The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national
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 ...
team of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. 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
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is governed by the
Czech Ice Hockey Association
The Czech Ice Hockey Association (), also known by the shortened name Czech Ice Hockey (), is the Sport governing body, governing body of ice hockey and sledge hockey in Czechia. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) ...
. 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
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, as the country was split into the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. 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''.
The Czechs won the gold medal at the
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
. In 2024, the team was recognized with the
IIHF Milestone Award, given by the
International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries.
The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...
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
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
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
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
to
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
. 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
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and
Ostrava
Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
, 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
The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play.
The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...
,
all NHL players were available to participate.
At the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...
, the Czechs won a bronze medal, defeating
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
3–0 (
roster) in the bronze medal game. At the
2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, the Czechs earned silver, falling to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
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
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 ...
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
World Championship
World Cup of Hockey
Euro Hockey Tour
Team
Current roster
Roster for the
2025 IIHF World Championship.
Head coach:
Radim Rulík
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
Vladimír Růžička (; born 6 June 1963, nickname "Rosie") is a Czech ice hockey coach and former professional player. Růžička was twice named the top player in the Czechoslovak Elite League, and was on the gold medal team in the Ice Hockey ...
*2014 – Alois Hadamczik
*2018 –
Josef Jandač
*2022 –
Filip Pešán
;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
*2024–2025 –
Radim Rulík
Uniform evolution
File:Czech Republic national team jerseys 1994 (WOG).png, 1994 Olympic jerseys
File:Czech Republic national team jerseys 1996 (WC).png, IIHF jerseys 1996–1998
File:Czech Republic national team jerseys 1998-2002.png, IIHF jerseys 1998–2002
File:Czech Republic national team jerseys 2006.png, 2006 IIHF jerseys
File:Czech Republic national team jerseys 2009.png, 2009 IIHF jerseys
File:Czech Republic national hockey team jerseys - 2014 Winter Olympics.png, 2014 Olympic jerseys
File:Czech Republic national team jerseys 2015.png, 2015–2019 IIHF jerseys
File:Czech Republic national ice hockey team jerseys 2018 (WOG).png, 2018 Olympic jerseys
File:Czech Republic national ice hockey team jerseys 2019 IHWC.png, 2019–2021 IIHF jerseys
File:Czech Republic national ice hockey team jerseys 2021 IHWC.png, 2021 IIHF jerseys
File:Czech Republic national ice hockey team jerseys 2022 (WOG).png, 2022 Olympic jerseys
File:Czech Republic national ice hockey team jerseys 2022 IHWC.png, 2022–2023 IIHF jerseys
File:Czech Republic national ice hockey team jerseys 2022 (WOG).png, 2024 IIHF Jerseys
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 profileNational Teams of Ice Hockey
{{National sports teams of the Czech Republic
National ice hockey teams in Europe
Ice hockey in the Czech Republic
1993 establishments in the Czech Republic
Men's national ice hockey teams