Olympic men’s hockey roster rollouts continued Tuesday with Czechia, Latvia and France announcing their rosters for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. Here’s what to know about the countries’ rosters before the men’s tournament kicks off Feb. 11.
Czechia
Czechia is in something of a league of its own on the international stage. It’s never truly lumped in with the Big Four — Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland — but it’s too talent-rich to be grouped in a lower tier with teams such as Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany.
Czechia’s ninth-place finish in the 2022 Beijing Olympics was the first time the nation failed to reach the medal round at any Olympics or World Championships since splitting off from Czechoslovakia in 1993, a remarkable run of consistency.
The 1998 Olympic gold medalists and seven-time world champs will be a factor in Milan, but will they be able to contend for a medal? Well, they have a top six that can hang with the big boys, including David Pastrňák, Martin Nečas, Tomáš Hertl and Pavel Zacha, with some strong depth forwards in Radek Faksa, Ondřej Palát and Filip Chytil, who’s expected to be back from injury in time for the tournament. And they have excellent goaltending.
The question is, can their blue line hold up against the likes of Canada, the U.S. and Sweden? Only three Czech defensemen have played in the NHL this season, so head coach Radim Rulík will have to lean heavily on Vancouver’s Filip Hronek and Anaheim’s Radko Gudas, along with Minnesota’s 22-year-old David Jiricek, who’s split time between the NHL and AHL this season. It’s a big ask.
Player to watch: David Pastrňák
Pastrňák isn’t just the best player on the Czech roster; he’s one of the best players in the world.
With five consecutive 40-goal seasons (not counting the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 campaign), including a 61-goal campaign in 2022-23, Pastrňák has the kind of game-breaking talent that can significantly close the talent gap against the big four. He’s a proven big-game performer, too, at nearly a point a game in 90 Stanley Cup playoff games (39 goals and 48 assists) and six goals and nine assists in just eight games at the 2025 World Championships.
The Czechs are too talented to reasonably say that they’ll go only as far as Pastrňák can take them, but he is the only skater they have who can take over a game by himself. Even with Czechia’s offensive star power, Pastrňák could again find himself on a line with 40-year-old Czech stalwart Roman Červenka, who has been a consistently productive player in Europe for two decades, and who starred in both the 2024 and 2025 World Championships.
X-factor: Ondřej Palát
During the NHL regular season, Palát is a solid middle-six winger. However, in the Stanley Cup playoffs, he’s historically been a monster, with 27 goals in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s three consecutive runs to the Stanley Cup Final from 2020-22. At 34 years old, does he have one more big tournament run in him?
Key to success: Goaltending
Is Czechia the new Finland? Eight Czech goalies have patrolled NHL creases this season, with both Utah and Anaheim having all-Czech tandems. The Ducks’ Lukáš Dostál has taken something of a step back this season, but he’s shown he can be a world-class talent when he’s on his game. He’ll be competing for time with Philadelphia’s Daniel Vladar and Utah’s Karel Vejmelka, who beat out Montreal’s Jakub Dobeš for the other two spots.
With David Rittich, Petr Mrázek and Vitek Vaněček also in the mix, Czechia’s goaltending depth is perhaps as good as any country’s outside the U.S. Once you get to the medal round, it only takes one excellent goaltending performance to upend an entire tournament. Canada’s 2014 team was one of the most dominant hockey teams we’ve ever seen, and even they were almost knocked out in the Olympic quarterfinals because of one goaltender, Latvia’s Kristers Gudļevskis, who made 55 saves in a nail-biting 2-1 Canadian victory.
Latvia
Latvia is always a long shot in these tournaments. Still, there are some familiar names on the roster, with six NHLers (goaltenders Elvis Merzļikins and Artūrs Šilovs, defenseman Uvis Balinskis, and forwards Rodrigo Ābols, Zemgus Girgensons and Teddy Bļugers) and four AHLers. Former NHLers Kaspars Daugavinš and Rūdolfs Balcers are also on the team.
Player to watch: Eduards Tralmaks
Goals have been challenging to come by for Latvia in recent years, and three-time Olympian Lauris Darzinš, who led the team in Sochi with four goals in five games and in Beijing with two goals in three games, is retired. But with 14 tallies in 31 games with the AHL-leading Grand Rapids Griffins, Tralmarks can provide some scoring punch. He spent the last two seasons with Jaromir Jágr’s Kladno Knights, scoring 44 goals in 100 games.
X-factor: Ēriks Mateiko
He’s just 20 years old, but the Washington Capitals picked him in the third round of the 2024 draft, the highest-drafted Latvian in the past decade. After four solid years in the QMJHL, he has a goal and four assists in 25 games in his first season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Key to success: Goaltending
Gudļevskis is back for his second Olympics, but Latvia’s best hope will be the Blue Jackets’ Merzļikins or the Penguins’ Šilovs stealing a game or two.
France
Because of Russia’s exclusion, France is back at the Olympics for the first time since 2002, when it finished 14th among 14 teams in Salt Lake City.
Player to watch: Alexandre Texier
Texier, a 26-year-old Canadiens winger, is the only NHL player on the French roster. He had his best season two years ago with the Columbus Blue Jackets, with 12 goals and 18 assists.
X-factor: Pierre-Édouard Bellemare
The 40-year-old forward is a veteran of 700 NHL games. He’s never been much of an offensive force, but he’s a strong penalty killer and defensive forward. France will need all the defensive help it can get against some of the traditional powers.
Key to success: Enjoying the moment
It’s a big deal for France to be back in the tournament at all. With France hosting the 2030 Games, it’s a step in the right direction toward putting together a more competitive team on home soil.