Canada is set to begin the IIHF World Championship on Saturday against Slovenia with an all-NHL lineup.

It didn’t look like that a week ago when several junior-aged and European-based players were in the lineup. However, in what THN’s Adam Proteau described as “The Sidney Crosby Effect,” once the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar declared his intention to play in his third career World Championship on Sunday, he was soon followed by Nathan MacKinnon and Marc-André Fleury. Since then, Stanley Cup first-round casualties Jared Spurgeon, Mike Matheson, Jordan Binnington, Brayden Schenn and Phillip Danault have joined the team.

The only non-NHLer remaining on the roster is presumptive third-string goalie Dylan Garland of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, who is unlikely to see tournament action unless there’s an injury.

A similar thing happened back in 2015, the last time Crosby played in a World Championship. Canada’s roster was looking run-of-the-mill that spring until Crosby said yes after the Penguins missed the playoffs. By the time Canada took the ice for its first game, the team included the likes of Taylor Hall, Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, Jason Spezza, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Seguin, Dan Hamhuis and Brent Burns. It also included MacKinnon, Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly, who are all back this year.

That Canadian team started with a 6-1 win over Latvia, finished with a 6-1 win over Russia in the final, and ran the table with a perfect 10-0 record in that tournament, winning every game in regulation time and outscoring its opponents 66-15.

Since then, no team has managed a perfect record at the Worlds. We’ll soon see how far this roster can take the team. 

Goaltenders: Marc-André Fleury (Minnesota Wild), Dylan Garand (Hartford Wolf Pack, AHL / New York Rangers), Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues).

Defensemen: Noah Dobson (New York Islanders), Ryker Evans (Seattle Kraken), Mike Matheson (Montreal Canadiens), Brandon Montour (Seattle Kraken), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia Flyers), Jared Spurgeon (Minnesota Wild), MacKenzie Weegar (Calgary Flames).

Forwards: Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Will Cuylle (New York Rangers), Phillip Danault (Los Angeles Kings), Adam Fantilli (Columbus Blue Jackets), Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers), Barrett Hayton (Utah HC), Bo Horvat (New York Islanders), Kent Johnson (Columbus Blue Jackets), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Ryan O’Reilly (Nashville Predators), Brayden Schenn (St. Louis Blues).

Can This Roster Break USA’s World Championship Semifinal Curse?Can the team that USA Hockey has assembled to represent the country at this year’s IIHF World Championship reach the final? Previous teams have appeared good enough on paper.

Czech goaltender Jakub Škarek, 26, has signed a contract with IFK Helsinki, the Liiga club announced on Friday. The deal is for a year plus an option.

“I am really competitive. For me, the most important thing is to help the team win,” said Škarek. “II am very happy to have signed a contract with HIFK. The club has a long history and is a name known throughout the hockey world. I am really excited to join the team.”

After being a third-round draft pick of the New York Islanders in 2018, Škarek spent almost all of the past six seasons in the Isles organization, mostly in the AHL with the Bridgeport Islanders but he played two NHL games last season.

“Jakub is a very experienced goalie for his age,” said club sports director Janne Pesonen. “His sights are on the NHL and Jakub has already had a taste of that dream. We are happy that he feels that HIFK is the right place for him to take the next step in his career, and he will definitely bring competition to our goaltending department.”

Originally from Jihlava, Czechia and a product of the local Dukla club, this will already be Škarek’s third stop in Finland. After being drafted, he spent the 2018-19 season with the Lahti Pelicans, playing 22 Liiga games and seven in the second-tier Mestis. He returned to Lahti to play four games for Peliitat in 2020-21 while the start of the AHL season was delayed by pandemic-related restrictions.

This past season, IFK Helsinki finished fourth in the Liiga regular season and was eliminated in the quarterfinals – falling behind 3-0, winning three in a row, then losing Game 7 at home to the Lahti Pelicans.

In addition to Škorek, the team has under contract for 2025-26 ex-NHLers Jori Lehterä, Iiro Pakarinen and Petteri Lindbohm, as well as 19-year-old Minnesota Wild prospect Aron Kiviharju. The team will be coached by Olli Jokinen.

Olli Jokinen Explains Viral “F-Bomb” VideoFormer NHL defenseman Olli Jokinen is now in his fourth year of coaching professional hockey, but it’s only been since an expletive-laced video of him trying to motivate his Timrå team went viral in the last few days that many outside of Finland or Sweden have known it.

