Olympic bronze medallist Ladislav Lubina has died aged 54 ©Twitter/HC Dynamo Pardubice

Tributes have been paid to Olympic bronze medallist Ladislav Lubina with the Czech Ice Hockey Association confirming his death at the age of 54.

The former national team forward died on September 13, after suffering from brain cancer.

Lubina was a member of the Czechoslovakia team which earned a bronze medal at the Albertville 1992 Winter Olympic Games.

Czechoslovakia reached the semi-finals of the tournament, where they were beaten 4-2 by Canada to end their chances of Olympic gold.

The team responded by winning the bronze medal match 6-1 against the United States.

Lubina scored six points in eight games at the tournament.

He also appeared at four World Championships during his career and won bronze in 1990 and 1992, along with a sixth place finish in 1991.

Lubina’s final appearance at the tournament came in 1998, ending a six-year absence from the national team by scoring five points in nine games.

The Czech Republic secured a bronze medal at the event by beating hosts Switzerland 4-0.

Lubina’s international career also included appearances at the 1987 Canada Cup and the 1990 Goodwill Games.

He had also won two silver medals at the Junior World Championships.

Lubina’s career had begun when he broke into the Pardubice team at the age of 17 in Czechoslovakia’s top league.

The forward led the league scoring record in the 1990 to 1991 season with 41 goals in 50 games, before opting to play around in Finland, Germany and Switzerland for four years.

He was drafted in the National Hockey League by the Minnesota North Stars in 1985 but never played in the league.

Lubina instead returned to play in Pardubice, before later leading the team as a coach.

"He was a man who connected his hockey life with Pardubice," said Dušan Salfický, a HC Dynamo Pardubice board member.

"We have all been affected by this news.

"On behalf of the entire club, I want to express my sincere condolences to family and friends."

He had held several coaching roles in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Kazakhstan in his non-playing career.

Lubin stopped coaching in 2020.

A minute’s silence was observed prior to Pardubice’s home game against Sparta Prague on Tuesday (September 14).