For the second time in her career, Dominika Lásková, ’21, M’22, will represent her home country, Czechia, at the Winter Olympics. And while she is a veteran of the Games, this year’s edition in Milan will offer new experiences compared to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Beijing was the first Winter Olympics the Czechia women’s ice hockey team ever competed in, and while the squad made it to the quarterfinals, it did so under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. That included a closed-loop system to minimize contact between athletes, coaches, staff and the general population, as well as limited spectators.
“It is a dream come true for us, going to the Olympics,” said Lásková. “But to also have your family and friends in the stands, who supported you through everything and will experience this great moment, we are all going to cherish this for the rest of our lives. In China, we didn’t have that.”
Lásková, who played 67 games over her Merrimack College career, scoring 31 points, admitted her spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics was not guaranteed. She missed more than a year of hockey with a severe knee injury that required surgery and ultimately led her to play professionally in Sweden this year. But that hard work paid off.
“It has been a huge roller coaster,” Lásková explained about her experiences. “The hardest part about being an athlete is being an injured athlete. I had to fight for my spot to be on the team and I was lucky enough to make the team.”
Before playing in Sweden, Lásková played for Montreal in the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Toronto Six in the Premier Hockey Federation, winning the league championship in 2023. She joined Toronto after five years at Merrimack.
“I loved it,” she said of her time at Merrimack. “It was a great school, small community and I am still in touch with so many people who were so important to me for those five years.”
As one of the top five teams in the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Rankings, Czechia automatically qualified for the Olympics. Lásková said about half of the 2022 team is returning this year, and the core of the squad competed in the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, which was held in Czechia.
“A lot of the girls on the team either have Olympic or World Championship experience, and with the past World Championship in Czech, the core of the team has more experience with pressure and media and playing on that big stage,” said Lásková.
Czechia kicks off the Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 5, with a preliminary round matchup against the U.S. The women’s hockey knockout round begins Friday, Feb. 13.
“Going into this Olympics, myself included, we will do better than before,” she said. “I am very excited to represent my country. It is the greatest honor.”