Hockey Slovakia released a list of 26 players that will be headed to Stockholm, Sweden for this year’s IIHF World Championship. It includes no full-time NHL players, most notably Juraj Slafkovský, whose decision not to play is covered in depth by Karine Hains on THN’s Montreal Canadiens site.

Players under NHL contracts that have played either most or all of the season in the AHL include goaltender Samuel Hlavaj of the Minnesota Wild, defenseman Samuel Kňažko of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and forwards Dalibor Dvorský of the St. Louis Blues, Samuel Honzek of the Calgary Flames, Martin Chromiak of the Los Angeles Kings and Adam Sýkora of the New York Rangers. Kňažko, whose Cleveland Monsters were just eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs, will meet the team in Stockholm.

Pavol Regenda, a San Jose Sharks prospect, is two games away from elimination with the San Jose Barracuda and, reportedly, will likely join the Slovaks if his AHL team is eliminated this round.

This will be the first World Championship since 2021 that the Slovaks have included KHL players on their roster. For three years, Hockey Slovakia refused to select any player from the Russian-based league for its national teams.

However, in a controversial reversal of policy, Slovakia chose three KHL players to its Olympic qualifying roster in August. One of those, defenseman Mário Grman, is on this team as well. One other has been selected to this team: Patrik Rybár, who was the starting goaltender on the 2022 Olympic bronze-medal team.

Interestingly, neither Martin nor Kristián Pospišil is on this team. Martin plays for Calgary, which missed the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Kristián won the Czech Extraliga championship as a member of Kometa Brno. Both brothers were vocal last year about their objection to allowing KHL players on the team, but both ultimately played in the Olympic qualifiers.

Other than AHL and KHL players, the roster includes 10 players from the Czech Extraliga, five from the domestic Slovak Extraliga and two from Switzerland’s National League.

Martin Pospíšil after Olympic qualifiers: “It was never anything against the players” from the KHL Martin Pospíšil was calm and reflective after Slovakia’s 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday in Bratislava, which qualified the team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Finnish winger Roby Järventie, 22, has signed a three-year contract with Tappara, the Liiga club announced on Tuesday.

A Tampere native, Järventie is returning to his hometown after spending the past four seasons in North America in the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers organizations.

“Really good feeling – it’s nice to be home,” Järventie is quoted on the Tappara website. “It’s always been a dream to play together with my brother, so this is a great opportunity to make that dream come true.”

Roby’s younger brother Emil, 20, was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023. The two brothers are actually products of rival club Ilves but Emil transferred to Tappara last season, where he split time between the club’s Liiga and top junior teams. This will be Roby’s first tour of duty with Tappara. Due to their age difference, this will be the first time the brothers have played together on the same team.

Roby Järventie was chosen in the second round, 33rd overall, by Ottawa in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He then went to North America late in the pandemic-delayed 2021 season to play for the AHL’s Belleville Senators, recording three points in four games.

After playing a full season with Belleville in 2021-22, Järventie missed significant amounts of the next two campaigns with a recurring knee injury. He managed to play seven NHL games with Ottawa in 2023-24, recording one assist.

In the summer of 2024, he was traded to Edmonton. Järventie missed training camp after another knee surgery but only managed to play in two AHL games with the Bakersfield Condors in November before re-injuring his knee and has not played since.

According to an  Ilta-Sanomat article in March, Järventie’s rehab has been going well and he is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in late summer with Tappara.

In addition to the Järventie brothers, Tappara has also signed veteran defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, who played 150 NHL games for the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames. The club also has Calgary prospect Eetu Tuola and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Oiva Keskinen under contract for 2025-26.

Topi Rönni’s Contract With Finnish Club Terminated Due To Public UproarFinnish center Topi Rönni, who recently signed as a free agent with Liiga club Vaasan Sport, has agreed to part ways with the club after the signing drew intense criticism from the Finnish public and media.

Canada originally named 15 players to the team it will take to this year’s IIHF World Championship in Sweden and Denmark. On Sunday, after the team played a pre-tournament game in Vienna against Austria, Hockey Canada announced that Sidney Crosby will join the team. As well, a day after his Colorado Avalanche were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, The Athletic reported that Nathan MacKinnon will join the team as well.

