SK Slavia Praha are set to become the first Czech team to play in the EHL Men following their national championship success last weekend. 

They landed the title last weekend, prevailing 10-1 in the final against HC Rakovnik 1972 at Vršovice. It was one-way traffic with Kryštof Bodnár opening the scoring in the ninth minute and captain Martin Hanus adding another a minute later.

Bodnár finished with a hat trick as seven Slavia players ended up on the scoresheet with just a 36th minute Josef Trejbal reply from Rakovnik when they already trailed by six.

And three days later they got the news they would be taking part in the EHL in later September and early October. It came courtesy of the Czech Republic’s rise from 17th to 13th in the EHL Men’s Ranking Table, making them the next eligible side with Russia and Belarus not participating this season..

“It’s a great honour, of course,” said the club’s Miroslav Ludvík immediately after the announcement. 

“I am convinced that the boys, even with this report in mind, will have special motivation in preparation. Of course, we have to prepare both physically and in the game. 

“There will be a few changes in the staff but we will see, for example, players who are heading abroad will still consider staying… ” smiled Ludvík, who is also the national team coach of the Czech Republic.