HERNING, Denmark -- David Pastrnak said he believes Czechia already has the foundation for success on the international hockey stage.
Now, after winning the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Prague last year, the Boston Bruins forward is hoping to see that momentum continue with an eye on the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics in February.
"We had a great Worlds last year at home and obviously we have a lot of young players," Pastrnak told NHL.com from the 2025 IIHF World Championship last week. "It's perfect. It's another step to build something with the group here, something towards the Olympics as a team."
Czechia, which defeated Kazakhstan 8-1 on Saturday, is well on its way.
The nation has won its first five games at the World Championship, including four in regulation, to lead Group B with two games remaining in the preliminary round. The medal round begins Thursday, with the gold-medal game set for May 25.
Though it is defending gold at the World Championship, Czechia did not participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, making it even more essential to build before the Olympics, according to Colorado Avalanche forward Martin Necas.
"Anytime you can put the national team jersey on, it's an honor," Necas said. "Whenever there's an opportunity, I'll never say no. I mean, it's big. Every time you get to put the national jersey on it's an honor. It's a little preparation for next year."
With the likes of Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche) of Canada, Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) of the United States, and a Sweden team that features 4 Nations participants Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers), Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators), Elias Lindholm (Bruins) and Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings), Pastrnak sees an opportunity for Czechia to play catch-up.
"Sweden, closer to the Olympics, all the guys from Canada probably had a great experience from the 4 Nations and felt excited about the tournament," said Pastrnak, who scored Czechia's golden goal in 2024. "It's great for hockey they are here. It's great for European fans that they get to see those players.
"We're trying to build something special and make sure we play every day."
Czechia won gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and bronze at the 2006 Turin Olympics. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the last year of NHL participation in the Games, they finished sixth.
They have won the World Championship seven times, in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2024.
Pastrnak, who has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the 2025 event, will play a significant part in Czechia trying to add gold in each tournament.
He is one of 15 skaters from Czechia to play at least 40 NHL games this season, a list that includes forwards Necas and Tomas Hertl (Vegas Golden Knights), defensemen Filip Hronek (Vancouver Canucks) and Radko Gudas (Anaheim Ducks). Two goalies, Lukas Dostal (Ducks) and Karel Vejmelka (Utah Mammoth), also made at least 40 starts.
That could leave room for additions from European teams, and Pastrnak is confident those skaters can step right in after his back-to-back World Championship appearances, helping set the structure in place for Czechia.
"For the European guys, there's so many tournaments they go to and they go to every camp and work their [butts] off to make the team," he said. "I have a huge respect for those guys because they go around to a lot of tournaments all season. The chemistry is there. There's a great group of guys here. That's why I love coming here, definitely one of the reasons. We're going to keep building.
"We're a small country trying to make our country proud."