The pair previously played together at the 2015 Worlds in Prague, where Canada won gold. That title made Crosby a member of the exclusive Triple Gold Club – membership requires gold medals from the World Championships and the Olympics, as well as a Stanley Cup victory. MacKinnon has two of those and might get a shot at an Olympic gold next year. 

Canada beat Austria 5-1 on Sunday, getting two points each from Will Cuylle, Ryan O’Reilly and Noah Dobson. Dylan Garand stopped 22 of 23 Austrian shots.

With NHL players still being added to the roster, the game against Austria featured a number of junior and European-based players, including Porter Martone, a highly-ranked prospect for this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. Canada’s third goal was scored by Ty Ronning – son of ex-NHLer Cliff Ronning, assisted by Eisbären Berlin teammate and ex-NHLer Zach Boychuk and British-born ex-NHLer Brendan Perlini, who plays in Switzerland. Perlini’s older brother Brett plays regularly for the British national team.

Canada plays another pre-tournament game on Tuesday in Budapest against Hungary. After that, presumably some of the non-NHL Canadians will fly home and the rest of the players will be off to Stockholm, where they will play their first World Championship game on Saturday against Slovenia.

Binnington, Bedard, coach Tourigny react to Canada's bronze-medal lossThe bronze-medal game featured two teams that suffered their first defeats of the tournament in Saturday’s semifinals. Less than 24 hours later, Sweden erased a 2-1 third-period deficit and defeated Canada 4-2.

The roster so far (players denoted with a * are junior European-based players who might be replaced if more NHLers are added):

Goaltenders: Dylan Garand (Hartford Wolf Pack, AHL / NY Rangers), Carter George* (Owen Sound Attack, OHL / Los Angeles Kings).

Defensemen: Noah Dobson (New York Islanders, NHL), Ryker Evans, Brandon Montour (both Seattle Kraken, NHL), Mackenzie Weegar (Calgary Flames, NHL), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia Flyers, NHL), Zayne Parekh* (Saginaw Spirit, OHL / Calgary), Harrison Brunicke* (Kamloops Blazers, WHL / Pittsburgh), Nicolas Beaudin* (Kometa Brno, CZE).

Forwards: Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks, NHL), Will Cuylle (New York Rangers, NHL), Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli (both Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL), Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster (both Philadelphia, NHL), Barrett Hayton (Utah HC, NHL), Bo Horvat (NY Islanders, NHL), Ryan O’Reilly (Nashville Predators, NHL), Sidney Crosby (Pittburgh Penguins, NHL), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche, NHL), Porter Martone* (Brampton Steelheads, OHL), Ty Ronning*, Zach Boychuk* (both Eisbären Berlin, DEL), Brendan Perlini* (Lausanne HC, SUI).

Connor Bedard cool under pressureConnor Bedard started the 2024 IIHF World Championship like a house on fire with five goals and an assist in Canada’s first three games. There have been no points since then but, no matter, the Canadians have emerged victorious all three times, and have taken 17 of 18 possible points overall.

Finland lost its first game of the final leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour on Thursday night in Brno, Czechia 4-2 to the host Czechs. Finland’s goals were scored by Lenni Hämeenaho of Ässät Pori and defenseman Veli-Matti Vittasmäki of German club Kölner Haie – the latter was a late addition to the roster.

“The guy came on hard, maybe we weren’t quite ready and the game started off a little badly, but we were able to improve as the game progressed,” Hämeenaho said after the game. “Today’s game was tougher and more physical than the (previous exhibition) games against Sweden. I noticed that the level has risen.”

Juuse Saros stopped 30 of 33 shots in the Finnish goal – Jakub Lauko beat him in the third minute of the game and also scored a late goal into the empty net.

Pastrnak Will Play For Czechs In Worlds, But Not This Weekend In Euro Hockey Tour Multiple Czech media outlets reported on Monday that David Pastrňák has finally agreed to play for his home country in this year’s IIHF World Championship. Czech national team GM Jiří Šlégr confirmed the news after the team’s practise.

Finland’s roster currently includes five NHLers, including Saros and Nashville Predators backup goalie Justus Annunen. Also on the team are forwards Joona Koppanen of the Pittburgh Penguins, Juuso Pärssinen of the New York Rangers and Eeli Tolvanen of the Seattle Kraken.

Under previous coach Jukka Jalonen, Finland often relied on European-based players who were familiar with the team’s system ahead of NHLers, but it will be interesting to see if new coach Antti Pennanen decides to add any players who are eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Report: NHL Teams Interested In Finnish D-Man Valtteri Pulli According to Finnish media outlet MTV, multiple NHL teams are interested in the services of 23-year-old Finnish defenseman Valtteri Pulli, who currently plays in Switzerland for HC Lugano.

