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 official ice hockey team for Slovakia. It's managed by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. This team is known as one of the best national ice hockey teams in the world.

The team has won four medals at the World Championships. This includes a gold medal in 2002 and a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The team's general manager is Miroslav Šatan, and their head coach is Craig Ramsay.

History of Slovak Ice Hockey

The Slovak national team started after Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The international hockey group decided Slovakia had to start in a lower division. This was because fewer players from the old Czechoslovak team were Slovak.

But Slovakia quickly showed their skill! They won games and moved up to the top division by 1996. Their first big competition was the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Led by star player Peter Šťastný, they won their group but lost in overtime to Russia.

In the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, the team couldn't use their best players from the National Hockey League (NHL) in early games. This made it hard for Slovakia to do well. Because of this, the rules were changed for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Slovakia had great success in the early 2000s at the World Championships. They won a silver medal in 2000 and their only gold medal in 2002. They also earned a bronze medal in 2003.

After these wins, Slovakia's results became less strong. They often lost in the quarter-finals. In 2008, they almost dropped to a lower division. They only stayed in the top group by beating Slovenia twice.

A big surprise came in 2012 when Slovakia won a silver medal. Many people thought this medal was as good as gold because of their earlier struggles. However, in the years that followed, the team again found it hard to win medals.

In 2017, Slovakia had their toughest tournament, finishing 14th. After this, Craig Ramsay became the new head coach. His goal was to make the team play better. Even though they didn't reach the quarter-finals in 2018 or 2019, the team's overall play improved a lot.

At the Winter Olympic Games, Slovakia's best finish before 2022 was fourth place in Vancouver 2010. In that tournament, they beat strong teams like Russia and Sweden. In 2022, Slovakia won their first-ever Olympic medal. They beat Sweden 4–0 to take home the bronze medal!

Olympic Games Record

Slovak team celebrates their victory over Sweden during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Slovakia has participated in the Winter Olympics many times. Here's how they've done:

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

World Championship Record

Slovakia has also competed in the World Championships, moving up from lower divisions to the top.

Lower Divisions

Slovakia quickly moved up through the 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

Here are some of Slovakia's results in the top division of the World Championships:

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
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 Record

Slovakia has also taken part in the World Cup of Hockey.

In the 2016 tournament, Slovakia didn't have its own team. Instead, six Slovak players joined Team Europe. This team was led by Slovak general manager Miroslav Šatan.

Deutschland Cup Wins

Slovakia has won the Deutschland Cup several times:

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

Team Players

Current Roster

This is the team 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 33)	Kometa Brno
7	D	Mário Grman	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	89 kg (196 lb)	(1997-04-11) 11 April 1997 (age 28)	HC Vítkovice
13	D	František Gajdoš	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(2001-06-07) 7 June 2001 (age 24)	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 32)	Dynamo Pardubice
17	D	Šimon Nemec	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	92 kg (203 lb)	(2004-02-15) 15 February 2004 (age 21)	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 34)	HC Litvínov
20	F	Juraj Slafkovský	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	103 kg (227 lb)	(2004-03-30) 30 March 2004 (age 21)	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 28)	HC Litvínov
31	G	Samuel Hlavaj	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	99 kg (218 lb)	(2001-05-29) 29 May 2001 (age 24)	Škoda Plzeň
33	G	Stanislav Škorvánek	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	(1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 (age 29)	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 28)	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 25)	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 29)	HC Litvínov
98	D	Andrej Golian	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(2001-03-07) 7 March 2001 (age 24)	Slovan Bratislava

Gold Medal Team (2002 World Championship)

These are the players who won the gold medal in 2002:

Silver Medal Team (2012 World Championship)

These players won the silver medal in 2012:

Bronze Medal Team (2022 Winter Olympics)

These players won the bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics:

Player Statistics

Here are some interesting facts about the players: Source: [1] [2]

Players in bold are still playing.

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

Head Coaches

This table shows all the main coaches for the Slovakia national team. It also shows their record in big tournaments like the World Championships and Olympics. Source:

Retired Numbers

• 38 – Pavol Demitra His jersey number was retired from the national team. He was a great player and sadly passed away in a plane crash in 2011. His number was retired at the World Championship hosted in Slovakia that year.

Team Uniforms Over Time

The Slovak national team's jerseys have changed over the years. Here's a look at some of them:

• 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

More About Slovak Hockey

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

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