Slovakia men's national ice hockey team
 | |
| Nickname(s) | Naši chlapci (Our Boys) |
|---|---|
| Association | Slovak Ice Hockey Federation |
| General manager | Miroslav Šatan |
| Head coach | Craig Ramsay |
| Assistants | Peter Frühauf Ján Pardavý Andrej Podkonický |
| Captain | Tomáš Tatar |
| Most games | Dominik Graňák (184) |
| Top scorer | Miroslav Šatan (85) |
| Most points | Miroslav Šatan (162) |
| Home stadium | Ondrej Nepela Arena |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | SVK |
 | |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 9  (27 May 2024)[1] |
| Highest IIHF | 3 (2004) |
| Lowest IIHF | 11 (2017) |
| First international | |
Slovakia  2–2  France(Rouen, France; 12 February 1993) | |
| Biggest win | |
Slovakia 20–0  Bulgaria(Poprad, Slovakia; 18 March 1994) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Czech Republic  8–0 Slovakia(Kloten, Switzerland; 2 May 2009) | |
| Olympics | |
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1994) |
| Medals |  Bronze: (2022) |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 30 (first in 1994) |
| Best result |  Gold: (2002) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 387–307–49 | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
2022 Beijing | Team |
| World Championships | ||
 |
2002 Sweden | |
 |
2000 Russia | |
|
2012 Finland/Sweden | |
|
2003 Finland | |
The Slovakia men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Slovakia and is controlled by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. A successor to the Czechoslovakia national team, it is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world. The team's general manager is Miroslav Šatan and their head coach is Craig Ramsay.
Slovakia has won four medals at the World Championships, including a gold medal in 2002 in Sweden, and a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
History
[edit]The Slovak national team was formed following the breakup of Czechoslovakia, as the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Although the Czechs were allowed to compete in the highest pool (A), the IIHF ruled that because fewer players of the former Czechoslovak team were Slovaks, Slovakia would be required to start international play in pool C. However, Slovakia's play in the lower pools won back-to-back promotions to pool A by 1996.[2][3][4][5]
Slovakia's first appearance in an elite ice hockey competition was at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. With a lineup led by star Peter Šťastný, the Slovaks finished first in their group with three wins and two ties before losing to Russia in overtime in the quarterfinals. In the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, the Slovak team was unable to use its National Hockey League (NHL) players in the preliminary round due to a scheduling conflict. This affected all of the smaller countries, but devastated the Slovaks as most of their best players were from NHL teams. The NHL only shut down its schedule in time for the second group stage, and thus Slovakia failed to qualify among the final eight teams both times. This turn of events was troubling to the entire hockey community, and the rules were changed for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
Following the successful years for the Slovaks in the early 2000s at the World Championships, when they won the silver in St. Petersburg at the 2000 edition after a loss to the Czechs, winning the (so far) only title in Goteburg at the 2002 edition and securing bronze in Helsinki (2003), the results of Slovakia worsened and Slovakia began to drop out in the quarterfinals. The closest Slovakia came to relegation into Division I was in 2008, when they avoided relegation only thanks to two victories over Slovenia in the Relegation Round. Following was a series of three subsequent eliminations in the qualifying round (round of 12), including one at a 2011 edition Slovakia hosted in Bratislava and Košice for the first time, since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
Largely unexpected, however, was Slovakia's silver medal at the 2012 edition, again won in Helsinki. This was the first tournament after the introduction of the new tournament format, followed by the quarterfinals. Due to the surprise this medal was after a number of unsuccessful tournaments, it was by many regarded as with a value of a triumphal gold. In the following years however, Slovakia again failed to repeat medal successes and even failed to qualify for the quarterfinals, with the exception of 2013.
In the following years, the team narrowly missed out on a quarterfinal spot for three consecutive years. In 2017, Slovakia recorded its worst tournament in history by placing 14th, narrowly escaping elimination thanks to an overtime victory against Italy. After the unsuccessful World Championships, Craig Ramsay was appointed as the head coach with the goal of improving the results and playstyle of the national team. Despite missing out on the quarterfinals again in 2018 in Denmark and a year later on home ice, the overall appearance of the team looked much better than the years prior. More recently, Slovakia reached the knockout stage on 3 out of 4 occasions.