Goaltenders: Justus Annunen, Juuse Saros (both Nashville, NHL), Emil Larmi (Växjö Lakers, SWE).

Defensemen: Robin Salo, Lassi Thomson (both Malmö Redhawks, SWE), Atro Leppänen (Sport Vaasa), Tony Sund (IFK Helsinki), Mikko Lehtonen (ZSC Lions, SUI), Valtteri Pulli (HC Lugano, SUI), Rasmus Rissanen (Linköping HC, SWE), Vili Saarijärvi (SCL Tigers, SUI), Mikael Seppälä (HV 71, SWE), Jesse Virtanen (HC Ambri-Piotta, SUI), Veli-Matti Vittasmäki (Kölner Haie, GER).

Forwards: Eemil Erholtz, Lenni Hämeenaho, Jan-Mikael Järvinen (all Ässät Pori), Hannes Björninen, Patrik Puistola (Örebro HK, SWE), Jesse Kiiskinen (HPK Hämeenlinna), Petteri Puhakka (Tappara Tampere), Joona Ikonen (Malmö Redhawks, SWE), Waltteri Merelä (SC Bern, SUI), Joona Koppanen (Pittsburgh, NHL), Juho Lammikko (ZSC Lions, SUI), Ahti Oksanen (Lausanne HC, SUI), Juuso Pärssinen (New York Rangers, NHL), Harri Pesonen (SCL Tigers, SUI), Mikael Ruohomaa (Frölunda HC, SWE), Tommi Tikka (HV 71, SWE), Eeli Tolvanen (Seattle, NHL).

11 NHLers On Swedish Roster At Last Pre-Worlds Tourney The NHL contingent on the Swedish national team has now risen to 11 as the team approaches its last tune-up before the IIHF World Championship, and that’s the Czech Hockey Games this weekend – the final leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour.

The NHL contingent on the Swedish national team has now risen to 11 as the team approaches its last tune-up before the IIHF World Championship, and that’s the Czech Hockey Games this weekend – the final leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour.

In addition to those who played in the NHL this season, the roster this weekend also includes Boston University defenseman Tom Willander, a Vancouver Canucks prospect. It does not include Filip Hållander of Timrå IK, who has been in the team’s camp and recently signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Find the roster below.

“A lot of work remains before the World Championship premiere on May 9 in Stockholm,” said coach Sam Hallam. “Now we are looking forward to having the opportunity to hone our game and come together as a group. It will also be inspiring to work together with (assistant coach) Anders Sörensen and some new players.”

The Swedes play on Thursday night against Switzerland in the Zurich suburb of Kloten, conveniently where the airport is located. The team then flies to Brno, Czechia to face the Czechs on Saturday and Finland on Sunday before heading home to start the Worlds next Friday.

Pastrnak Will Play For Czechs In Worlds, But Not This Weekend In Euro Hockey Tour Multiple Czech media outlets reported on Monday that David Pastrňák has finally agreed to play for his home country in this year’s IIHF World Championship. Czech national team GM Jiří Šlégr confirmed the news after the team’s practise.

Goaltenders: Samuel Ersson (Philadelphia Flyers, NHL), Arvid Söderblom (Chicago Blackhawks, NHL), Arvid Holm (Rögle BK).

Defensemen: Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames, NHL), Tom Willander (Boston University, NCAA), Adam Larsson (Seattle Kraken, NHL), Gabriel Carlsson (EV Zug, SUI), Marcus Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks, NHL), Tim Heed (HC Ambri-Piotta, SUI), Andreas Borgman (HC Fribourg-Gottéron, SUI), Simon Edvinsson (Detroit Red Wings, NHL).

Forwards: Alexander Wennberg, William Eklund (both San Jose Sharks, NHL), Anton Bengtsson, Felix Nilsson (both Rögle BK, SWE), Isac Lundeström, Leo Carlsson (both Anaheim Ducks, NHL), Max Friberg (Frölunda HC, SWE), Marcus Sörensen (HC Fribourg-Gottéron, SUI), André Petersson (HV 71, SWE), Christoffer Ehn (Linköping HC, SWE), Oscar Lindberg (Skellefteå AIK, SWE), Oskar Steen (Färjestad BK, SWE), Sebastian Hartmann (Timrå IK, SWE), Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers, NHL).

