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Slovakia men's national ice hockey team

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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
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Naši chlapci (Our Boys)
AssociationSlovak Ice Hockey Federation
General managerMiroslav Šatan
Head coachCraig Ramsay
AssistantsPeter Frühauf
Ján Pardavý
Andrej Podkonický
CaptainTomáš Tatar
Most gamesDominik Graňák (184)
Top scorerMiroslav Šatan (85)
Most pointsMiroslav Šatan (162)
Home stadiumOndrej Nepela Arena
Team colors     
IIHF codeSVK
Ranking
Current IIHF9 Steady (27 May 2024)[1]
Highest IIHF3 (2004)
Lowest IIHF11 (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
Appearances8 (first in 1994)
Medals Bronze: (2022)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances30 (first in 1994)
Best resultGold Gold: (2002)
International record (W–L–T)
386–307–49
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Beijing Team
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

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

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Further information: Ice Hockey World Championships § 1993–present

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

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Olympic Games

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Slovak team celebrates their victory over Sweden during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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 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
Totals
Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
8 0 0 1 1

World Championship

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Lower divisions

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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

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Preseason match in Dresden in preparation for the 2022 IIHF World Championship: Slovakia vs. Germany
Championship GP W OTW T OTL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank
1920–1992 As part of   Czechoslovakia
  1996 Vienna 5 1 – 1 – 3 13 16 Július Šupler Oto Haščák Group Round 10th
  1997 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 8 3 – 1 – 4 20 23 Jozef Golonka Zdeno Cíger Consolation Round 9th
  1998 Basel, Zürich 6 2 – 2 – 2 11 12 Ján Šterbák Zdeno Cíger Second round 7th
  1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer 6 2 – 1 – 3 22 21 Ján Šterbák Zdeno Cíger Second round 7th
  2000 St. Petersburg 9 5 0 1 0 3 34 22 Ján Filc Miroslav Šatan Final   Silver
  2001 Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover 7 3 0 0 0 4 20 18 Ján Filc Zdeno Chára Quarter-finals 7th
  2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping 9 7 1 0 0 1 37 22 Ján Filc Miroslav Šatan Champions   Gold
  2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 9 7 0 1 0 1 45 17 František Hossa Miroslav Šatan 3rd Place Game   Bronze
  2004 Prague, Ostrava 9 5 0 2 1 1 24 9 František Hossa Miroslav Šatan 3rd Place Game 4th
  2005 Vienna, Innsbruck 7 4 0 1 0 2 19 17 František Hossa Miroslav Šatan Quarter-finals 5th
  2006 Riga 7 3 0 1 0 3 26 14 František Hossa Marián Hossa Quarter-finals 8th
  2007 Moscow 7 4 0 – 0 3 24 23 Július Šupler Miroslav Šatan Quarter-finals 6th
  2008 Quebec City, Halifax 5 2 1 – 0 2 18 12 Július Šupler Róbert Petrovický Relegation Round 13th
  2009 Bern, Kloten 6 1 1 – 2 2 12 24 Ján Filc Ľuboš Bartečko Second round 10th
  2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen 6 2 0 – 0 4 13 19   Glen Hanlon Richard Lintner Second round 12th
  2011 Bratislava, Košice 6 2 0 – 0 4 16 15   Glen Hanlon Pavol Demitra Second round 10th
    2012 Helsinki, Stockholm 10 7 0 – 0 3 30 23   Vladimír Vůjtek Zdeno Chára Final   Silver
    2013 Stockholm, Helsinki 8 3 0 – 1 4 22 20   Vladimír Vůjtek Miroslav Šatan Quarter-finals 8th
  2014 Minsk 7 3 0 – 1 3 20 21   Vladimír Vůjtek Miroslav Šatan Group stage 9th
  2015 Prague, Ostrava 7 1 2 – 2 2 17 19   Vladimír Vůjtek Tomáš Kopecký Group stage 9th
  2016 Moscow, St. Petersburg 7 2 1 – 0 4 15 23 Zdeno Cíger Andrej Sekera Group stage 9th
    2017 Cologne, Paris 7 0 1 – 2 4 12 28 Zdeno Cíger Vladimír Dravecký Group stage 14th
  2018 Copenhagen, Herning 7 3 0 – 2 2 19 20   Craig Ramsay Andrej Sekera Group stage 9th
  2019 Bratislava, Košice 7 3 1 – 0 3 28 19   Craig Ramsay Andrej Sekera Group stage 9th
2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic[6]
  2021 Riga 8 4 0 – 0 4 18 28   Craig Ramsay Marek Ďaloga Quarter-finals 8th
  2022 Helsinki, Tampere 8 4 0 – 0 4 25 23   Craig Ramsay Tomáš Tatar Quarter-finals 8th
    2023 Tampere, Riga 7 3 0 – 2 2 15 15   Craig Ramsay Marek Hrivík Group stage 9th
  2024 Prague, Ostrava 8 3 1 – 1 3 29 29   Craig Ramsay Tomáš Tatar Quarter-finals 7th
    2025 Stockholm, Herning –

