Czech ice hockey team planning for Olympics without NHL players

The management of the Czech ice hockey team will implement its “plan B” in picking a squad for the Winter Olympics without players from the NHL, coach Filip Pešán told reporters on Tuesday. Pešán said he had been preparing for a situation under which the NHL would not release its players since the beginning of the season.

Speaking exactly a month before the hockey competition starts in Beijing, the Czechs’ general manager Petr Nedvěd said it was still possible to put together an excellent team and aim for success.