 

USA Names First 18 Players To World Championship Roster USA Hockey has named the first 18 players to its roster at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, which runs from May 9 to 25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning Denmark. The USA plays in Group B in Herning.

Multiple Czech media outlets reported on Monday that David Pastrňák has finally agreed to play for his home country in this year’s IIHF World Championship. Czech national team GM Jiří Šlégr confirmed the news after the team’s practise.

“I spoke with David today before practise and his final decision is positive for all of us,” said Šlégr. “He decided to participate in the World Championship, which we are all very happy about.”

It was previously confirmed that the Boston Bruins had medically cleared Pastrňák to play, and many had interpreted that as confirmation that he would. However, the player himself had not committed until now.

https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/no-gudas-kubalik-or-tomasek-for-czechs-at-this-years-worlds-but-what-about-pastrnak

Šlégr was also asked about Calgary Flames winger Adam Klapka, who became available when the Calgary Wranglers were eliminated from the AHL playoffs.

“We are in communication,” Šlégr said about Klapka. “On the way here, I communicated with the Calgary general manager and we are negotiating.”

Adam Klapka: “I knew deep down that I would play in the NHL one day”At 6-foot-8 and 236 pounds, Adam Klapka is a hard guy to miss. But the Czech winger managed to fly under the radar for much of his amateur career and even in his early years as a pro. He never played in the U18 Worlds or the World Juniors, was never drafted by an NHL team and at age 21, split the season between the Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga and HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the tier-two Chance Liga.

The final leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour will be played this weekend, Thursday through Sunday, in Brno, Czechia. This leg of the tour, which is almost always hosted by the Czechs, is used by the four teams as a final tune-up for the World Championship. It is generally the only part of the tour that includes any NHL players. Here is the lineup that the Czechs will take:

Goaltenders: Daniel Vladař (Calgary, NHL), Karel Vejmelka (Utah HC, NHL), Josef Kořenář (HC Sparta Prague).

Defensemen: Filip Pyrochta (BK Mladá Boleslav), Jan Košťálek (HC Vítkovice Ridera), Jiří Ticháček (Kladno Knights), Tomáš Kundrátek (HC Oceláři Třinec), Radek Kučeřík (Ässät Pori, Finland), Michal Kempný, Jakub Krejčík (both HC Sparta Praha), David Špaček (Iowa Wild, AHL), Filip Hronek (Vancouver Canucks, NHL), Daniel Gazda (Ilves Tampere, Finland).

Forwards: Jiří Černoch, Ondřej Beránek (both HC Energie Karlovy Vary), Petr Kodýtek (IFK Helsinki, Finland), Radan Lenc (HV 71, Sweden), Michal Kovařčík (Kärpät Oulu, Finland), Ondřej Kovařčík (HC Oceláři Třinec), Daniel Voženílek (EV Zug, Switzerland), Kristian Reichel (Adler Mannheim, Germany), Matěj Stránský, Filip Zadina (both HC Davos), Michael Špaček, Filip Chlapík, Pavel Kousal (all HC Sparta Praha), Kevin Klíma (Mountfield HK), Jakub Lauko (Boston, NHL).

Team Staff

General Manager: Jiří Šlégr, Manager: Milan Hnilička, Head Coach: Radim Rulík, Assistant Coaches: Marek Židlický, Jiří Kalous, Tomáš Plekanec, Goaltending Coach: Ondřej Pavelec.

Karel Vejmelka & Filip Hronek To Play For Czechs In World Championship; Pastrnak Maybe Goaltender Karel Vejmelka of Utah HC and defenseman Filip Hronek of the Vancouver Canucks will play for Czechia at this year’s IIHF World Championship in Herning, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden, according multiple media sources.

USA Hockey has named the first 18 players to its roster at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, which runs from May 9 to 25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning Denmark. The USA plays in Group B in Herning.

The team so far includes 17 players from NHL teams that missed the Stanley Cup playoffs and one – goaltender Hampton Slukynsky – from Western Michigan University.

Three players have been named from each the Boston Bruins and Utah HC, two each from the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks and one from the Buffalo Sabres.

Unlike past seasons, no current AHL players have been chosen and only one – Chicago’s Frank Nazar – spent any time in the league this season. The USA might start the tournament with this roster but more players will likely be named as teams start getting eliminated from the playoffs.

