After several seasons in the late 1990s spent mostly in the AHL refining his game, Kroupa elected to return to play in his native Czech Republic before the start of the 2000–01 season.
Poté, co koncem 90. let strávil několik sezón většinou v AHL, kde brousil svoji hru, zvolil Kroupa před sezónou 2000-01 návrat ke hraní v rodné České republice.