Slovakia men's national ice hockey team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Slovakia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Repre, Chlapci (Boys), Naši chlapci (Our Boys)
AssociationSlovak Ice Hockey Federation
General managerMiroslav Šatan
Head coachCraig Ramsay
AssistantsMichal Handzuš
Peter Kosa
Ján Pardavý
Andrej Podkonický
CaptainMarek Ďaloga
Most gamesDominik Graňák (184)1
Top scorerMiroslav Šatan (85)1
Most pointsMiroslav Šatan (162)1
Home stadiumOndrej Nepela Arena
Team colors     
IIHF codeSVK
Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2019 IHWC.png
Ranking
Current IIHF9 Steady (6 June 2021)[1]
Highest IIHF3 (2004)
Lowest IIHF11 (2017)
First international
Slovakia Slovakia 0–12 Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Bohemia
(Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; 1 February 1940)2
Biggest win
Slovakia  20–0  Bulgaria
(Poprad, Slovakia; 18 March 1994)2
Biggest defeat
Slovakia Slovakia 0–12 Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Bohemia
(Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; 1 February 1940)2
IIHF World Championships
Appearances27 (first in 1994)
Best resultGold medal world centered-2.svg Gold: (2002)
Olympics
Appearances6 (first in 1994)
Medals4th (2010)
International record (W–L–T)
334–282–49
Medal record
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2002 Sweden
Silver medal – second place 2000 Russia
Silver medal – second place 2012 Finland/Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Finland
Winter Universiade
Silver medal – second place 1999 Poprad Tatry
Silver medal – second place 2003 Tarvisio
Silver medal – second place 2019 Krasnoyarsk
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Zakopane
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Harbin

The Slovak 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. In the Winter Olympic Games, Slovakia's highest achievement is 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.

History[]

The Slovak national team was formed following the breakup of Czechoslovakia, as the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. While the Czechs were allowed to compete at 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 it promotion to pool A by 1996. See also Post-Cold War period of the IIHF world championships.

Slovakia's first appearance in an elite ice hockey competition was at 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.

Slovak national team members and notable players have included Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Marián Hossa, Marián Gáborík, Marcel Hossa; Miroslav Šatan; goaltender Jaroslav Halák and the tallest player in NHL history, Zdeno Chára. In the late 1990s, the St. Louis Blues placed Ľuboš Bartečko, Michal Handzuš, and Pavol Demitra on the same line. This trio became known as the "Slovak Pack," and were able to communicate in their native language without the opposition knowing what they were saying, unless, of course, they also understood Slovak.

Following the successful years for the Slovaks in the early 2000s at the World Championship, 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 two group format, followed by the quarterfinals. Due to the surprise this medal was after 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 to the quarterfinals, with the exception of 2013.

Tournament record[]

Olympic Games[]

Games GP W OW T OL L GF GA Coach Captain Roster Finish
1920–1992 Part of  Czechoslovakia
Norway 1994 Lillehammer 8 4 0 2 1 1 35 29 Július Šupler Peter Šťastný 6th
Japan 1998 Nagano 4 1 0 1 0 1 11 13 Zdeno Cíger 10th
United States 2002 Salt Lake City 4 1 0 2 0 1 15 13 Miroslav Šatan 13th
Italy 2006 Turin 6 5 0 0 0 1 19 11 František Hossa Pavol Demitra roster 5th
Canada 2010 Vancouver 7 3 1 – 0 3 22 18 Zdeno Chára roster 4th
Russia 2014 Sochi 4 0 0 – 1 3 5 16 Czech Republic Vladimír Vůjtek Zdeno Chára roster 11th
South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang 4 1 0 – 1 2 7 12 Canada Craig Ramsay Tomáš Surový roster 11th
China 2022 Beijing Qualified

World Championship[]

Lower divisions[]

Division Championship GP W OW T OL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank
C1 Slovakia 1994 Poprad, Spišská Nová Ves 6 4 – 2 – 0 43 3 Július Šupler Oto Haščák Winner, Promoted 1st
B Slovakia 1995 Bratislava 7 7 – 0 – 0 60 15 Július Šupler Peter Šťastný Winner, Promoted 1st

