As the 2026 World Junior Championship (WJC) grows near, with the preliminary round play beginning on Dec. 26, countries are starting to announce their preliminary and final rosters. Czechia, which won bronze at last year’s tournament, announced its 26-man roster (there is likely to be at least a cut or two before play starts). What does the roster look like for a Czechia team looking to continue their strong performances at the WJC tournament?
Czechia Forwards
Adam Benák, Maxmilian Curran, Vojtěch Čihař, Samuel Drančák, Štepán Hoch, Adam Jecho, Jiří Klima, Matěj Kubiesa, Václav Nestrašil, Adam Novotný, Tomáš Poletin, Petr Sikora, Adam Titlbach, Richard Žemlička
The Czech forward group has a chance to be one of the more exciting ones in this year’s tournament, led by the “Adam” duo of Adam Benák and Adam Novotný. Both players made their way to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season, after Benák was selected in this year’s Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft (along with Czechia teammate Tomáš Poletin), and have looked great as they adjust to the North American style of play. Benák was a fourth-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft and has continued to put the doubters to rest when it comes to concerns over his size.
Novotný is in his draft-year season with the Peterborough Petes and is viewed by many as a potential top 15 pick in the 2026 Draft. A strong showing by him in the WJC could help elevate him even more when it comes to his draft stock. Both he and Benák have been strong players at the international level for Czechia and will be two players to watch on this year’s roster.
To go along with these two players is a deep group, including eight NHL draft picks and four returners. They will need players like Petr Sikora (Washington Capitals) and Adam Jecho (St. Louis Blues) to continue their strong play at the tournament to help fill the void left by Eduard Šalé (Seattle Kraken) and Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues). Overall, the Czechs have plenty of firepower to keep up with teams like Finland and Canada, both of which are in Group B with Czechia.
Czechia Defensemen
Vashek Blanár, Vladimír Dravecký, Jakub Fibigr, Tomáš Galvas, Adam Jiříček, Matyáš Man, Radim Mrtka, Max Pšenička, Jakub Vaněček
Another group that is seeing its fair share of returners, with three defensemen from last year’s team playing in this year’s tournament, the Czechs do have a solid grouping they are taking to Minneapolis. With a mix of returners and newcomers who have plenty of upside and success at the Under-18 level, Czechia has a good chance of fielding one of the deepest defensive groups outside the United States and Canada.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
In last year’s tournament, Czechia only got one goal from their defensemen, but this year should be different, with a group that has plenty of offensive production in their games. Led by returner Jakub Fibgr (Seattle Kraken), Adam Jiříček (St. Louis Blues), and 2025 Buffalo Sabres first-round pick Radim Mrtka, there will be no shortage of offensive potential from the defense.
Czechia Goaltenders
Matyáš Mařík, Jakub Milota, Michal Oršulák
There isn’t much of a surprise about who made the cut at goaltender for Czechia. The biggest question surrounding the position was whether or not Jakub Milota (Nashville Predators) would be healthy and ready to play in the tournament this season. He just recently returned to action for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) after being out since mid-October. He has been great in his first three appearances this season and will likely be looked at to be the lead guy in the crease for the Czechs this year. In last year’s tournament, Milota did not get in the net, with Michael Hrabal (Utah Mammoth) being the number one starter.
If Milota is not the clear-cut number one starter for Czechia, the team does have two other solid options in Matyáš Mařík and Michal Oršulák. Both have had strong starts to their seasons with their respective teams. Mařík does not have nearly as much international experience as Oršulak, playing only five games compared to Oršulak’s 15 games. The talent at the goaltending position overall is strong enough to keep the Czechs in contention throughout the preliminary round.
Czechia Should Be An Exciting Team to Watch
As mentioned before, Czechia is in Group B alongside Finland and Canada and will have to fight for a top-two spot. But with the talent at all three levels of the ice that they have, mixed with a youthful group, they have a chance to be one of the more exciting teams to watch at the 2026 WJC as they look to build off last year’s bronze medal.
