Likely due to his standout play for the orange and black during the first half of the 2025-26 season, 28-year-old Dan Vladar will be given the honor of representing Czechia in Milan, Italy, at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Flyers' assumed starting goaltender has been chosen for the international tournament alongside fellow Flyers Travis Sanheim (Canada), Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland), and Rodrigo Abols (Latvia).
Vladar has easily played his way into the hearts of Flyers' fans with his stellar performance mid-way through the season. The city has been deprived of elite goaltending for years, and it seems as though the 6'5” Czech has filled the aforementioned void for at least the short-term future. To put it lightly, there have been several instances in which Vladar has truly kept the Flyers competitive in games and even stolen one to two points in games they had no business earning any at all.
Before signing his 2-year, $6.7 million contract, Vladar held a 2.89 GAA and .898 SV% in 128 games played. It doesn't take a statistician to realize those numbers don't exactly scream "elite". However, Danny Briere and the Flyers' goaltending coach, Kim Dillabaugh, saw something in Vladar that led them to believe he could succeed in Philadelphia when they signed him as a free agent before the 2025-26 season. Well, he has more than just "succeeded" for Rick Tocchet's Flyers; he's truly thrived. This year, Vladar boasts a 2.40 GAA and .910 SV% in 23 games played. Vladar's play places him 16th in the league in both GAA and SV%.
Was the hulking net-minder on the radar of Jiří Šlégr (GM of Czechia) before his remarkable play for the Flyers this season? Possibly, but his performance this season likely catapulted him up the depth charts in net for Czechia. Vladar's most recent international performance was at the 2024-25 World Championship, where he played four games and sported a 1.51 GAA and 0.936 SV%, which was quite impressive.
It'll be up to head coach Radim Rulík to determine if Vladar plays a bulk of the minutes in Milan, but he should feel nothing but personal pride in cracking the roster for a talented Czechia team. The triumvirate for Czechia will be composed of Vladar, Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks (26 GP, 3.22 GAA, .887 SV%), and Karel Vejmelka of the Utah Mammoth (32 GP, 2.70 GAA, .896 SV%).
Needless to say, this selection confirms that Vladar's play this year has been appreciated by more than just the Flyers' fanbase and front office. Now, the focus turns to hoping that Vladar doesn't overexert himself or sustain an injury in February. After all, the Flyers may need his heroics for a possible push for the playoffs (optimistically speaking).