Top division[]

Championship GP W OTW T OTL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank
1920–1992 As part of  Czechoslovakia
Austria 1996 Vienna 5 1 – 1 – 3 13 16 Július Šupler Oto Haščák Group Round 10th
Finland 1997 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 8 3 – 1 – 4 20 23 Jozef Golonka Zdeno Cíger Consolation Round 9th
Switzerland 1998 Basel, Zürich 6 2 – 2 – 2 11 12 Zdeno Cíger Second round 7th
Norway 1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer 6 2 – 1 – 3 22 21 Zdeno Cíger Second round 7th
Russia 2000 St. Petersburg 9 5 0 1 0 3 34 22 Miroslav Šatan Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Germany 2001 Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover 7 3 0 0 0 4 20 18 Zdeno Chára Quarter-finals 7th
Sweden 2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping 9 7 1 0 0 1 37 22 Miroslav Šatan Champions 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Finland 2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 9 7 0 1 0 1 45 17 František Hossa Miroslav Šatan 3rd Place Game 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Czech Republic 2004 Prague, Ostrava 9 5 0 2 1 1 24 9 František Hossa Miroslav Šatan 3rd Place Game 4th
Austria 2005 Vienna, Innsbruck 7 4 0 1 0 2 19 17 František Hossa Miroslav Šatan Quarter-finals 5th
Latvia 2006 Riga 7 3 0 1 0 3 26 14 František Hossa Marián Hossa Quarter-finals 8th
Russia 2007 Moscow 7 4 0 – 0 3 24 23 Július Šupler Miroslav Šatan Quarter-finals 6th
Canada 2008 Quebec City, Halifax 5 2 1 – 0 2 18 12 Július Šupler Róbert Petrovický Relegation Round 13th
Switzerland 2009 Bern, Kloten 6 1 1 – 2 2 12 24 Ľuboš Bartečko Second round 10th
Germany 2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen 6 2 0 – 0 4 13 19 Canada Glen Hanlon Richard Lintner Second round 12th
Slovakia 2011 Bratislava, Košice 6 2 0 – 0 4 16 15 Canada Glen Hanlon Pavol Demitra Second round 10th
Finland Sweden 2012 Helsinki, Stockholm 10 7 0 – 0 3 30 23 Czech Republic Vladimír Vůjtek Zdeno Chára Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Sweden Finland 2013 Stockholm, Helsinki 8 3 0 – 1 4 22 20 Czech Republic Vladimír Vůjtek Miroslav Šatan Quarter-finals 8th
Belarus 2014 Minsk 7 3 0 – 1 3 20 21 Czech Republic Vladimír Vůjtek Miroslav Šatan Group stage 9th
Czech Republic 2015 Prague, Ostrava 7 1 2 – 2 2 17 19 Czech Republic Vladimír Vůjtek Tomáš Kopecký Group stage 9th
Russia 2016 Moscow, St. Petersburg 7 2 1 – 0 4 15 23 Zdeno Cíger Andrej Sekera Group stage 9th
Germany France 2017 Cologne, Paris 7 0 1 – 2 4 12 28 Zdeno Cíger Vladimír Dravecký Group stage 14th
Denmark 2018 Copenhagen, Herning 7 3 0 – 2 2 19 20 Canada Craig Ramsay Andrej Sekera Group stage 9th
Slovakia 2019 Bratislava, Košice 7 3 1 – 0 3 28 19 Canada Craig Ramsay Andrej Sekera Group stage 9th
Switzerland 2020 Zürich, Lausanne Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic[2]
Latvia 2021 Riga 8 4 0 – 0 4 18 28 Canada Craig Ramsay Marek Ďaloga Quarter-finals 8th
Finland 2022 Helsinki, Tampere Canada Craig Ramsay

World Cup[]

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 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[]

  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal (1997, 2006, 2011, 2016)
  • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal (1994, 2001, 2017, 2021)
  • 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018)

Former national jerseys[]

