Defenceman Ondrej Buchtela dies far too young of rare condition
A blueliner who had spent the last three seasons in the Czech2 league in his home country has died at just 20-years-old after being diagnosed with a rare condition just over two months ago. Ondrej Buchtela, who spent this past season with HC Benatky nad Jizerou and has also represented the Czech Republic several times in international tournaments, was diagnosed on May 14th with a rare form of heart cancer.
Buchtela had received words of support in his fight against the disease from former NHLer Dominik Hasek, as well as soccer-turned-hockey goaltender Petr Cech. Sadly, his girlfriend has confirmed his death on Instagram stating ""Don't worry about him, he will rise forever."
Buchtela gave a passionate interview to iSports.cz shortly after his diagnosis where he said "It was the worst day of my life. I don't have proper treatment, no one knows what to do with it. They told me that it was up to me that I could decide for myself how and if I wanted to continue." There is no known cure for the condition he had. Buchtel's doctors had diagnosed him with sarcoma in the heart, which also affected both lungs.
An online fundraising page had been set up for Buchtela's treatment and had received contributions from Hasek, as well as players like Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia Flyers and David Krejci (Boston Bruins). Cech, who has been called the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history and now serves as a semi-professional hockey goaltender in Britain, auctioned off a pair of used gloves to support the cause.
"Life is sometimes extremely cruel," said Czech hockey president Tomas Kral. "The serious illness that broke out in Ondrej caused a huge wave of hockey solidarity, and from the responses we received, I know that we will all remember him only in the best possible way. On behalf of Czech Hockey, I want to express my sincere condolences to his family, loved ones and friends."
Source: iSports.cz
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EN DIRECT
10 MAI 2026
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