The head coach of the team is Ryan Warsofsky from the San Jose Sharks. His assistants are Kevin Dean, Adam Nightingale and Mike Vellucci. The team’s director of hockey operations is former NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck.

Five Swedish NHLers (So Far) Say Yes To World Championship At Home Five players have so far confirmed their spots on the Swedish roster for this year’s IIHF World Championship, which the Swedes will co-host with Denmark at the newly-renovated Avicii Arena in Stockholm.

While the USA has not won a standalone World Championship since 1933, this roster includes many players that have had success at the World Junior and U-18 World levels.

Goaltenders (3): Joey Daccord (Seattle, NHL), Jeremy Swayman (Boston, NHL), Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan University, NCAA).

Defensemen (6): Michael Kesselring (Utah, NHL), Jackson LaCombe (Anaheim, NHL), Andrew Peeke, Mason Lohrei (both Boston, NHL), Brady Skjei (Nashville, NHL), Alex Vlasic (Chicago, NHL).

Forwards (9): Matty Beniers (Seattle, NHL), Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley (both Utah, NHL), Drew O’Connor, Conor Garland (both Vancouver, NHL), Cutter Gauthier (Anaheim, NHL), Michael McCarron (Nashville, NHL), Frank Nazar (Chicago, NHL), Tage Thompson (Buffalo, NHL).

Brady Tkachuk: "I don't think anyone can get under my skin"In the third game for each team, Slovakia built up a 4-1 lead after two periods but the USA stormed back with three straight in the third to force overtime. Miloš Kelemen, who had opened the scoring in the fourth minute, ended it in overtime to claim two points for Slovakia. However, the late comeback allowed the Americans to get one. They now have four points after three games but have the group’s toughest opponents now seemingly out of the way.

Czech hall-of-fame goaltender Dominik Hašek has never been one to hide his opinions and has been relentless over the past few years in his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and those who support it – explicitly or implicitly – and influential Russian politicians have apparently taken notice.

Not surprisingly, he was heavily critical of Alexander Ovechkin and the NHL’s promotion of him in the lead-up to his breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career NHL goal record, tweeting on April 5 – the day before Ovechkin broke the record – that the NHL “bears enormous responsibility for the hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of people killed and maimed in the Russian war in Ukraine.”

According to Czech media, former Russian president and prime minister and Dmitri Medvedev, who is currently deputy chairman to the Russian security council, lashed out at Hašek in the aftermath of Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal in a social media post that Hašek has interpreted as a death threat.

“895 – the result of a great Russian player,” Medvedev reportedly posted on Telegram, adding: “P.S. We are waiting for the suicide of the crazy Czech Hašek.”

“Yes, I read that,” Hašek told Zdeněk Janda of iSport.cz when asked about Medvedev’s post. “This person is clearly publicly threatening me with murder.”

Hašek went on to criticize the Czech government and several other national and international organizations for failing to respond, and said that he planned to write a letter to the Czech Ministry of the Interior.

Dominik Hašek condemns Paris Olympics over participation of Russian athletesThe Opening Ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics take place on Friday in Paris. There will be no Russian or Belarusian athletes in the parade of nations and their respective National Olympic Committees have been banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war. However, 32 athletes from those countries will participate without flags in various sports during these Olympic Games as “Individual Neutral Athletes.”

“In essence, they are sending a message to the criminal Russian regime that Russia can continue making similar threats against citizens of other countries without the slightest problem,” he said.

In the past, Hašek has used the occasions of former Detroit Red Wings teammate Pavel Datsyuk’s hall-of-fame induction, the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and a pair of NHL regular-season games in Prague featuring the Buffalo Sabres to publicly express his opinions.

Hašek said that, despite his history of rattling feathers with his public comments, this is the first time that he’s felt personally threatened in response.

“No, I have never received them before – this was the first,” he said. “On the contrary, I feel a lot of support from both (Czech) people and people from other countries. It is mutual and I appreciate it very much.”

Dominik Hašek Again Speaks Out On X: Every NHL Goal, Assist, Save, Hit An “Advertisement For The Atrocities That The Russians Commit In The War!”On the eve of the start of the 2023-24 season between the New Jersey Devils and the team he spent the most significant part of his hall-of-fame career, the Buffalo Sabres, former goaltender Dominik Hašek made it clear that he won’t be in Prague – about an hour away from his hometown of Pardubice.