By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter / X @18Jxxx18
When Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak was selected to Team Czechia’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, it was no surprise. However, there’s something that needs to happen at the 2026 Olympics for Pastrnak.
That is wearing the “C” on the front of his Czechia jersey and being the team captain. Given his elite NHL play and his role as one of the Bruins’ alternate captains, Pastrnak deserves the honor of being named captain for Team Czechia.
Team Czechia may not have a ton of NHL talent on its roster compared to teams like Team Canada and Team USA, but the team does have some talented and respected skaters on the roster outside of Pastrnak.
Ondrej Palat, Radko Gudas, Martin Necas, Tomas Hertl, and Pastrnak’s Bruins teammate, Pavel Zacha, are among some of Team Czechia’s top players who are currently playing in the NHL. However, all five of them don’t have the elite play and skills that Pastrnak provides to lead by example as a captain.
Pastrnak’s 888 career points are the third most among Czech NHL players all-time, only behind Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias. Two solid players to be behind for Pastrnak among Czech players.
Along with having the third-most points among Czech players of all-time, Pastrnak has made four NHL All-Star Games and won the Richard Trophy in 2020. Pastrnak also won Gold at the 2024 IIHF World Championships for Team Czechia. Over the past three seasons, Pastrnak has recorded a 100-point season. Given how his NHL career has gone, Pastrnak can be viewed as Team Czechia’s best and most important player on the roster.
Sure, Pastrnak doesn’t have a Stanley Cup on his resume as Palat does. Palat has won two Stanley Cups in his career, but his game has taken a huge drop since joining the New Jersey Devils in 2022.
Gudas has been the Anaheim Ducks captain since last season, but he isn’t close to the player Pastrnak is. Necas, Hertl, and Zacha have each had solid NHL careers, but don’t come close to the career Pastrnak has had.
One player who could have the edge to be Czechia’s captain is Roman Cervenka. With his experience at 40 years old and playing for many Czech teams, Cervenka may be looked up to as Team Czechia’s leader. 2026 will be Cervenka’s fifth time playing in the Olympics. Pastrnak, being 29 years old, could give Cervenka a potential edge of being captain at the Olympics. Sure, Cervenka has been the captain of Team Czechia for many International events, but his NHL career wasn’t long, lasting just 39 games in 2013. Compared to Pastrnak’s NHL career, he easily has the edge over Cervenka and will be looked up to by the entire team.
The last time Pastrnak played for a Czechia team was in last year’s IIHF World Championships, where he set a high standard. Pastrnak recorded 15 points in eight games, an impressive number of points, and he led by example.
Pastrnak is an elite NHL player and a Bruins leader. Now, having the “C” on his Czechia jersey makes sense for Pastrnak at the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy.
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