In the Winter Olympic Games, Slovakia's highest achievement prior to 2022 was fourth place in Vancouver 2010. In the tournament they won against favourites Russia and Sweden, and lost against Canada in the semi-finals and against Finland in the bronze medal game. In 2022, the Slovaks claimed their first ever Olympic medal after defeating Sweden 4–0 in a bronze medal game.
Tournament record
[edit]Olympic Games
[edit]
| Games | GP | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | Coach | Captain | Finish | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920–1992 | Part of Czechoslovakia
| ||||||||||||
 1994 Lillehammer
|
8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 29 | Július Šupler | Peter Šťastný | 6th | ||
 1998 Nagano
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4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 13 | Ján Šterbák | Zdeno Cíger | 10th | ||
 2002 Salt Lake City
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 13 | Ján Filc | Miroslav Šatan | 13th | ||
 2006 Turin
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 11 | František Hossa | Pavol Demitra | 5th | ||
 2010 Vancouver
|
7 | 3 | 1 | — | 0 | 3 | 22 | 18 | Ján Filc | Zdeno Chára | 4th | ||
 2014 Sochi
|
4 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 3 | 5 | 16 | Vladimír Vůjtek
|
Zdeno Chára | 11th | ||
 2018 Pyeongchang
|
4 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | Craig Ramsay
|
Tomáš Surový | 11th | ||
 2022 Beijing
|
7 | 3 | 1 | — | 0 | 3 | 19 | 16 | Craig Ramsay
|
Marek Hrivík |  Bronze
| ||
| 2026 Milan and Cortina
|
Qualified | ||||||||||||
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
World Championship
[edit]Lower divisions
[edit]| Division | Championship | GP | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | Coach | Captain | Finish | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | 1994 Poprad, Spišská Nová Ves |
6 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 43 | 3 | Július Šupler | Oto Haščák | Winner, Promoted | 1st |
| B | 1995 Bratislava |
7 | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 60 | 15 | Július Šupler | Peter Šťastný | Winner, Promoted | 1st |
Top division
[edit]_by_Sandro_Halank%E2%80%93261.jpg)
World Cup
[edit]| Year | GP | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | Coach | Captain | Finish | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 3 | 9 | 19 | Jozef Golonka | Round 1 | 7th | |
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 | Ján Filc | Quarter-finals | 8th |
At the 2016 edition, Slovakia was not represented. Instead 6 Slovak players were a part of Team Europe, which was led by Slovak general manager Miroslav Šatan.
Deutschland Cup
[edit]
Gold medal (1997, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2024)
Silver medal (1994, 2001, 2017, 2021, 2023)
Bronze medal (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018)
Team
[edit]Current roster
[edit]Roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.[7][8]
Head coach: Craig Ramsay
| No. | Pos. | Name | Height | Weight | Birthdate | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | F | Lukáš Cingel | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | 88 kg (194 lb) | 10 June 1992 | Kometa Brno
|
| 7 | D | Mário Grman | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | 89 kg (196 lb) | 11 April 1997 | HC Vítkovice
|
| 13 | D | František Gajdoš | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 7 June 2001 | HK Nitra
|
| 14 | D | Peter Čerešňák – A | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | 95 kg (209 lb) | 26 January 1993 | Dynamo Pardubice
|
| 17 | D | Šimon Nemec | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 15 February 2004 | New Jersey Devils
|
| 18 | F | Andrej Kudrna | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | 95 kg (209 lb) | 11 May 1991 | HC Litvínov
|
| 20 | F | Juraj Slafkovský | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | 103 kg (227 lb) | 30 March 2004 | Montreal Canadiens
|
| 21 | F | Miloš Kelemen | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | 96 kg (212 lb) | 6 July 1999 | Tucson Roadrunners
|
| 27 | F | Marek Hrivík – A | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | 89 kg (196 lb) | 28 August 1991 |  Leksands IF
|
| 29 | D | Michal Ivan | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 18 November 1999 | Bílí Tygři Liberec
