Czech Women’s Hockey 2025 Year in Review
ČWHR rolled into January 2025 with 390 followers and a lot of hopes in our first full year of coverage. We’re heading into 2026 sitting just shy of 700, having reached over a million people. Numbers we think are cool, but what it represents is cooler: more people choosing to care about Czech women’s hockey on purpose. That’s our whole mission.
2025 was a chain reaction of some fantastic little victories and moments: youth medals, NCAA breakthroughs, a historic home World Championship, and a PWHL year that cemented the league’s vision to stay for good. Below we recap the biggest storylines from across Czech women’s hockey. Relive 2025, and join us as we charge into 2026!
January 2025
2025 started with a bang: Czechia’s U18 women captured bronze at the 2025 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, a result that continues to validate the pipeline behind the senior program. Czechia’s bronze was a comeback win vs Sweden, with captain Linda Vočetková (current Djurgården (SDHL) player and future Colgate University commit) scoring the late winner and goalie Daniela Nováková posting 36 saves. Most importantly, it marked Czechia’s first-ever back-to-back U18 medals (after 2024’s historic silver).
February 2025
The U16’s grabbed GOLD at the 2025 European Youth Olympic Festival. The EYOF for those who may not be familiar, is a biennial multi-sport event for young European athletes (14-18 years old) offering their first major Olympic experience, blending elite competition with education on Olympic values like excellence, friendship, and respect, serving as a crucial stepping stone to future Olympic Games and European Games.
The Gold Medal was a massive victory, and while no serious analysis needs to be made of what is essentially a friendly youth tournament, the success is a moral victory indicative of the work being done deep within Czech hockey.
Klára Peslarová - Debut Feb. 16th
And in North America, the PWHL gave Czechia two very different flavors of “impact” in the span of a week. On February 16th, Klára Peslarová made her Boston Fleet debut, stepping into the game in relief and calmly flipping the whole mood of the night. Boston stormed back to beat Minnesota 4-2, and Peslarová was steady the whole way, turning aside everything she saw and instantly reminding everyone why she’s carried international expectations for years. It didn’t take long for Fleet fans to adopt her either, there’s something about a composed goalie with big-game DNA that plays beautifully in New England.
Then, five days later, Tereza Vanišová grabbed the hockey world by the collar. On February 20th in Ottawa, she and Boston’s Jill Saulnier dropped the gloves in what became the first “real” fight in PWHL history, a moment that instantly turned into a headline everywhere. The best part (because of course): Vanišová didn’t just fight. She posted a goal and an assist in the same game, completing a ‘Gordie Howe’ hat trick that fans very quickly started calling the “Vanišová Hat Trick.” Equal parts skill and chaos, it was messy, fearless, clutch, and impossible to ignore, exactly the kind of moment that shows this league is still defining what physicality looks like in women’s pro hockey.
March 2025
March was loud in college hockey. Up in Hanover, New Hampshire national team goaltender Michaela Hesová put together an incredible freshman season. She finished the year with 848 saves, the most in a single season in Dartmouth women’s hockey history. A massive effort in workload, trust, and survival instincts. Hesová was the reason Dartmouth was in games they had no business being in, and despite a rough record in the standings, she was a bright spot.
Tereza Vanišová Hat-Trick - Mar. 22nd
Then there was Kristýna Kaltounková who became the first player from Czechia ever named a Patty Kazmaier Top 10 finalist. For anyone outside the college hockey bubble, this is Hobey Baker/MVP equivalent, and it mattered not just for Kalty, but for every Czech kid watching who now has proof that the ceiling is higher than we’ve been trained to believe.
In Division III, Czech goaltending made more noise. Sara Ševčíková, a first-year at Elmira, helped drive her team through the postseason and then slammed the door in the NCAA tournament with a 40-save shutout in a 1–0 win over No. 6 Plattsburgh State, pushing Elmira into the national quarterfinals.
Meanwhile in Finland, Barbora Juříčková and HPK kept stacking results in the AuroraLiiga, finishing as league runner-up (silver) another reminder that Czech skaters are reaching podium-level relevance in the toughest European leagues.
And just to make sure March stayed unhinged, Tereza Vanišová did the most Tereza Vanišová thing possible after the performances from a month before: she recorded her second hat trick of the season on March 22, becoming the first player in PWHL history to post two hat tricks in a single season.
April 2025: April was the gravitational center of the whole year and honestly, one of the most important months Czech women’s hockey has ever had. Czechia hosted the IIHF Women’s World Championship for the first time in České Budějovice, and the country didn’t just “show up.” It showed out.
