Czech Olympian Shares Her Story with Independent Senior Living Members

 By Benny Fairchild

CANTON – With the success of the PWHL and television ratings for women’s hockey in the Olympics reaching never before seen numbers, women’s hockey is currently one of the fastest growing sports in the world with participation in the sport amongst girls and young women growing at a rapid pace.

That wasn’t always the case and many of today’s stars, including Andrea Trnková, grew up playing with and against boys. Ms. Trnková just completed her junior season with the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey Team, while also competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics for Czechia. 

She recently paid a visit to members at United Helpers Independent Senior Living to talk about the Olympics and her journey from a small city in Czechia to Potsdam, New York.

Ms. Trnková said she grew up in a household that loved hockey. She began skating at just three years old and began to play at the age of four. She spent her youth playing on all boys’ teams until she joined the U-16 and U-18 National teams, continuing to play with boys at the junior level until she turned 19 and came to the U.S. to play in college.

Early in her juniors career she dealt with discrimination from a coach who quite simply refused to play her. “It wasn’t because I wasn’t good enough. It was because I am a girl,” she said. After speaking with her family, they agreed switching to another program would be best for her development.

It was there that she found a home. “On that team, I wasn’t just a girl, I was a hockey player like all of the guys,” she said.

Unfortunately, the 2021 U-18 World Championship Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “That was really frustrating, because that’s our opportunity to play in front of coaches and scouts from around the world. They were talking about canceling the tournament in 2022 too, but they ended up having it and moving it to the US.”

Following the Olympics in 2022, she earned a spot on the Czechian National Team for the World Championship tournament later that year. That team became the first in its nation’s history to win a medal. The team’s success also led to a tremendous increase in both fan support and financial support for the team.

“We showed people that we were worth investing in,” Ms. Trnková said. The following year the team again won a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Ms. Trnková explained that while she wouldn’t have received a lot of ice time at the Olympics, she was slated to travel with the team as an alternate, or someone who would be added to the roster if a player on the team got COVID.

Unfortunately, her own COVID diagnosis prevented her from playing or even making the trip to the Olympics.

“It was frustrating, but that motivated me even more. I told myself, ‘I’m only 17, there will be more opportunities,’” she said. It didn’t take long for opportunity to come, as in September of that year she would play in her first World Championships. That was the first time Czechia had ever won a medal on the world stage.

Prior to that though, Ms. Trnková  traveled to the U.S. for the first time as a member of the U-18 national team for the 2022 U-18 World Championship tournament, which was held that June in Wisconsin. With the opportunity to play in front of scouts, she impressed several schools, ultimately deciding to attend and play NCAA Division I hockey at RPI starting in the 2023-2024 season.

One reason she initially chose RPI before transferring was they had another player from Czechia on the team, which helped with the transition to life in a new country. Clarkson currently has two players on their team from Czechia, Ms. Trnková and first-year goalie Aneta Senkova.

She said her other teammates at RPI were also a big help when it came to living in a place where she barely spoke the language. “My English was even more broken then than it is now,” she said, drawing laughs from the room.

She earned a spot on the ECAC All-Rookie Team, but the year was not without challenges. “I almost went home,” she said. “Learning English was hard. Everything was hard, but that year really helped me learn how to be independent. I’m glad I got over those struggles.”

Heading into this year’s Olympics, Czechia was among the favorites to bring home a medal.

Although, Ms. Trnková tallied an assist during the Olympics, the team ultimately finished in 5^th place, which she notes was an improvement over the team’s 7^th place finish four years earlier.

“I never thought I would get a point in the Olympics,” she said. “I was just glad to be there and help the team anyway I could.”

Earlier in the season though, there was significant doubt about whether she would be able to play in the Olympics or during much of her junior season. In an early season game against her former team, Ms. Trnková fell victim to injury.

“I had to have an MRI to measure the damage. The doctors had determined if the damage was limited, I could continue to play and have surgery at the end of the year. If it was severe, I would have had to have surgery right away, which would mean missing the Olympics for the second time.”

The 2025 World Championship Tournament was held in Czechia and Ms. Trnková said that was the first time her parents were able to see her play at the international level. “That was a really hard tournament for us, because we really wanted to win a medal on our home ice, but my parents did get to see me play.” The team finished in fourth place.

Heading into her senior year at Clarkson, Ms. Trnková said she now has her eye on the PWHL. To help get ready for her senior year, she’ll be working alongside PWHL number one draft pick and fellow member of the Czechian national team Kristýna Kaltounková at girl’s hockey camps throughout the off-season.

“It’s amazing how far the game has come. Girls actually have a professional league they can look forward to playing in. For a long time girls and women in hockey didn’t have that,” she said.

Among the ISL members in attendance at her presentation was Brian Wilkinson. Mr. Wilkinson played on the Clarkson Men’s Hockey Team from 1961 to 1964 and is a member of the school’s 100-point club. He asked if she had ever played against Haley Winn, a two-time All-American who graduated from Clarkson last year, and who like Ms. Trnková, played in her first Olympic games this past winter.

“I remember playing against Haley with RPI and I even scored against her,” she joked, adding that Clarkson ended up winning the game. “Maybe that’s when Clarkson first saw something in me.”

When asked why she decided to transfer, Ms. Trnková said she felt like that was the best move for her development as a player with her eye on playing at the next level. Prior to transferring she talked about the move with Michaela Pejzlová, who graduated from Clarkson and is one of her teammates on the national team.

“Clarkson is a great program and I also like that both the school and community are pretty small,” she said. “It kind of feels like home even though I’m so far away from home.”

Andrea Trnková, who just completed her junior season as a defender on the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey Team while also competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics, recently spoke to members at United Helpers Independent Senior Living in Canton. Following her presentation, members in attendance posed for a group photo.