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Slovakia men's national ice hockey team facts for kids

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Slovakia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Naši chlapci (Our Boys)
Association Slovak Ice Hockey Federation
General Manager Miroslav Šatan
Head coach Vladimír Országh
Assistants Peter Frühauf
Ján Pardavý
Andrej Podkonický
Captain Michal Ivan
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 Decrease 1 (28 May 2023)
Highest IIHF ranking 3 (2004)
Lowest IIHF ranking 11 (2017)
Team colors               
Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2022 IHWC.png
First international
Slovakia  2–2 Flag of France.svg France
(Rouen, France; 12 February 1993)
Biggest win
Slovakia  20–0 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria
(Poprad, Slovakia; 18 March 1994)
Biggest defeat
Czech Republic  8–0 Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia
(Kloten, Switzerland; 2 May 2009)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances 31 (first in 1994)
Best result Gold Gold: (2002)
Olympics
Appearances 8 (first in 1994)
Medals Bronze medal.svg Bronze: (2022)
International record (W–L–T)
390–312–49
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze 2022 Beijing Team
World Championships
Gold 2002 Sweden
Silver 2000 Russia
Silver 2012 Finland/Sweden
Bronze 2003 Finland

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

Slovakia has won four medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships. This includes a gold medal in 2002 and a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Team History

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

However, Slovakia quickly moved up to the top division by 1996. They earned promotions in back-to-back years.

Early Olympic Games

Slovakia first played in a top ice hockey event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Led by star player Peter Šťastný, they finished first in their group. They lost to Russia in the quarterfinals.

In the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, the Slovak team did not use their best players from the National Hockey League (NHL) in the first games. This was due to scheduling problems. This rule affected smaller countries like Slovakia a lot. Because of this, Slovakia did not make it to the final eight teams in both years. The rules were changed for the 2006 Winter Olympics to fix this problem.

World Championship Successes

Slovakia had great success in the early 2000s at the World Championships. They won a silver medal in 2000 after losing to the Czechs. They then won their only gold medal so far in 2002. In 2003, they earned a bronze medal.

After these successful years, Slovakia's results got worse. They often lost in the quarterfinals. In 2008, they almost dropped to a lower division. They avoided this by winning two games against Slovenia.

In 2012, Slovakia surprisingly won a silver medal again. This was a big achievement after many tough tournaments. It felt like a gold medal win because it was so unexpected. However, in the years after, Slovakia struggled to win medals or even reach the quarterfinals.

Recent Years

In 2017, Slovakia had its worst tournament ever, finishing 14th. They barely avoided being moved to a lower division. After this, Craig Ramsay became the new head coach. His goal was to make the team play better. Even though they missed the quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019, the team's overall play improved.

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. They lost to Canada in the semi-finals and to Finland for the bronze medal.

In 2022, Slovakia won their first ever Olympic medal. They defeated Sweden 4–0 in the bronze medal game.

Tournament Results

Olympic Games

Slovakia2010WinterOlympicscelebration2
Slovak team celebrates their victory over Sweden during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Games Finish
1920–1992 Part of Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia
Norway 1994 Lillehammer 6th
Japan 1998 Nagano 10th
United States 2002 Salt Lake City 13th
Italy 2006 Turin 5th
Canada 2010 Vancouver 4th
Russia 2014 Sochi 11th
South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang 11th
China 2022 Beijing 3 Bronze
Italy 2026 Milan and Cortina Qualified
France 2030 French Alps Future event
Totals
Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
8 0 0 1 1

World Championship

Lower divisions

Division Championship Finish
C1 Slovakia 1994 Poprad, Spišská Nová Ves Winner, Promoted
B Slovakia 1995 Bratislava Winner, Promoted

Top division

2022-04-29 Deutschland gegen Slowakei (Eishockey-Länderspiel) by Sandro Halank–261
Preseason match in Dresden in preparation for the 2022 IIHF World Championship: Slovakia vs. Germany
Championship Finish
1920–1992 As part of Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia
Austria 1996 Vienna 10th
Finland 1997 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 9th
Switzerland 1998 Basel, Zürich 7th
Norway 1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer 7th
Russia 2000 St. Petersburg 2 Silver
Germany 2001 Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover 7th
Sweden 2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping Champions
Finland 2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 3 Bronze
Czech Republic 2004 Prague, Ostrava 4th
Austria 2005 Vienna, Innsbruck 5th
Latvia 2006 Riga 8th
Russia 2007 Moscow 6th
Canada 2008 Quebec City, Halifax 13th
Switzerland 2009 Bern, Kloten 10th
Germany 2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen 12th
Slovakia 2011 Bratislava, Košice 10th
Finland Sweden 2012 Helsinki, Stockholm 2 Silver
Sweden Finland 2013 Stockholm, Helsinki 8th
Belarus 2014 Minsk 9th
Czech Republic 2015 Prague, Ostrava 9th
Russia 2016 Moscow, St. Petersburg 9th
Germany France 2017 Cologne, Paris 14th
Denmark 2018 Copenhagen, Herning 9th
Slovakia 2019 Bratislava, Košice 9th
2020 Cancelled
Latvia 2021 Riga 8th
Finland 2022 Helsinki, Tampere 8th
Finland Latvia 2023 Tampere, Riga 9th
Czech Republic 2024 Prague, Ostrava 7th
Sweden Denmark 2025 Stockholm, Herning 11th
Switzerland 2026 Zurich, Fribourg

World Cup

Year Finish
1996 7th
2004 8th

Slovakia did not have its own team at the 2016 event. Instead, six Slovak players were part of Team Europe. This team 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 Players

Current Roster

This is the team roster for the 2025 IIHF World Championship.

