Prague to Celebrate Proud Czech Ice Hockey Legacy this Month

Ice hockey is a sport that has brought the Czech Republic fame on an international stage while giving birth to several athletic greats who have cemented the country’s reputation as a hockey superpower.

The sport itself is so revered that it has even made its way into the Czech language – when you want to express confusion to a Czech simply say Mám v tom hokej (literally “I have hockey in it” or “it makes no sense to me”).

Kicking off on January 22, last year’s Hockey Week (Týden hokeje) introduced the basics to more than 6,000 children aged four to eight years.

This year the event, happening in over 130 locations throughout the country, runs through January 28. Prague sessions take place later this week; see here for a full list of locations and registration details.

“War with Sticks or the Origins of Ice Hockey in the Usti region,” at the regional museum in Žatec chronicles the fascinating rise of amateur hockey leagues on the village ponds of the Czech-German borderlands during World War II.

These modern milestones are being celebrated with an interactive new exhibit at the Grévin Museum in Prague, “The Golden Age of Czech Ice Hockey” featuring some of the greatest Czech players of the modern era.

Pose for a selfie with likenesses of Jaromír Jágr, one of the NHL’s greatest all-time goal scorers, or Dominik “The Dominator” Hašek, the world-class goalkeeper known for his distinctive style.