You’ve probably heard the word Valkyrie before — the Norse warriors who rode into battle deciding which fallen fighters were worthy of Valhalla. In Brno, the Valkyries are doing something a little less mythical but arguably just as important: building women’s hockey in the Czech Republic from the ground up.
The club started out in 2000 as HLC Bulldogs Brno before splitting off into its own identity — WHC Valkyries Brno — a team built entirely around women’s hockey. Their biggest milestone came during the 2025/26 season, when they won the First Women’s League to earn promotion to the Women’s Extraliga, the highest level of women’s hockey in the Czech Republic. They’ll play their first season there in 2026/27.
But the promotion is really just the headline. Spend any time around this team and the bigger story is what the club means to the players who make it. In the Czech Republic, most girls who play hockey grow up on boys’ teams, simply because there aren’t enough girls’ programs to go around. For a lot of the Valkyries, this club is the first time they’ve gotten to play alongside other women — and that changes things.
For forward Nela Veselá, that sense of belonging is what makes the club special.
“When I come into the women’s locker room, there’s a different energy,” she said. “It’s really special. We all have hockey in common, and it brings us together. I absolutely love the girls here and on my previous teams.”
For many players, joining a women’s team means more than simply wearing a different jersey. It is an opportunity to train and compete alongside teammates who share similar experiences, while building friendships through a sport they love.
“We all do what we enjoy together. We laugh,” teammate Kristýna Hoklová said. “I’m looking forward to doing something I enjoy with people I enjoy.”
That sense of community extends well beyond the team. Every year the Valkyries run the Valhalla Cup, a girls’ tournament that borrows its name from the same mythology as the club. It started small: four teams in its first year. This year it grew to twelve, with clubs coming in from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia — a sign of just how much interest in girls’ hockey is picking up across the region. The Valkyries themselves finished as runners-up this year, losing a close final to Kobra Praha, while Rozália Šalé walked away with tournament MVP.
More importantly, the tournament reflects the club’s broader mission. By creating opportunities for young girls to compete against other female teams, the Valkyries are helping build a pathway for future players while strengthening the wider women’s hockey community.
Their work comes at a pivotal moment for the sport. Women’s hockey in the Czech Republic has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, fuelled by the success of the national team, record-breaking crowds at international tournaments and an increasing number of Czech players competing professionally overseas. But that progress depends on clubs like the Valkyries continuing to invest at the grassroots level.
Every new player, every tournament and every successful club helps strengthen the foundation of the game.
This season will present the Valkyries with their biggest challenge yet. Promotion to the Women’s Extraliga means facing the strongest teams in the country and adapting to a faster, more demanding level of competition. Despite the challenge ahead, the players are embracing the opportunity.
“I think we have pretty good chemistry,” Veselá said. “I hope that now that we’ve finally been promoted to the Extraliga, we’ll succeed.”
If you talk to anyone around the club, wins come up last, if at all. What they mention are the tournaments, the community in the locker room, the friends they’ve made and players getting to play alongside women for the first time. And that’s true whether you’re talking about a club in Brno or a team in the top hockey nations in the world.
While every country has a different culture, budget, and infrastructure for the game, the appeal for young girls is the same everywhere. They want to play, and they want to be given the same opportunities that boys have always had before them. That’s what makes clubs like the Valkyries matter. Not just the promotion, not just one good season, but the fact that a young girl in Brno can grow up knowing a team like this will be there for her.
