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. 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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Games
! GP
! W
!OW
! T
!OL
! L
! GF
! GA
! Coach
! Captain
! Finish
! Rank
|-
|1920–1992 || colspan=13|As part of
|-
| 1994 Lillehammer
| 8
| 5
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 3
| 30
| 18
| Ivan Hlinka
| Otakar Janecký
| 5th place match
| 5th
|-
| style="background:gold;"| 1998 Nagano
| 6
| 5
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 19
| 6
| Ivan Hlinka
| |Vladimír Růžička
| Champions
|
|-
| 2002 Salt Lake City
| 4
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 2
| 12
| 8
| |Josef Augusta
| Jaromír Jágr
| Quarter-finals
| 7th
|-
| style="background:#c96;"| 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
| 11
| |Vladimír Růžička
| Patrik Eliáš
| Quarter-finals
| 7th
|-
| 2014 Sochi
| 5
| 2
| 0
| –
| 0
| 3
| 13
| 15
| Alois Hadamczik
| Tomáš Plekanec
| Quarter-finals
| 6th
|-
| style="background:#9acdff;"| 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 || colspan="12" align=center| Future event
|}
World Championship
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Championship
! GP
! W
! OW
! T
! OL
! L
! GF
! GA
! Coach
! Captain
! Finish
! Rank
|-
|1920 – 1992 || colspan=12|As part of
|-
| style="background:#c96;"| 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
|Quarterfinal
|7th
|-
| style="background:#9acdff;"| 1995 Stockholm, Gävle
|8
|4
|–
|0
|–
|4
|17
|16
|Luděk Bukač
|Jiří Kučera
|Bronze medal game
|4th
|-
|bgcolor=gold| 1996 Vienna
|8
|7
|–
|1
|–
|0
|42
|15
|Luděk Bukač
|Robert Reichel
|Champions
|
|-
| style="background:#c96;"| 1997 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku
|9
|6
|–
|0
|–
|3
|30
|20
|Ivan Hlinka
|Robert Reichel
|Bronze medal game
|
|-
| style="background:#c96;"| 1998 Basel, Zürich
|9
|6
|–
|2
|–
|1
|33
|16
|Ivan Hlinka
|Robert Reichel
|Bronze medal game
|
|-
|bgcolor=gold| 1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer
|12
|9
|–
|0
|–
|3
|46
|24
|Ivan Hlinka
|Pavel Patera
|Champions
|
|-
|bgcolor=gold| 2000 St. Petersburg
|9
|8
|0
|0
|0
|1
|41
|19
|Josef Augusta
|Robert Reichel
|Champions
|
|-
|bgcolor=gold| 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
|Quarterfinal
|5th
|-
| style="background:#9acdff;"| 2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku
|9
|6
|0
|1
|0
|2
|36
|21
|Slavomír Lener
|Robert Reichel
|Bronze medal game
|4th
|-
|style="border:3px solid red;| 2004 Prague, Ostrava
|7
|6
|0
|0
|1
|0
|28
|8
|Slavomír Lener
|Martin Straka
|Quarterfinal
|5th
|-
|bgcolor=gold| 2005 Vienna, Innsbruck
|9
|8
|0
|0
|0
|1
|25
|9
|Vladimír Růžička
|David Výborný
|Champions
|
|-
| style="background:silver;"| 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
|Quarterfinal
|7th
|-
| 2008 Quebec City, Halifax
|7
|3
|1
|–
|2
|1
|29
|19
|Alois Hadamczik
|Tomáš Kaberle
|Quarterfinal
|5th
|-
| 2009 Bern, Kloten
|7
|4
|0
|–
|0
|3
|26
|14
|Vladimír Růžička
|Marek Židlický
|Quarterfinal
|6th
|-
|bgcolor=gold| 2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen
|9
|5
|2
|–
|0
|2
|25
|16
|Vladimír Růžička
|Tomáš Rolinek
|Champions
|
|-
| style="background:#c96;"| 2011 Bratislava, Košice
|9
|8
|0
|–
|0
|1
|36
|18
|Alois Hadamczik
|Tomáš Rolinek
|Bronze medal game
|
|-
| style="background:#c96;"| 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
|Quarterfinal
|7th
|-
| style="background:#9acdff;"| 2014 Minsk
|10
|3
|2
|–
|2
|3
|24
|27
|Vladimír Růžička
|Tomáš Rolinek
|Bronze medal game
|4th
|-
| style="border:3px solid red;background:#9acdff;| 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
|Quarterfinal
|5th
|-
| 2017 Paris, Cologne
|8
|3
|2
|–
|0
|3
|23
|17
|Josef Jandač
