General managers and coaches are conducting evaluations for their 2026 Olympic rosters as well as aiming to capture medals in Stockholm, Sweden on 25 May, which heightens the intrigue this year. Let’s take a closer look at the contenders and pretenders.
Czechia
In 2024, Radim Rulik sealed his fame by guiding Czechia to the gold medal in Prague in his first tour as the national team head coach. It will be challenging – but not impossible – to match that feat this year. A huge plus is the return of superstar Boston winger David Pastrnak, who scored the winner against the Swiss in the 2024 final, along with still-evolving Colorado ace Martin Necas. Ditto for adding Vancouver’s Filip Hronek, named Best Defenceman at the 2019 Worlds in Slovakia.
Still, there is a drop-off in depth, both on defence and among the bottom-six forwards. And likely starting goalie Karel Vejmelka, coming off 58 games with Utah (2.58 GAA, 90.4 save percentage), will be hard-pressed to match Lukas Dostal’s 2024 all-star performance. Captain Roman Cervenka, 39, is the reigning IIHF Male Player of the Year and just led the Czech playoffs with 19 points for Pardubice. If he can inspire his fellow Europe-based skaters to elevate their games again, you never know. Certainly, anything less than a medal this year would be a disappointment.
Denmark
This is the second time the Danes have pursued a straightforward objective as a host nation: make the quarter-finals (2010, 2016). They fell short in 2018 in Herning with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Latvia to end the preliminary round. And once again, Danish dreams hang by a thread.
The roster isn’t as shiny as the one that secured a 2026 Olympic berth on home ice in Aalborg in September. Generating scoring will be harder without veteran NHLers like Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg), Lars Eller (Washington), and Oliver Bjorkstrand (Tampa Bay). Forwards Nicklas Jensen (Rapperswil-Jona) and Patrick Russell (Linkoping), who each scored twice in the 4-1 win over Norway to punch their tickets to Milan, face extra pressure to produce in this scenario.
The togetherness of a seasoned defensive core, led by Jesper Jensen Aabo, will be critical, especially…
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