PRAGUE (AP) \u2014 The Czech Republic included three NHL goaltenders in its squad for the Cortina Milan Winter Olympics on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
They were Lukas Dostal<\/a> of the Anaheim Ducks<\/a>, Karel Vejmelka<\/a> of the Utah Mammoth<\/a> and Daniel Vladar<\/a> of the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Colorado Avalanche<\/a> center Martin Necas<\/a>, Boston Bruins<\/a> right winger David Pastrnak<\/a> and Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> center Tomas Hertl<\/a> were among 12 NHL players on the team which is missing Vancouver Canucks<\/a> forward Filip Chytil<\/a>, who has not recovered from concussion.<\/p>\n Pastrnak teammate Pavel Zacha<\/a>, Ondrej Palat<\/a> of the New Jersey Devils<\/a> and Radek Faksa<\/a> of the Dallas Stars<\/a> were other forwards in the squad.<\/p>\n Only two defensemen play in the NHL \u2014 Radim Gudas from Anaheim and Filip Hronek<\/a> from Vancouver \u2014 showing a decline in Czech players in North America in recent years.<\/p>\n Nineteen of the 25-man squad helped the Czechs win the world championship two years ago in Prague.<\/p>\n The Czechs open the Olympic tournament against Canada on Feb. 12. France and Switzerland are also in Group A.<\/p>\n France put out their full roster on Tuesday as well, headlined by Montreal Canadiens<\/a> forward Alexandre Texier<\/a> and 40-year-old forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare<\/a>. <\/p>\n \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 France revealed complete 2026 Olympic Winter Games roster including the biggest star Alexandre Texier!\u27a1\ufe0f<\/p>\n Athlete participation requires confirmation by their respective NOC.@hockey_fra<\/a> @olympics<\/a> @nhl<\/a> @nhlpa<\/a>#Olympics<\/a> #NHL<\/a> #IIHF<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/DzD61ZefrT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Latvia also released their 25-player team for the tournament with goaltenders Elvis Merzlinkis and Arturs Silovs<\/a> teaming in net with Olympic veteran Kristers Gudlevskis<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddfb Team Latvia men\u2019s roster for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games just dropped!\u27a1\ufe0f<\/p>\n Athlete participation requires confirmation by their respective NOC.@lhf_lv<\/a> @olympics<\/a> @nhl<\/a> @nhlpa<\/a>#Olympics<\/a> #NHL<\/a> #IIHF<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/EbcW17NxqB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP Olympic coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics<\/p>\n The Associated Press<\/p>\n