The result: a new all-time attendance record. By the end of the tournament, 122,331 fans had packed into Budvar Arena, officially the highest total attendance in Women’s Worlds history, breaking the previous mark set in Winnipeg in 2007. A number that is proof that Czech hockey culture isn’t a one-team, one-gender story, and the women’s game can draw real, loud, passionate crowds when you treat it like it belongs on the big stage (because it does).
On the ice, Czechia gave the home fans something even bigger than “a nice tournament”: belief. The headline game was the semifinal against the United States a 2-1 loss that somehow still felt like a huge win. Tereza Plošová opened the scoring and for a stretch of that game, Budějovice felt like it might witness the biggest win in national team history. The U.S. clawed back (because they always do), but the larger point remained: Czechia played a full game not centered around just surviving, and instead, truly pushed a superpower. It was a different tier of legitimacy, and everyone watching could feel it. But then came the heartbreak that made the moment even more real. In the bronze medal game, Czechia built a 3-0 lead, and the building was ready to explode…. until Finland stormed all the way back and won 4-3 in overtime. It was brutal, no other word for it. The kind of result that hurts because it was right there for the taking. But it also captured the truth of where this program is now: Czechia is no longer “happy to be here.” They’re in games that matter, in moments that shift history, and the margins are razor thin. Even without the medal, Czechia left the tournament with individual recognition worth framing. Kristýna Kaltounková and Klára Peslarová were named to the tournament All-Star Team, and Czechia’s “three best players” selections included Kateřina Mrázová, Kaltounková, and Adéla Šapovalivová, a perfect snapshot of the program’s identity: veteran backbone (Mrázová), emerging star power (Kaltounková), and a next wave that’s already comfortable in the spotlight (Šapovalivová).
And for one last feel-good cherry on top of an already historic month: Sára Čajanová (Brynäs) took home SDHL Goal of the Year.
May 2025
The PWHL postseason delivered a storyline that felt like it was written specifically for our little corner of the hockey universe: Tereza Vanišová + Kateřina Mrázová on one side with the Ottawa Charge, battling Denisa Křížová + Klára Hymlárová with the Minnesota Frost in the Walter Cup Final. Czechia was woven into the fabric of this historic Walter Cup Final. And the Final itself was pure stress. Minnesota ultimately won the 2025 Walter Cup in four games (3-1), but nothing about it was easy. It was a goalie-and-details Final: low mistakes, heavy checking, and every goal feeling like it weighed five pounds. Minnesota clinched at Xcel Energy Center on an overtime winner from Liz Schepers, securing the franchise’s (Denisa Křížová’s) second straight Walter Cup.
From a Czech lens, there were layers to love. Klára Hymlárová emerged as a real playoff difference-maker, finishing with five points (1G, 4A) and sharing the rookie lead in playoff scoring. And there was Vanišová who was relentless, chaotic, and always leaning forward. She finally snapped a long goal drought with her first career postseason goal, and her volume was historic, 33 shots in the playoffs, the most by any skater. Even in defeat, that’s a signature of who she is as a player, one who can tilt the ice through pure pressure.
If April proved Czechia could host the world, May proved Czechia’s stars could live in the biggest moments of North America’s newest pro league and look completely at home doing it.
June 2025
Because before the draft even happened, Kristýna Kaltounková and Natálie Mlýnková had already built the kind of college résumés that basically force pro teams to pay attention. Kalty entered the draft as one of the most productive players in the NCAA, coming off a 2024-25 season at Colgate where she scored 26 goals and put up 48 points in 37 games with her goal total ranking among the national leaders, while also stacking the kind of career numbers that turn into program lore (111 goals, 233 points at Colgate). Mlýnková, meanwhile, was the definition of “pro-ready scoring winger” coming off a 2024–25 season at Minnesota with 16 goals and 34 points in 39 games, and with the added context that she previously led Hockey East in scoring and was named conference Player of the Year in 2024.
So when the PWHL Draft arrived, the results felt like the natural conclusion to what they’d already proven: Kaltounková went #1 overall to the New York Sirens, becoming the first Czech player (men or women) ever selected first overall in a major North American pro draft, and Mlýnková went 12th overall to Montréal (Victoire).
At the same time, PWHL expansion reshaped the league with Seattle and Vancouver entering for 2025-26. In the Expansion Draft, Aneta Tejralová was selected by Seattle, while Denisa Křížová was selected by Vancouver. And while some fans lumped every move under “expansion,” it’s worth being precise: Tereza Vanišová didn’t go through the draft, she signed with Vancouver during the Exclusive Signing Window, a signal from the new franchise that they weren’t just filling slots, but intentionally building an identity with players who bring edge and offense.