ZOH 1994 MS 1994 1995 1996–1997 1998–2000
Slovak national team jerseys 1994 (WOG).png Slovak national team jerseys 1994 (WC).png Slovak national team jerseys 1995.png Slovak national team jerseys 1996.png Slovak national team jerseys 1998.png
2001–2004 SP 2004 2005 2006 2007–2008
Slovak national team jerseys 2001.png Slovak national team jerseys 2004 (WCH).png Slovak national team jerseys 2005.png Slovak national team jerseys 2006.png Slovak national team jerseys 2007.png
2009–2013 2014–2017 ZOH 2018 2019–present
Slovak national team jerseys 2009.png Slovak national team jerseys 2014.png Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2018 (WOG).png Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2019 IHWC.png

Team[]

Current roster[]

Roster for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.[3]

Head coach: Craig Ramsay[4]

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Team
3 D Adam Jánošík – A 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (1992-09-07) 7 September 1992 (age 29) Sweden IK Oskarshamn
5 D Šimon Nemec 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (2004-02-15) 15 February 2004 (age 17) Slovakia HK Nitra
7 D Mário Grman 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 92 kg (203 lb) (1997-04-11) 11 April 1997 (age 24) Finland SaiPa
8 F Pavol Skalický 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 97 kg (214 lb) (1995-10-09) 9 October 1995 (age 26) Finland Lukko
12 F Miloš Kelemen 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1999-07-06) 6 July 1999 (age 22) Slovakia HKM Zvolen
13 F Michal Krištof 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 74 kg (163 lb) (1993-10-11) 11 October 1993 (age 28) Finland Oulun Kärpät
16 F Róbert Lantoši 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1995-09-24) 24 September 1995 (age 26) United States Providence Bruins
17 F Dávid Buc 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1987-01-22) 22 January 1987 (age 35) Slovakia Bratislava Capitals
19 F Matúš Sukeľ 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) 77 kg (170 lb) (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 (age 26) Czech Republic Sparta Prague
22 D Samuel Kňažko 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 87 kg (192 lb) (2002-08-07) 7 August 2002 (age 19) Finland HC TPS
23 F Adam Liška 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1999-10-14) 14 October 1999 (age 22) Russia Severstal Cherepovets
27 F Marek Hrivík – A 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1991-08-28) 28 August 1991 (age 30) Sweden Leksands IF
28 D Martin Gernát 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 94 kg (207 lb) (1993-04-11) 11 April 1993 (age 28) Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec
29 D Michal Ivan 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (1999-11-18) 18 November 1999 (age 22) Slovakia HKM Zvolen
33 G Július Hudáček 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 87 kg (192 lb) (1988-08-09) 9 August 1988 (age 33) Russia Spartak Moscow
34 F Peter Cehlárik 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1995-08-02) 2 August 1995 (age 26) Sweden Leksands IF
35 G Adam Húska 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1997-05-12) 12 May 1997 (age 24) United States Hartford Wolf Pack
40 F Miloš Roman 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 87 kg (192 lb) (1999-11-06) 6 November 1999 (age 22) Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec
42 G Branislav Konrád 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (1987-10-10) 10 October 1987 (age 34) Czech Republic HC Olomouc
44 D Mislav Rosandić 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (1995-01-26) 26 January 1995 (age 27) Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec
48 D Daniel Gachulinec 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 83 kg (183 lb) (1994-02-16) 16 February 1994 (age 27) Slovakia HC 07 Detva
60 F Juraj Slafkovský 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 99 kg (218 lb) (2004-03-30) 30 March 2004 (age 17) Finland HC TPS
65 D Martin Bučko 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (2000-05-13) 13 May 2000 (age 21) Czech Republic Dynamo Pardubice
67 F Marián Studenič 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 83 kg (183 lb) (1998-10-28) 28 October 1998 (age 23) United States New Jersey Devils
71 D Marek Ďaloga – C 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 90 kg (200 lb) (1989-03-10) 10 March 1989 (age 32) Czech Republic Dynamo Pardubice
77 F Martin Faško-Rudáš 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 77 kg (170 lb) (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 21) Slovakia Banská Bystrica
88 F Kristián Pospíšil 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (1996-04-22) 22 April 1996 (age 25) Finland Lukko
89 F Adrián Holešinský 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 25) Slovakia HK Nitra