|
| 30 | G | Matej Tomek | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | 83 kg (183 lb) | 24 May 1997 | HC Litvínov
|
| 31 | G | Samuel Hlavaj | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | 99 kg (218 lb) | 29 May 2001 | Škoda Plzeň
|
| 33 | G | Stanislav Škorvánek | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 31 January 1996 | Dukla Michalovce
|
| 34 | F | Peter Cehlárik | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | 94 kg (207 lb) | 2 August 1995 | Leksands IF
|
| 42 | D | Martin Fehérváry | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 6 October 1999 | Washington Capitals
|
| 48 | F | Viliam Čacho | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | 82 kg (181 lb) | 14 October 1998 | Oceláři Třinec
|
| 56 | F | Marko Daňo | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | 96 kg (212 lb) | 30 November 1994 | Oceláři Třinec
|
| 64 | D | Patrik Koch | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | 86 kg (190 lb) | 8 December 1996 | Arizona Coyotes
|
| 76 | F | Martin Pospíšil | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | 82 kg (181 lb) | 19 November 1999 | Calgary Flames
|
| 77 | F | Martin Faško-Rudáš | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | 82 kg (181 lb) | 10 August 2000 | Bílí Tygři Liberec
|
| 79 | F | Libor Hudáček | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | 80 kg (180 lb) | 7 September 1990 | Oceláři Třinec
|
| 87 | F | Pavol Regenda | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | 99 kg (218 lb) | 7 December 1999 | San Diego Gulls
|
| 90 | F | Tomáš Tatar – C | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | 82 kg (181 lb) | 1 December 1990 | Seattle Kraken
|
| 91 | F | Matúš Sukeľ | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | 77 kg (170 lb) | 23 January 1996 | HC Litvínov
|
| 98 | D | Andrej Golian | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | 82 kg (181 lb) | 7 March 2001 | Slovan Bratislava
|
2002 World Championship: Gold winning roster
[edit]
|
|
2012 World Championship
[edit]
|
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2022 Winter Olympics
[edit]
|
|
Player statistics
[edit]- As of 7 May 2023
Players in bold are still active.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; GPG = Goal per game;
|
|
Head coaches
[edit]This table shows all Slovakia national team head coaches and their record at the IIHF World Championships, World Cup of Hockey and Winter Olympic Games (including qualifying tournaments). Data correct as of match played on 26 May 2022.
Source:[9]
| Name | Years | G | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | W% | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Július Šupler | 1993–1996 | 29 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 160 | 92 | 55.2 | 1.31 |
| Jozef Golonka | 1996–1997 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 23 | 37.5 | 0.88 |
| Ján Šterbák | 1997–1999 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 44 | 46 | 31.3 | 0.88 |
| Ján Filc | 1999–2002 | 29 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 106 | 75 | 58.6 | 1.24 |
| František Hossa | 2002–2006 | 38 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 133 | 68 | 63.2 | 1.39 |
| Ján Filc[note 1] | 2004 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 | .000 | 0.00 |
| Július Šupler | 2006–2008 | 12 | 5 | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | 42 | 35 | 50.0 | 1.42 |
| Ján Filc | 2008–2010 | 13 | 4 | 2 | – | 2 | 5 | 34 | 42 | 46.2 | 1.38 |
| Glen Hanlon | 2010–2011 | 12 | 4 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | 29 | 34 | 33.3 | 1.00 |
| Vladimír Vůjtek | 2011–2015 | 36 | 14 | 2 | – | 5 | 15 | 94 | 99 | 44.4 | 1.42 |
| Zdeno Cíger | 2015–2017 | 14 | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | 8 | 27 | 51 | 28.6 | 0.86 |
| Craig Ramsay | 2017– | 44 | 21 | 2 | – | 3 | 18 | 125 | 121 | 52.3 | 1.59 |
- ^ Managed the team during 2004 World Cup of Hockey
Team managers
[edit]Paul Loicq Award recipient Juraj Okoličány managed the team from 1993 to 1998.[10][11][12][13]
Retired numbers
[edit]- 38 – Pavol Demitra A star of the national team and a victim of the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash – retired from the national team at the Slovak-hosted World Championship that year.