And on the ČWHR side of the house: Klára Peslarová winning Player of the Year gave us exactly the kind of community-driven moment that makes this project feel alive to us, proof that this audience isn’t just watching from afar; they’re invested.
August 2025
Noemi Neubauerová was one of the headliners, signing to return to EV Zug in Switzerland, another example of how the Swiss league is increasingly becoming a serious destination for elite European talent (and a place where Czech players can play big minutes in defined roles). She wasn’t alone in Switzerland either: Michaela Pejzlová remained part of that ecosystem as well, reinforcing the idea that Czech skill players see real value in the Swiss setup.
Then there was Klára Peslarová, a goalie where the “Olympic runway” logic is maybe the most obvious. Peslarová officially signed back with Brynäs in the SDHL, returning to a club that already felt familiar and, more importantly, offered the kind of stable environment where a goalie can lock into rhythm and build week-to-week continuity. And on the blue line, Dominika Lásková also headed back to Sweden, signing with SDE HF, another move that fits the same theme: simplify the variables, get into a reliable role, and make sure your game is sharp well before February 2026 starts feeling real.
The bigger takeaway: Czech players weren’t “leaving” something as much as they were choosing the cleanest path to being ready. In an Olympic year, comfort and clarity can be competitive advantages.
September 2025
Tereza Plošová joined the University of Minnesota. She entered that program with a résumé that already looks unfair for her age. At the 2024 U18 Women’s Worlds, she put up 9 points in 6 games (1G, 8A) for Czechia in a silver-medal run basically functioning as a playmaking engine against the best peer competition on the planet. And she wasn’t just a “tournament player,” either, in the SDHL with Djurgården in 2024-25 she produced 17 goals in 35 games, showing she can score in a league where teenagers don’t get gifted anything. Minnesota is a program that demands pace, edge, and immediate usefulness and Plošová is exactly the kind of prospect who fits that mold.
Then there’s Adéla Šapovalivová beginning at Wisconsin, which might be the most intense spotlight in women’s college hockey. And again, she didn’t arrive as a mystery. At that same 2024 U18 Women’s Worlds, Šapovalivová just as impressive: 11 points in 6 games, including 9 goals, the kind of scoring rate that creates expectations the second you step on campus. Wisconsin’s own program bio also highlights her U18 impact (including being recognized as best forward at the tournament), which tells you how seriously her ceiling is viewed.
This is the pipeline layering Czechia hasn’t always had, youth stars who dominate internationally, then step directly into powerhouse NCAA programs, then translate that development back into senior national team readiness.
November 2025
November gave us two headline-makers. First, in a move that caught a lot of people off guard, Minnesota reacquired Denisa Křížová from Vancouver in exchange for Anna Segedi (announced Nov. 19). It was a shocking last minute move. Vancouver, still building identity and depth as an expansion club, picks up a younger forward on a two-year deal; Minnesota brings back a player they already know, one who fits their structure and had already proven she can contribute in their environment. For Czech fans, it was whiplash, Křížová had only just been pulled into the expansion story, and suddenly she was back with the defending champs before the season even fully got rolling.
We also got rookie firsts….On Nov. 25, Natálie Mlýnková scored her first career PWHL goal for Montréal. It came on the power play, it was credited as the Victoire’s first power-play goal of the season, and it counted as a game-winner in Montréal’s home opener win over New York. Four days later, Nov. 29, Kristýna Kaltounková got her own moment, scoring her first PWHL goal in New York’s home opener, a 5-1 win over Vancouver. For the #1 overall pick, first goals come with a little extra gravity, the weight of expectations, the headlines, the constant microscope, and she still checked the box early.
The bigger 2025 Story
If there’s one thread running through all of this, it’s that 2025 was the year Czech women’s hockey stopped being a rising story and started being a permanent feature of the sport’s top tier. Not in one place, but in every place. Youth levels. NCAA. A historic World Championship at home. The PWHL. Czech players didn’t just appear in these worlds, they mattered in them, and they did it all at the same time.
And that’s what makes this year different. Records, medals, drafts and first goals are the headlines, but the real shift is deeper. Czechia’s pipeline looks real, its stars are visible, and the sport at home proved it can carry a world-stage moment. Now comes the part that’s both exciting and terrifying: the Olympic year. Milano–Cortina will reward teams with chemistry, health, and ruthless clarity about roles. It’ll punish anyone who tries to turn it on late. The decisions from here…leagues, minutes, stability, confidence, line combinations, all start stacking now.
For Czechia, the question going into 2026 isn’t “can they hang?” It’s how far can they push it?
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Děkujeme (Thank you!) for being part of this with us….for reading, sharing, correcting pronunciations, and caring on purpose. The mission is working. And we’re locked in for 2026!