|Jakub Voráček
|Quarterfinal
|7th
|-
| 2018 Copenhagen, Herning
|8
|3
|3
|–
|0
|2
|29
|18
|Josef Jandač
|Roman Červenka
|Quarterfinal
|7th
|-
| style="background:#9acdff;"| 2019 Bratislava, Košice
|10
|7
|0
|–
|1
|2
|47
|23
|Miloš Říha
|Jakub Voráček
|Bronze medal game
|4th
|-
|2020
| colspan="12" style="text-align:center;"|Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
|-
| 2021 Riga
|8
|3
|2
|–
|0
|3
|27
|19
|Filip Pešán
|Jan Kovář
|Quarterfinal
|7th
|-
| style="background:#c96;"| 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
|Quarterfinal
|8th
|-
|style="border:3px solid red; background:gold;"| 2024 Prague, Ostrava
|10
|7
|1
|–
|2
|0
|36
|17
|Radim Rulík
|Roman Červenka
|Champions
|
|-
| 2025 Stockholm, Herning
|8
|5
|1
|–
|0
|2
|37
|19
|Radim Rulík
|Roman Červenka
|Quarterfinal
|6th
|-
| 2026 Zurich, Fribourg
|8
|4
|0
|–
|1
|3
|20
|21
|Radim Rulík
|Roman Červenka
|Quarterfinal
|5th
|-
| 2027 Düsseldorf, Mannheim
| colspan="12" style="text-align:center;"|Future event
|}
World Cup of Hockey
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
! GP
! W
!OW
! T
!OL
! 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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!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
{| width="80%" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align: center;"
!No.
!Pos.
!Name
!Height
!Weight
!Birthdate
!Team
|-
| 6 || D || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | Brynäs IF
|-
| 8 || F || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Energie Karlovy Vary
|-
| 10 || F || align="left" | – C || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Dynamo Pardubice
|-
| 11 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| Utica Comets
|-
| 12 || F || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Energie Karlovy Vary
|-
| 17 || D || align="left" | – A || || || || style="text-align:left;" | Vancouver Canucks
|-
| 18 || F || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | EV Zug
|-
| 19 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| Kometa Brno
|-
| 23 || F || align="left" | – A || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Dynamo Pardubice
|-
| 24 || D || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Kometa Brno
|-
| 26 || D || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | Oulun Kärpät
|-
| 27 || D || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | Florida Panthers
|-
| 32 || G || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Sparta Praha
|-
| 39 || G || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | Ilves
|-
| 49 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers
|-
| 55 || D || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Dynamo Pardubice
|-
| 60 || G || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
|-
| 61 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| HC Dynamo Pardubice
|-
| 65 || D || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | Motor České Budějovice
|-
| 79 || D || align="left" | || || || || style="text-align:left;" | HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
|-
| 81 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| Providence Bruins
|-
| 87 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| HC Oceláři Třinec
|-
| 89 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| HC Dynamo Pardubice
|-
| 95 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;"| EV Zug
|-
| 96 || F || align=left| || || || || style="text-align:left;" | 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
<gallery class="center" widths="180" caption="National team jerseys">
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
</gallery>
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