Anaheim Ducks' Radko Gudas chasing father's Olympic medal with Team Czechia in Milan

Radko Gudas smiled when talking about his father, Leo, who won bronze as a defenseman for Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Albertville Olympics. He was just 18 months old at the time, but the medal has been part of family lore ever since.

He has held it many times. He thinks he wore it as a kid. And his father makes sure he never forgets about it. The 35-year-old Anaheim Ducks captain and Team Czechia alternate is making his second Olympic appearance and wants nothing more than to bring an Olympic medal to the national side.

Radko Gudas is looking forward to adding another Olympic medal to his family’s collection

With Gudas on the Czech squad at Sochi 2014, he brings much-needed veteran presence to his side. While he would’ve loved to be part of the 2018 Games in PyeongChang or the 2022 Games in Beijing, NHL players didn’t participate in either.

But his dad’s medal continued to be his motivation till he got his second chance at the Winter Olympics. "My dad is always waving at me the bronze medal from Albertville, so it's kind of like, I need to beat him to be able to wave at him something too," Gudas said after practice at Santagiulia Arena on Tuesday.

Gudas has played 872 games over 14 NHL seasons with Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Washington, Florida, and Anaheim. He remains one of the league's most physical players, ranking second in hits since 2012-13 with 3,205, behind only Matt Martin.

When asked if he's aging like fine wine, Gudas offered a different comparison. "I'm more of a beer guy than wine," he said with a laugh. "But yeah, I never thought I was going to be at this age at this level, so I'm really happy."

Vancouver Canucks center David Kampf, a Team Czechia teammate, knows what it's like facing Gudas from the other side. "It's always tough to play against him," Kampf said. "He's a heavy, heavy guy and playing hard, so it's nice to have him on my side."

Gudas said his father will travel to Milan later in the tournament, perhaps for the most important games. His mother, wife, and kids are already there, soaking in the experience.

"It's a fun time in our family," he said. "The kids are really enjoying it. We show the kids that their grandpa was at the Olympics, too. Now I'm here too, so they're kind of soaking it in."

The Czechs open against Canada on Thursday in what Gudas called one of their biggest challenges. He believes this team can compete with anyone in the tournament despite facing powerhouse nations loaded with NHL talent.


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