Slovakia men's national ice hockey team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Slovakia

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
IIHF code	SVK
IIHF ranking	9 1 (28 May 2023)
Highest IIHF ranking	3 (2004)
Lowest IIHF ranking	11 (2017)
Team colors
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)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	30 (first in 1994)
Best result	Gold: (2002)
Olympics
Appearances	8 (first in 1994)
Medals	Bronze: (2022)
International record (W–L–T)
386–307–49

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

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.

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

Olympic Games

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	3 Bronze
2026 Milan and Cortina	Qualified

World Championship

Lower divisions

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

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	2 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	1 Gold
2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku	9	7	0	1	0	1	45	17	František Hossa	Miroslav Šatan	3rd Place Game	3 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	2 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
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

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

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

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.

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 25)	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 30)	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 25)	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 34)	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

2012 World Championship

2022 Winter Olympics

Player statistics

Source: [1] [2]

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 (including qualifying tournaments). Data correct as of match played on 26 May 2022.

Source:

Team managers

Paul Loicq Award recipient Juraj Okoličány managed the team from 1993 to 1998.

Retired numbers

• 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

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:

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

• 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

In Spanish: Selección de hockey sobre hielo de Eslovaquia para niños

• List of players in Slovakia men's national ice hockey team
• Slovak Extraliga