saint Petersburg, and she then remained with the club as the RWHL was replaced by the

Zhenskaya Hockey League The Zhenskaya Hockey League or ZhHL (), officially called the Women's Hockey League (WHL), is a professional ice hockey league in Russia, currently comprising eight teams. The league is also known as the PariMatch Women's Hockey League for sponso ...

for the 2015–16 season. After four seasons with Dinamo, she signed with Agidel Ufa in 2018. With Agidel, Polenská won the 2019 Russian Championship and was selected for the ZhHL All-Star Game in 2019 and 2020. Following that season, she signed with the KRS Vanke Rays

Sweden

After leaving the Vanke Rays, Polenská signed with Brynäs IF. She left Brynäs following the 2022–23 season.

International play

Polenská was a stalwart member of the Czech national team for nearly two decades. She served as captain from 2010 until her retirement from international competition in 2023 and led the team through promotion to the Top Division, as well as their first World Championship medal victory. She and figure skater Michal Březina served as flag bearers for the Czech delegation at the

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of the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

. After playing 260 international games, Polenská announced her retirement from the national team in June 2023.

Personal life

Polenská's Czech Republic jersey from the 2008 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship was displayed at the

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. In June 2018, she married American ex-pat Thomas Mills, who she met while playing in Saint Petersburg. She returned to using her maiden name in 2024.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Sources:

Awards and honors

*Most Valuable Player for the Czech Republic, 2008 U18 World Championship *Most Valuable Player, Princeton Tiger Lilies, 2009

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polenská, Alena 1990 births Living people Brown Bears women's ice hockey players Brynäs IF (women) players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Czech women's ice hockey forwards HPK Kiekkonaiset players Ice hockey people from the Central Bohemian Region Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic People from Kutná Hora Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays players Swiss Women's League players