2002 World Championship: Gold winning roster[]

Main article: 2002 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
Goalies
Defensemen
Forwards

2012 World Championship[]

Main article: 2012 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
Goalies
Defensemen
Forwards

Player statistics[]

Source: [1] [2]

As of 31 May 2021

Players in bold are still active.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; GPG = Goal per game;

Head coaches[]

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. Data as of 13 April 2019

Source:[5]

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
1997–1999 16 5 0 4 0 7 44 46 31.3 0.88
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
[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
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– 29 11 2 – 3 13 84 76 44.8 1.28
  1. ^ Managed the team during 2004 World Cup of Hockey

Team managers[]

Paul Loicq Award recipient Juraj Okoličány managed the team from 1993 to 1998.[6][7][8][9]

Retired numbers[]

  • 38 – Pavol Demitra The legend 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[]

The following table shows Slovakia's international record from 1940 to 1945 and since 1993, correct as of 29 August 2021. Teams in italics are no longer actively competing.

Source:[10]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 Austria 39 31 2 6 151 61 +90
 Belarus 37 23 1 13 106 73 +33
Bucharest Bucharest 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Bulgaria 1 1 0 0 20 0 +20
 Canada 52 23 4 25 166 156 +10
 Croatia 1 1 0 0 6 1 +5
 Czech Republic 68 14 7 47 139 233 −94
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1 0 0 1 0 12 −12
 Denmark 20 16 0 5 77 37 +40
 Finland 35 7 3 25 67 111 −44
Finland Finland olympic 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1
 France 33 24 3 6 142 61 +81
 Germany 63 35 1 27 157 141 +16
 Great Britain 5 5 0 0 29 7 +22
 Hungary 8 6 0 2 50 19 +31
 Italy 18 13 1 4 75 43 +32
 Japan 5 5 0 0 39 12 +27
 Kazakhstan 9 7 1 1 42 15 +27
 South Korea 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Latvia 30 18 3 9 95 64 +31
 Netherlands 2 2 0 0 24 4 +20
 Norway 33 23 2 8 116 64 +52
 Poland 9 8 1 1 48 17 +31
 Romania 4 4 0 0 39 3 +36
 Russia 38 10 5 23 91 122 −31
International Olympic Committee Russian Olympic Committee 2 2 0 0 6 3 +3
 Russia B 8 3 0 5 21 22 −1
 Slovenia 13 10 0 3 49 23 +26
  Switzerland 71 28 7 36 169 165 +14
  Switzerland B 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Sweden 39 10 3 26 85 130 −45
Sweden Sweden Vikings 2 0 0 2 5 8 −3
 Ukraine 10 9 1 0 49 18 +31
 United States 29 10 3 16 66 97 −31
Vienna Wiener EG 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Yugoslavia 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3
Total 684 346 49 288 2121 1701 +420
  • Overtime and penalty shots victories and losses are counted towards wins/losses.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  2. ^ Steiss, Adam. "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled". iihf.com. IIHF. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. ^ "MS 2021: SR do Rigy s historicky najmladším tímom, nedostali sa doň Koch, Regenda a Hrehorčák" (in Slovak). hockeyslovakia.sk. 15 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Roster Belarus" (PDF). iihf.com. 21 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Slovenských hokejistov povedie Čech Vladimír Vůjtek" (in Slovak). 17 August 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Juraj Okolicany 1943–2008". International Ice Hockey Federation. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  7. ^ "IIHF HoF 2008". International Ice Hockey Federation. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Vo veku 65 rokov zomrel Juraj Okoličány, Golonka zarmútený". HokejPortal.sk (in Slovak). 10 September 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  9. ^ Magáth, Tomáš (10 September 2008). "Zomrel Juraj Okoličány". Noviny.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  10. ^ "SLOVENSKO verzus SVET" (in Slovak). SZLH. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""