The 2026 Winter Olympics are growing closer, and rosters are expected to start taking shape within the next 6 weeks or so.
Based on the 4 Nations Face-Off, players like Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny are expected to have a chance at cracking the Canadian roster, with Sanheim having a real good chance.
Sam Ersson will likely be on the outside looking in for the Swedish roster. Rasmus Ristolainen, who was named to the Finnish team for the 4 Nations but did not play due to injury, likely won’t have much of a chance at the Olympics with his return to play not expected until December.
Rodrigo Abols has already been named to the Latvian team.
Some other Flyers, like Trevor Zegras and Cam York, have gained some attention, though they are unlikely to be considered.
However, there is one Flyer who is putting together an Olympic-quality season, but has not been talked about much. That player is Dan Vladar.
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Dan Vladar deserves to play in the 2026 Winter Olympics
Flyers’ netminder Dan Vladar has arguably been their best player this season. He is the reason the Flyers have won a good majority of their games.
Vladar is putting together a season that makes him deserving of a chance to represent Czechia in the Olympics.
Each country can bring up to three goalies to the Olympics. For Czechia, it seems like a four-man battle. Vladar, Jakob Dobes (MTL), Lukas Dostal (ANA), and Karel Vejmelka (UTH) are all candidates for the Olympic roster.
Of the four netminders, Vladar is by far having the best season. Dostal and Vejmelka have both very clearly had the “No. 1” for their teams from the start. Vladar has clearly been the top goalie, and Dobes has certainly outperformed co-Canadien netminder Sam Montembeault.
Dostal joins Vladar as the only of the four Czech goalies with an SV% higher than .900% this season. Vladar also has the lowest GAA this season at 2.39, leading the Czech goaltenders by a wide margin.
Now, Dostal is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with an “upper-body” injury. While that may not change his status for the Olympics, it could make having a veteran like Vladar as a steady netminder all the more critical.
If I’m going to take a guess, Czechia should bring Vladar, Dobes, and Dostal. Not only should the Flyers’ netminder make the roster, he should be Czechia’s starter for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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