The Ducks will be represented by at least three players at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
There, Lukáš Dostál and Radko Gudas will reprise their roles from their 2024 World Championship triumph for Czechia while prospect Damian Clara will man the net for host nation Italy.
Dostál made an immense leap forward last season for the Ducks, when he routinely saved goals above expected as the team’s most outstanding and most consistent player. Gudas took a step back on the blue line from his superb first season on Katella Ave., but also assumed the role of captain for the first time, continued to deepen his community presence and played through injuries.
Both men participated in Czechia’s gold-medal victory on home soil in the spring of 2024, when Dostál dominated the tournament, including a shutout in the final and another in the quarterfinal round. Gudas contributed to that excellence as part of the Czech defense corps, and the team effort even extended beyond the ice.
“It was a very special moment for our team and for our country as well. We haven’t been able to do that in, I think, 40 years,” Gudas said. “Everybody in the Czech Republic was cheering for us and it got the whole country together rooting for one thing.”
For Dostál, it was a springboard toward a season that established him as an NHL starter and may make him a wealthy man as he negotiates a new contract during his pending restricted free agency. He edged out a pair of more established NHL netminders for the gig in goal last spring.
“Getting the chance, being the youngest, people might have thought I might not be able to handle it, but I really wanted to prove everybody wrong, to show that ‘I’m here, I’m ready,’” Dostál said.
Clara, a 20-year-old prospect goaltender whose journey has taken him from Italy to Austria to Sweden to San Diego, will almost assuredly be the lone North American pro among the Italians.
“I hope I can give my best for the team and give my best for the nation,” Clara said.
With competition opening up beyond the traditional seven or so powers in ice hockey, the Italians hope to join the Swiss, Germans and other rising European sides. While Clara said he felt the program had ground to cover to close the gap on even those up-and-comers, he was enthused at some talent in the pipeline and hoped to be an exemplar within the program.
“I hope I can be a little bit of a role model in that you don’t have to start out big, you just have to go somewhere, try your luck and give it your all,” Clara said. “I know I’m not supposed to be here, given where I came from.”
On Monday, each of the 12 qualifying countries named half a dozen participants, with the bulk of the rosters to be determined ahead of the February games. That could send additional Ducks to Italy. Most notably, new addition Chris Kreider skated for the United States at 4 Nations Face-Off, where promising pivot Leo Carlsson filled a depth role for Sweden.
