In the first round of the playoffs, was faced off against Team Switzerland. The Swiss had finished third in Group A with a two wins and two losses in regulation during the tournament.

Czechia started slow against Switzerland and gave up a 2-1 lead before the first seven minutes of the second period, but Orsulak shut things down the rest of the way and dominated in a 6-2 win. Orsulak stopped 18 of 20 shots faced for a 0.900 save percentage.

Orsulak got the nod again in the semi final rematch against Canada. The Canadians finished preliminary rounds without a loss and had just come off a quarterfinal win over Slovakia 7-1.

Again it was a high scoring game, and Canada managed to tie the game at 4-4 with less than three minutes left in the game. Just over a minute later, Czechia scored their winner and added an empty netter, and Orsulak made some of his best saves of the tournament to post a 0.830 save percentage and help Czechia to their first gold medal final since losing to Canada in 2023.

On to the gold medal round, and Czechia was faced off against the number one seed coming out of Group A, the undefeated Team Sweden. The Swedes won all four games in round robin in regulation, then beat Latvia 6-3 in the quarterfinals, and their rival Finland 4-3 in overtime during the semifinal.

In the first period of the gold medal final, Orsulak had one puck get by him in the first five minutes of the game off a tip, but it hit the post and came out the other side. Later, about seven minutes left in the period, Man made a great block near the crease to keep the period tied at 0-0.

At the 14:45 mark, Sweden was shorthanded and Orsulak was forced to make a great diving save after Jack Berglund burned the defence, but Berglund found the rebound behind the net and centered it out the other side for Casper Juustovaara, and he hit the empty net as Orsulak tried to get back to the other side of the goal. Orsulak had to make two great consecutive saves before the final minute of the period, but it stayed a close 1-0 game for Sweden through the first period.

In the second period, a shot was blocked in front of the net, and both a Czech defenceman and a Swedish forward both whacked at the puck, it came to the side of the goal, and Victor Ecklund found the rebound before Orsulak could recover and gave the Swedes a 2-0 lead 9:21 in. Sweden continued their domination in the third period when Ivar Stenborg circled the top of the zone and set up a Sascha Boumedienne onetimer, and Sweden was up 3-0 before the five minute mark of the third.

The Czechs would pull Orsulak with over three minutes left, and the Czechs were able to work the puck to the left point for Adam Jiricek with 2:34 left in the game to get the Czechs on the board. With Orsulak on the bench, the Czechs dominated and with 23 seconds left another onetimer from the left point from Matej Kubiesa would find the back of the net to bring the Czechs within one.

Just after the 3-2 goal, the Czechs dumped the puck into the offensive zone, but the Swedes quickly cleared it back out as Orsulak returned to the bench. The Swedes his the empty net to make it 4-2, and Orsulak and Man had earned silver medals for their country.

Man was held without a point during the gold medal final and finished with two assists and a +1 during the tournament. Orsulak stopped 31 of 34 shots during the gold medal final, good for a 0.910 save percentage.

For the Czechs, it marks the country’s seventh medal at the World Juniors, and just their second silver medal. They earned their first in a loss to Canada in 2023. It’s also their fourth straight year earning a medal.

Former Prince Albert Raider Matej Kubiesa earned player of the game for Czechia during the gold medal final. Since Kubiesa played wth the Raiders in 2023-24, Kubiesa has been playing in his home country.

Along with the Raiders Orsulak and Man, their were a total of ten WHLers in Team Czechia’s lineup.

Prince Albert Raiders: Michal Orsulak and Matyas Man
Edmonton Oil Kings: Max Curran
Red Deer Rebels: Sam Drancak
Kelowna Rockets: Tomas Poletin and Vojtech Cihar
Vancouver Giants: Adam Titlbach
Tri-City Americans: Jakub Vanecek
Portland Winterhawks: Max Psenicka
Seattle Thunderbirds: Radim Mrtka