Leo’s Hockey Report: Lukas Dostal becoming the next Czech hockey superstar
- Leo Czank
- Oct 13
- 4 min read
Hockey in Czechia is beginning to regain notoriety.
The country’s golden years in the sport took place between the 1990s and the early 2000s.
During that time period, Czechia boasted a national team that won three World Championships in five years, as well as an Olympic gold medal in Nagano.
The team was seen as a modern-day dynasty.
Fast forward to today, Czechia has found themselves in a similar position, climbing the ranks of international hockey with speed.
The country defeated the powerhouse Canadians in back-to-back World Juniors semifinals.
They have even captured a World Hockey Championship, which came in 2024 on home ice.
At the same time, representation in the National Hockey League (NHL) is at an all-time high.
Over 20 Czech players were selected for one of the 32 opening night rosters around the league.
Not too shabby for a country that once put its faith in a wavy-haired Stanley Cup winner who saluted the crowd when he scored.
David Pasternak, Radko Gudas and Martin Necas have proven themselves to be the top-tier players, both in the NHL and when they play for their country.
Pasternak is a solid sniper who could potentially be the next captain of the Boston Bruins.
Gudas, meanwhile, is the captain of the Anaheim Ducks and a grizzled veteran on the international stage. Necas has found a place in the NHL as an under-the-radar goal scorer in Colorado.
Another player whose stock continues to rise is Lukas Dostal.
Many fans believe the 25-year-old netminder is primed to become the next in a long line of successful Czech hockey superstars.
Dostal was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.
His first NHL start came in a game where Anaheim defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout and he made 33 saves.
The Brno, Czechia native, bounced around the NHL and the San Diego Gulls during the first two years of his career. Despite the rocky start, he has turned himself into one of the top young goalies in the NHL.
Dostal’s first full year in the league came during the 2023-24 season. He followed the year by having an impressive sophomore season in 2025.
John Gibson was the man between the pipes for years in Anaheim. He played 13 years with the club, collecting over 200 wins. He sits second for all-time wins in Anaheim.
Gibson was then traded to Detroit in the offseason.
Trading their franchise goalie meant Dostal was given keys to the crease in Anaheim.
Dostal is set to become the Ducks’ goaltender of the future, which was reflected in the five-year, $32.5 million contract extension he signed last summer.
“It’s a big honour,” Dostal told reporters. “I always look at myself in the mirror and I see a kid who came from a village with 300 people in it. It’s always a good reminder that you have a dream and you want to chase it. There’s always the possibility to reach it. It’s a big milestone, but there’s a long way ahead of us. We have an amazing team.”
To truly understand Dostal’s progression into one of the NHL’s top young goalies, we need to go back to his time representing Czechia on the world stage.
Dostal wore his country’s colours during the 2024 IIHF World Hockey Championship. He was a constant backbone for the team, helping the Czechs finish the preliminary round with five wins and two losses. The performance was good enough to capture third in Group A.
Two of Czechia’s wins were shutouts. Dostal was in the net for one of the victories where the team held their opponents scoreless.
The goalie took his game to another level in the knockout stages.
Dostal became a brick wall, starting the playoffs with wins over the United States and Sweden.
The game against the U.S. was a narrow 1-0 victory, his second shutout of the tournament.
However, Dostal saved his best performance for the finals. He put aside all 31 shots he faced against Switzerland. The impressive performance, coupled with a pair of goals from Pasternak and David Kampf, helped the Czechs claim gold in front of a nearly sold-out crowd at the O2 Arena in Prague.
The goalie missed the World Championships in 2025.
“When David scored the empty-net goal, I literally blacked out,” Dostal told reporters. “It was unreal. I usually handle pressure and emotions very well, but in that moment, I knew that we were going to win it and do it in our home country. I started crying under my mask because I was so happy that we did.”
Dostal is going into his first year as a full-time starter, which can put a lot of pressure on a young goaltender early in their career. Yet, he will have fellow countryman Petr Mrazek to back up and mentor him as the season rolls along.
No matter how he performs this season, Dostal has a long career ahead of him. He is only scratching the surface of what he can do on the ice, both in the NHL and in his home country.
Dostal was one of six players named to Czechia’s roster for the 2026 Winter Games.
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