TJ Plzen Litice will become the 82nd club to compete in men’s Euro Hockey League competition – and the second from the Czech Republic – when they come up against Scotland’s Western Wildcats on Saturday, October 7 (14.15 CET).
They do so as reigning Czech double winners having won both the national indoor and outdoor and they opened this year’s league with four wins in succession, scoring 26 times.
That follows a busy preseason with a camp in Nuremburg to help their progress for the EHL event in Barcelona.
The side is captained by Adam Uhlir who is also the Czech national captain and named the best outdoor player in the country in both 2019 and 2022.
Among other key players are Jakub Korytak who has previously played in England, Italy and at various European Championships outdoors and indoors, as well as at the World Indoor Championships in Germany in 2015.
Reinhard Nicklas is similarly well-travelled, playing in Italy, Scotland, European Division I in Belgium 2013 and also in the qualification tournament for the Olympic Games in Japan. His own father was a top-tier football player while his step-father was an ice hockey player of renown.
Lukas Benda captained the country’s Under-21 side and for the senior international panel 53 times.
They are coached by Tomas Levy who has been in position since 2018 while they welcome Slovakian international Adrian Augustinic from SK Senkvice to the team and Lukas Nocar is coming back after the break.
They join ahead of a busy campaign in which they will also host the European Indoor Cup for the first time. Last season, they reached the final of the EuroHockey Club Trophy in Banbridge, ultimately falling to the host club 4-1 in the final.
