Iowa Wild players to compete in Winter Olympics for Slovakia and Czech Republic
IS IOWA’S NEWS LEADER KCCI EIGHT NEWS AT FIVE STARTS RIGHT NOW. THE COUNTDOWN IS ON. WE ARE JUST WEEKS AWAY FROM THE START OF THE 2026 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES. THOUSANDS OF ATHLETES FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD WILL MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE BIG STAGE IN ITALY TO COMPETE FOR GOLD. AND OF COURSE, IT WOULDN’T BE THE WINTER OLYMPICS WITHOUT HOCKEY. OF COURSE NOT. IN SOME IOWA WILD, PLAYERS IN DES MOINES ARE GETTING READY TO HEAD TO MILAN TO REPRESENT THEIR COUNTRIES. KCCI SHANNON EHRHARDT SHOWS US WHICH STARS ON THE ICE ARE HEADING TO ITALY. WELL, YOU GUYS, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW THIS. FIRST THINGS FIRST. IT’S THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2014 THAT NHL PLAYERS WILL BE COMPETING IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES. YOU MIGHT SAY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WELL, I MEAN THAT THE NHL IS TAKING AN OFFICIAL OLYMPIC BREAK THE IOWA WILD WILL HAVE TWO GUYS REPRESENTED AT THIS YEAR’S OLYMPICS, BUT IT WON’T BE FOR TEAM USA. GOALIE SAMUEL HALABI WILL PLAY FOR TEAM SLOVAKIA, AND DEFENSEMAN DAVID SPACEK IS ON THE CZECH TEAM. SPACEK LEADS THE TEAM IN ASSISTS AND RANKS SECOND IN POINTS. THE DEFENSEMAN ACTUALLY JUST GOT RECALLED TO MINNESOTA, SO HE’S NOT WITH IOWA AT THE MOMENT. THIS IS STAR TREK’S FIRST OLYMPICS, BUT HIS FATHER, JAROSLAV SPACEK, IS A THREE TIME OLYMPIAN. THIS WILL ALSO BE SAMUEL HOLLOWAY’S FIRST OLYMPICS. HE WILL START IN GOAL FOR SLOVAKIA. HOLLOWAY COMES WITH GLOBAL EXPERIENCE AS HE’S PLAYED IN THREE WORLD JUNIORS AND THREE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. HE SAID TO REPRESENT HIS COUNTRY AT THE OLYMPICS IS A DREAM COME TRUE. BUT IF HE WERE TO COMPETE IN A DIFFERENT SPORT, HE’D CHOOSE THE BIATHLON. I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S CALLED HERE THE SAME AS IN BIATHLON. IS IT CALLED HERE AS WELL? IS IT LIKE YOU RUN ON A SKI WITH THE GUN ON YOUR BACK AND SHOOTING? THAT FASCINATES ME BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO RUN. IT’S IN SKIS AND THEN YOU ARE LIKE, GASSED OUT AND THEN YOU HAVE TO SHOOT. AND IF YOU MISS, YOU HAVE TO RUN ANOTHER ROUND, YOU KNOW? IT’S FASCINATING. ME, I ALWAYS LIKE TO WATCH IT ON TV. I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW WHAT HOCKEY HAS TO DO WITH BIATHLON. AND IF THOSE SKILLS REALLY TRANSLATE. BUT HIS ANSWER WAS AUTOMATIC WHEN WE ASKED HIM ABOUT THIS. BUT HE WILL BE STARTING IN GOAL, NOT DOING THE BIATHLON FOR SLOVAKIA COME FEBRUARY. A LOT OF I TOLD US HE LEAVES FOR ITALY FEBRUARY 7TH. THE MEN’S HOCKEY TOURNAMENT STARTS FEBRUARY 11TH. YOU GUYS THANKS SHANNON. CLEARLY HE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE. IN WEST DES MOINES, NATIVE IS ON A FAST TRACK TO MAKE HISTORY. ZACH STOPPEL MORE WILL BE CHASING GOLD IN THE WINTER GAMES. HE COMPETES FEBRUARY 14TH. YOU CAN HEAR HOW ZACH MADE HIS BIG DREAM COME TRU
Iowa Wild players to compete in Winter Olympics for Slovakia and Czech Republic
Two players from the Iowa Wild are preparing to represent their countries at the Winter Olympics in Milan, with goalie Samuel Hlavaj playing for Slovakia and defenseman David Špaček joining the Czech team.Špaček leads the team in assists and ranks second in points. The defenseman has been recalled to Minnesota, so he is not currently with Iowa. This will be Špaček’s first Olympics, but his father, Jaroslav Špaček, is a three-time Olympian who won both gold and bronze with the Czech Republic.This will also be Samuel Hlavaj’s first Olympics, where he will start in goal for Slovakia. Hlavaj has previously played in three World Juniors and three World Championships, but he said this experience is different. Hlavaj is set to leave for the Olympics on Feb. 7, with the men’s tournament starting on Feb. 11.In other news for the Iowa Wild, rookie forward Hunter Haight has been selected for the AHL All-Star team. The All-Star Classic is scheduled for Feb. 10 and 11 in Rockford, Illinois.
Two players from the Iowa Wild are preparing to represent their countries at the Winter Olympics in Milan, with goalie Samuel Hlavaj playing for Slovakia and defenseman David Špaček joining the Czech team.
Špaček leads the team in assists and ranks second in points. The defenseman has been recalled to Minnesota, so he is not currently with Iowa. This will be Špaček’s first Olympics, but his father, Jaroslav Špaček, is a three-time Olympian who won both gold and bronze with the Czech Republic.
This will also be Samuel Hlavaj’s first Olympics, where he will start in goal for Slovakia. Hlavaj has previously played in three World Juniors and three World Championships, but he said this experience is different.
Hlavaj is set to leave for the Olympics on Feb. 7, with the men’s tournament starting on Feb. 11.
In other news for the Iowa Wild, rookie forward Hunter Haight has been selected for the AHL All-Star team. The All-Star Classic is scheduled for Feb. 10 and 11 in Rockford, Illinois.