ANAHEIM, Calif. – When NHL players return to the Winter Olympics for the first time in 12 years, at least three Anaheim Ducks players and prospects will be among the hockey elite assembled in Milano Cortina.

Ducks goaltender Lukáš Dostál and captain Radko Gudas were named to the initial roster for the Czech Olympic team, and in the country’s first hockey trip back to the Olympics since hosting the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy named Anaheim goaltending prospect Damian Clara to its initial Olympic roster.

All 10 qualifying nations named the first six members of their Olympic rosters on Monday. The full rosters will be announced later this year.

The Olympic men’s hockey tournament will begin on Feb. 11, 2026 in northern Italy.

Dostál last played for Czechia in a gold-medal performance at the 2024 IIHF World Championships, where Dostál and Gudas helped lead their countrymen to victory on home ice in Prague. This season in Anaheim, Dostál posted a 3.10 GAA and .903 save percentage in a career high 54 appearances with a career high in wins at 23-23-7.

This is the 24-year-old’s first Olympic appearance.

Gudas will play in his second Olympics for Czechia, having previously competed for his country at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia–the last time NHL players were allowed at the Olympics.

“We get to play against the legends, against the best players, so it was a pretty cool experience,” Gudas said earlier this season about his previous Olympic duty. “Then not going to two Olympics in a row, a lot of guys wanted to give it a try, wanted to give it a shot or wanted to see how it feels and what the experience is. Sochi was a great experience for me and I wish whoever can make that team enjoys it as much as I did.”

The 35-year-old led the Ducks in hits and blocked shots last season, his first campaign as team captain.

Clara was the first Italian to ever be drafted in the NHL when the Ducks picked up the 6-foot-6 goaltender in the 2023 second round.

In the 2025 World Championship Division I, Group A tournament, Clara helped his home nation earn promotion to the World Championship’s top division for the 2026 tournament–a huge step ahead of Italy’s return to the Olympics. Clara has represented Italy in four of the last five World Championships.

Clara split time this season between Karpat of the Finnish Liiga and Farjestad of the Swedish Hockey League. The 20-year-old finished the season with two appearances for the AHL San Diego Gulls.

Several other Ducks should be on the Olympic radar for their respective nations.

Chief among them are center Leo Carlsson for Sweden and newly acquired American winger Chris Kreider, who both represented their countries in the best-on-best 4 Nations Face-Off this last February.

Cutter Gauthier and Jackson LaCombe both played for Team USA at this summer’s World Championships, were the Americans won their first gold medal in 92 years.

In addition to Gudas, three current Ducks have previously competed in the Olympics, albeit not as professionals. Troy Terry and Drew Helleson each played for Team USA as collegiate players at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and 2022 Beijing Olympics, respectively, and Mason McTavish played for Canada as a junior player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.