Dec. 21—BEMIDJI — Two weeks ago, UMass players returned to campus after a big win.
The Minutemen made their final trip to Matthews Arena. They finished the weekend with a 2-0 triumph over No. 11/12 Northeastern in a Hockey East Conference series.
Save for final practices before the holiday break and a Jan. 2 home exhibition against Simon Fraser, most UMass players departed Amherst, Mass., for the holiday break. Some of them, though, boarded flights elsewhere.
While veterans Jack Musa and Larry Keenan readied to play for the U.S. Collegiate Selects team at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, freshman Vaclav Nestrasil didn’t exit the lower 48. Instead, he found himself in Bemidji on Dec. 11 for Czechia’s 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship pre-tournament camp at the Sanford Center.
“It’s been kind of crazy, but I’m enjoying it,” Nestrasil said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys I’ve been playing with since I was young. It’s good to get that experience again and play with (Adam) Benák and all of those guys. It’s fun to be here. All of the guys from UMass are on Christmas break and they’re sending me (Snapchats) of them chilling at home, but I’d rather be here and at this tournament competing. That’s the most important thing to me.”
Nestrasil, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound winger, was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He also scored 25 goals and 55 points for Muskegon in a Clark Cup-winning United States Hockey League campaign last year before enrolling at UMass.
And while this has been his first-ever stay in Bemidji, he’s fielded questions from his junior and professional teammates as to what college hockey is all about.
“The facilities here are great,” Nestrasil said. “All of the guys here keep asking me if I’ve played here. I have to explain to everybody how conferences work and stuff like that. Obviously, it’s cold here. That’s the only down part about being here, but the rest has been so good.”
Czechia has its first pre-tournament game under its belt — a 3-2 overtime win over Latvia on Friday night. But on a team loaded with 13 NHL draftees and 2026 draft prospects, a narrow, one-goal win over a Latvian team that will fight to stay out of the WJC relegation game was not up to Czech standards.
“It was good to finally get to a game, but we didn’t play how we need to and we have a lot to work on,” Nestrasil said. “But I think it was good for everybody to get back into game tempo.
“That’s why we were here from the 11th. It’s our 10th day in here, but we want to be the best in the tournament. That’s why we came here early and wanted to focus this week. You don’t get much time, so you have to get the best out of it.”
Nestrasil’s urgency stems from opportunity.
Czechia took home bronze medals from each of the previous two tournaments. In 2023, Czechia finished runner-up to Canada in a 3-2 overtime loss, nearly spoiling the home fans at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S.
“We’ve had three medals in a row, and I think we’re really confident we can get a fourth one,” Nestrasil said. “Everyone will say we have a group to do that, and we think so, too. We have a good group. We just have to play like it.”
Nestrasil enters his first WJC as one of the highest-scoring freshmen in college hockey. But despite having 10 goals and 10 assists in 18 games, UMass, with games in hand, faces an uphill battle from the bottom of the Hockey East standings. The Minutemen are 9-9 overall but just 2-6 in conference play and sit in 11th place.
“We have to win more games, obviously, and that’s what we’re focused on,” Nestrasil said. “Our team is going to get better, and we’re seeing that come along right now. Off the ice, I had to adjust to that. You have to be a decent student, and I’ve done that. You have to develop a ritual and a routine. But I like this route; I’m glad I chose this route. I’m excited to get to the second semester.”
Nestrasil’s first four months on campus were filled with learning experiences.
“When we played (Boston College), it was probably the first game where I was like, ‘Whoa, these fans are crazy” Nestrasil said. “They have such a sick stadium. We played at Northeastern in one of their last games in their stadium. To see that rink and those fans, they’re crazy. I’m kind of sad we don’t play at Maine this year. It’s just a lot of fun learning about everything.”
In the meantime, Nestrasil’s abrupt shift to international play comes with more anticipated challenges.
“It is an adjustment, and you have to adjust to your teammates,” Nestrasil said. “I have teammates I’ve never played with before. I have to adjust to them. But all of these guys are playing junior hockey or pro, so it’s not hard.
“It’s insane to have the guys we have. Benák is second in OHL points. (Adam) Novotny is my roommate, and he’s sick. Everybody here is skilled. That’s why they’re here in the first place. But now we have to bond as a team and play as a team. Eventually, that’s going to keep us going and hopefully win us a medal.”
While this is Nestrasil’s first WJC, he’s competed internationally for Czechia in U17 play. He had four goals and an assist at the World Under-17 Challenge in 2023 at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, P.E.
But he also knows the U20 tournament is a different beast. Czechia will begin tournament play at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 26 at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis against Canada.
“When we do down there and play Canada in the first game, we just have to go there and not worry about anything,” Nestrasil said. “For me personally, this has been a dream since I was a kid. Continuing that streak of three medals would be huge, but nothing’s given. You just have to play well to get there.”
