Last month, the Florida Panthers secured their second consecutive Stanley Cup victory, and it was not without Czech contribution. Goaltender Vítek Vaněček and forward Tomáš Nosek both left their mark on the NHL triumph and will hence present the trophy to their hometown fans in August.

Vaněček’s Havlíčkův Brod only got to witness the famed Cup once before in 2006, when Josef Vašíček won it with the Carolina Hurricanes. In Nosek’s Pardubice, the Cup is a more frequent visitor. The forward holds vivid memories of seeing ice hockey’s “Holy Grail” in Eastern Bohemia already as an 8-year-old:

“I first saw the Stanley Cup as a young kid at the skating rink here in Pardubice, when Milan Hejduk and Martin Škoula brought it here,” he recalls.

The pair won the Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche. Playing for the Detroit Red Wings, Hall of Fame goalkeeper Dominik Hašek and defenseman Jakub Kindl also brought the trophy home to Pardubice, on 3 occasions between the two of them.

Nosek will add his name to the long list of hometown heroes on August 12th and hopes for a big turnout:

“I could keep the Cup to myself for the day, but of course I want to share it with Pardubice and the fans over here, where I grew up. So I’m inviting everybody to Pernštýn square on the 12th of August. Hopefully we can iron out the details with the city council, and everything will go ahead as planned,” he says.

The Pardubice city council is most certainly feeling the town’s obsession with ice hockey. Currently on their table is a proposal to construct the largest ice hockey arena in the world, presented by Petr Dědek, owner of local team HC Dynamo. According to the initial plan, last year’s Extraliga runners-up should be able to host a seated capacity of roughly 22,300 people by 2027.

The Stanley Cup visit will, on the contrary, be a one-and-done affair. On August 13th, the trophy will already be heading off with Vítek Vaněček, one hour south to Havlíčkův Brod. All is carefully planned out between the two colleagues:

“We already discussed this with Víťa, that we will combine our plans. He promised to come with me to Pardubice. So, I of course promised the same thing, and I will travel there with him,” says Nosek.

Despite the common celebrations, the pair will not be teammates for much longer, as Vaněček’s contract with the Florida Panthers expired this summer. He will begin the upcoming season with the NHL’s newest franchise, the Utah Mammoth, where he will complete a Czech goaltending tandem with Karel Vejmelka.

Nosek’s deal in the Sunshine State runs on for another year. Despite limited ice time, playing on the 4th offensive line, the forward put up 12 points in 75 games across both the regular NHL season and the Stanley Cup play-offs.

Both players will be hoping to secure a spot in the Czech squad for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina. It is the first time since 2014 that the NHL will allow players from the league to compete. Only six players have been named to the preliminary roster so far: David Pastrňák, Martin Nečas, Lukáš Dostál, Radko Gudas, Ondřej Palát, and Pavel Zacha.