All-time record
[edit]The following table shows Slovakia's international record against other national teams from 1940 to 1945 and since 1993, correct as of 11 December 2024 after a match against Norway. Teams in italics are no longer actively competing. Overtime and game winning shot victories and losses are counted towards wins and losses.
Source:[14]
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
44 | 34 | 2 | 8 | 170 | 77 | +93 |
 Belarus |
37 | 24 | 1 | 12 | 107 | 72 | +35 |
| Bulgaria |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | +20 |
| Canada |
52 | 20 | 4 | 28 | 148 | 164 | −17 |
 Croatia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
| Czech Republic |
75 | 16 | 7 | 52 | 150 | 261 | −111 |
 Denmark |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 93 | 50 | +43 |
 Finland |
38 | 7 | 3 | 28 | 62 | 123 | −61 |
| France |
35 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 153 | 64 | +89 |
 Germany |
83 | 47 | 2 | 34 | 221 | 202 | +19 |
 Great Britain |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 7 | +22 |
 Hungary |
9 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 22 | +35 |
| Italy |
18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 77 | 42 | +35 |
| Japan |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 12 | +27 |
 Kazakhstan |
13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 58 | 25 | +33 |
 Latvia |
36 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 119 | 74 | +45 |
 Netherlands |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 | +20 |
| Norway |
37 | 28 | 2 | 7 | 143 | 66 | +77 |
 Poland |
9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 12 | +39 |
 Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | −12 |
 Romania |
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 7 | +46 |
| Russia |
34 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 72 | 108 | −36 |
 Slovenia |
12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 18 | +25 |
| South Korea |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Sweden |
42 | 11 | 3 | 28 | 91 | 140 | −49 |
 Switzerland |
79 | 34 | 7 | 38 | 197 | 182 | +15 |
 Ukraine |
10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 18 | +31 |
| United States |
32 | 11 | 3 | 18 | 75 | 112 | −37 |
 Yugoslavia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| Total | 743 | 387 | 49 | 307 | 2 310 | 1 877 | +433 |
Uniform evolution
[edit]- National team jerseys
-
1994 Olympic jerseys -
IIHF jerseys 1994 -
IIHF jerseys 1995 -
IIHF jerseys 1996, 1997 -
1998–2000 IIHF jerseys -
2002 Olympic jerseys, 2001–2004 IIHF jerseys -
2004 WCH jerseys -
IIHF jerseys 2005 -
2006 Olympic jerseys, later used at IIHF tournaments 2006 -
IIHF jerseys 2007, 2008 -
2010 Olympic jerseys, 2009–2013 IIHF jerseys -
2014 Olympic jerseys, later used at IIHF tournaments 2014–2017 -
2018 Olympic jerseys -
2018–2021 IIHF jerseys -
2022 Olympic jerseys -
2022– IIHF jerseys
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Story #22". IIHF Archive. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Story #75". IIHF Archive. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew. "Story #77–Recently separated, Czechs and Slovaks meet in World Championships final". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
- ^ "IIHF - Brotherly but divided". IIHF. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Steiss, Adam. "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled". iihf.com. IIHF. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "MS 2024: V záverečnej nominácii 25 hráčov, tím opustili Petrovický, Takáč a Lantoši" (in Slovak). hockeyslovakia.sk. 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Team roster: Slovakia" (PDF). iihf.com. 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Slovenských hokejistov povedie Čech Vladimír Vůjtek" (in Slovak). 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ "Juraj Okolicany 1943–2008". International Ice Hockey Federation. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "IIHF HoF 2008". International Ice Hockey Federation. 16 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- ^ "Vo veku 65 rokov zomrel Juraj Okoličány, Golonka zarmútený". HokejPortal.sk (in Slovak). 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ Magáth, Tomáš (10 September 2008). "Zomrel Juraj Okoličány". Noviny.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "Slovakia - National Teams of Ice Hockey". nationalteamsoficehockey.com. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
External links
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