Early tension builds as Czechia Republic send a brutal warning message to Team Canada ahead of Olympic opener

Czechia send clear warning to Team Canada ahead of Olympic opener

Czechia may be labelled underdogs, but they’re not arriving quietly ahead of Thursday’s men’s Olympic hockey opener against Canada.

Team Canada enters the tournament as heavy gold-medal favourites, stacked with elite talent down the middle in Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby. Add in young phenom Macklin Celebrini and star defenseman Cale Makar, and it’s a lineup loaded with speed, skill and experience.

The Czechs, however, are embracing the challenge rather than shrinking from it.

“They’re all great players, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us,” said defenseman Radko Gudas after practice. “We have to work our bags off the whole game. We can’t give them space or time. It might be the hardest game of our careers. Maybe we catch them a little sleepy with the time zones.”

Goaltender Karel Vejmelka struck a similar tone, calling Canada “maybe one of the best teams in history,” while admitting the excitement of facing such a star-studded group first up. He singled out Crosby as a legend, underlining the respect within the Czech camp.

Boston Bruins winger David Pastrňák stressed belief within the dressing room.

“It will take a perfect game from us,” he said. “But we’re confident. We have a good group.”

Canada will move on to face Switzerland next, but for Czechia, this opener is a huge opportunity to make an early statement. They know the odds — and they’re making it clear they plan to push the favourites from the first puck drop.