World Cup

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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

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  •   Gold medal (1997, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2024)
  •   Silver medal (1994, 2001, 2017, 2021, 2023)
  •   Bronze medal (2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018)

Team

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Current roster

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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) (1992-06-10) 10 June 1992 (age 32)   Kometa Brno
7 D Mário Grman 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 89 kg (196 lb) (1997-04-11) 11 April 1997 (age 27)   HC Vítkovice
13 D František Gajdoš 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (2001-06-07) 7 June 2001 (age 23)   HK Nitra
14 D Peter Čerešňák – A 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 95 kg (209 lb) (1993-01-26) 26 January 1993 (age 31)   Dynamo Pardubice
17 D Šimon Nemec 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 92 kg (203 lb) (2004-02-15) 15 February 2004 (age 20)   New Jersey Devils
18 F Andrej Kudrna 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 95 kg (209 lb) (1991-05-11) 11 May 1991 (age 33)   HC Litvínov
20 F Juraj Slafkovský 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 103 kg (227 lb) (2004-03-30) 30 March 2004 (age 20)   Montreal Canadiens
21 F Miloš Kelemen 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1999-07-06) 6 July 1999 (age 25)   Tucson Roadrunners
27 F Marek Hrivík – A 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 89 kg (196 lb) (1991-08-28) 28 August 1991 (age 33)   Leksands IF
29 D Michal Ivan 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 90 kg (200 lb) (1999-11-18) 18 November 1999 (age 24)   Bílí Tygři Liberec
30 G Matej Tomek 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 83 kg (183 lb) (1997-05-24) 24 May 1997 (age 27)   HC Litvínov
31 G Samuel Hlavaj 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 99 kg (218 lb) (2001-05-29) 29 May 2001 (age 23)   Škoda Plzeň
33 G Stanislav Škorvánek 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 87 kg (192 lb) (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 (age 28)   Dukla Michalovce
34 F Peter Cehlárik 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 94 kg (207 lb) (1995-08-02) 2 August 1995 (age 29)   Leksands IF
42 D Martin Fehérváry 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 92 kg (203 lb) (1999-10-06) 6 October 1999 (age 25)   Washington Capitals
48 F Viliam Čacho 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (1998-10-14) 14 October 1998 (age 26)   Oceláři Třinec
56 F Marko Daňo 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1994-11-30) 30 November 1994 (age 29)   Oceláři Třinec
64 D Patrik Koch 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (1996-12-08) 8 December 1996 (age 27)   Arizona Coyotes
76 F Martin Pospíšil 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (1999-11-19) 19 November 1999 (age 24)   Calgary Flames
77 F Martin Faško-Rudáš 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 24)   Bílí Tygři Liberec
79 F Libor Hudáček 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) 80 kg (180 lb) (1990-09-07) 7 September 1990 (age 34)   Oceláři Třinec
87 F Pavol Regenda 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 99 kg (218 lb) (1999-12-07) 7 December 1999 (age 24)   San Diego Gulls
90 F Tomáš Tatar – C 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (1990-12-01) 1 December 1990 (age 33)   Seattle Kraken
91 F Matúš Sukeľ 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) 77 kg (170 lb) (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 (age 28)   HC Litvínov
98 D Andrej Golian 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (2001-03-07) 7 March 2001 (age 23)   Slovan Bratislava

2002 World Championship: Gold winning roster

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

2012 World Championship

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

2022 Winter Olympics

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Main article: Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament
Goalies
Defensemen
Forwards

Player statistics

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Source: [1] [2]

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

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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
  1. ^ Managed the team during 2004 World Cup of Hockey

Team managers

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Paul Loicq Award recipient Juraj Okoličány managed the team from 1993 to 1998.[10][11][12][13]

Retired numbers

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All-time record

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The following table shows Slovakia's international record against other national teams from 1940 to 1945 and since 1993, correct as of 10 November 2024 after a match against Denmark. 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 36 27 2 7 140 65 +75
  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 742 386 49 307 2 307 1 876 +431

Uniform evolution

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  • 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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Story #22". IIHF Archive. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Story #75". IIHF Archive. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  4. ^ Szemberg, Szymon; Podnieks, Andrew. "Story #77–Recently separated, Czechs and Slovaks meet in World Championships final". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  5. ^ "IIHF - Brotherly but divided". IIHF. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  6. ^ Steiss, Adam. "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled". iihf.com. IIHF. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  7. ^ "MS 2024: V záverečnej nominácii 25 hráčov, tím opustili Petrovický, Takáč a Lantoši" (in Slovak). hockeyslovakia.sk. 7 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Team roster: Slovakia" (PDF). iihf.com. 10 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Slovenských hokejistov povedie Čech Vladimír Vůjtek" (in Slovak). 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Juraj Okolicany 1943–2008". International Ice Hockey Federation. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "IIHF HoF 2008". International Ice Hockey Federation. 16 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ Magáth, Tomáš (10 September 2008). "Zomrel Juraj Okoličány". Noviny.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Slovakia - National Teams of Ice Hockey". nationalteamsoficehockey.com. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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