Head coach: Vladimír Országh

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Team
4 D Mudrák, DávidDávid Mudrák 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 90 kg (200 lb) (2001-02-13) 13 February 2001 (age 24) Czech Republic Mountfield HK
6 D Romaňák, DávidDávid Romaňák 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 95 kg (209 lb) (1999-08-12) 12 August 1999 (age 25) Slovakia HK Spišská Nová Ves
7 D Grman, MárioMário Grman 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 89 kg (196 lb) (1997-04-11) 11 April 1997 (age 28) Russia Admiral Vladivostok
8 F Čajkovič, MaximMaxim Čajkovič 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (2001-01-03) 3 January 2001 (age 24) Czech Republic HC Litvínov
10 F Sýkora, AdamAdam Sýkora 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 87 kg (192 lb) (2004-09-07) 7 September 2004 (age 20) United States Hartford Wolf Pack
13 F Krištof, MichalMichal Krištof 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 74 kg (163 lb) (1993-10-11) 11 October 1993 (age 31) Switzerland SCL Tigers
15 F Dvorský, DaliborDalibor Dvorský 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 92 kg (203 lb) (2005-06-15) 15 June 2005 (age 20) United States Springfield Thunderbirds
16 F Lantoši, RóbertRóbert Lantoši 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1995-09-24) 24 September 1995 (age 29) Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec
17 F Kašlík, MatejMatej Kašlík 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 81 kg (179 lb) (2002-08-05) 5 August 2002 (age 22) Czech Republic Motor České Budějovice
19 F Hrehorčák, PatrikPatrik Hrehorčák 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (1999-03-18) 18 March 1999 (age 26) Czech Republic HC Oceláři Třinec
22 D Kňažko, SamuelSamuel Kňažko 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (2002-08-07) 7 August 2002 (age 22) United States Cleveland Monsters
24 G Rybár, PatrikPatrik Rybár 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (1993-11-09) 9 November 1993 (age 31) China Kunlun Red Star
27 F Čederle, SebastiánSebastián Čederle 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (2000-02-21) 21 February 2000 (age 25) Slovakia HK Nitra
29 D Ivan, MichalMichal Ivan – A 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 90 kg (200 lb) (1999-11-18) 18 November 1999 (age 25) Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec
31 G Hlavaj, SamuelSamuel Hlavaj 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 99 kg (218 lb) (2001-05-29) 29 May 2001 (age 24) United States Iowa Wild
32 G Húska, AdamAdam Húska 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1997-05-12) 12 May 1997 (age 28) Switzerland HC Lugano
40 F Roman, MilošMiloš Roman – A 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (1999-11-06) 6 November 1999 (age 25) Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec
42 F Honzek, SamuelSamuel Honzek 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (2004-11-12) 12 November 2004 (age 20) Canada Calgary Flames
44 D Rosandić, MislavMislav Rosandić 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 90 kg (200 lb) (1995-01-26) 26 January 1995 (age 30) Slovakia HC Košice
49 F Takáč, SamuelSamuel Takáč 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 92 kg (203 lb) (1993-12-03) 3 December 1993 (age 31) Slovakia Slovan Bratislava
64 D Koch, PatrikPatrik Koch 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (1996-12-08) 8 December 1996 (age 28) Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec
73 D Beňo, MichalMichal Beňo 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (2001-11-15) 15 November 2001 (age 23) Slovakia HKM Zvolen
87 F Regenda, PavolPavol Regenda 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1999-12-07) 7 December 1999 (age 25) United States San Jose Barracuda
88 F Chromiak, MartinMartin Chromiak 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (2002-08-20) 20 August 2002 (age 22) United States Ontario Reign
91 F Sukeľ, MatúšMatúš Sukeľ – 'C 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) 78 kg (172 lb) (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 (age 29) Czech Republic Verva Litvínov
98 D Golian, AndrejAndrej Golian 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (2001-03-07) 7 March 2001 (age 24) Slovakia Slovan Bratislava

Player Statistics

Players in bold are still playing.

Head Coaches

This table shows all head coaches for the Slovakia national team. It includes their results at the IIHF World Championships, World Cup of Hockey, and Winter Olympic Games.

Name Years ! Games coached Wins Ties Losses
Július Šupler 1993–1996 29 16 5 8
Jozef Golonka 1996–1997 8 3 1 4
Ján Šterbák 1997–1999 16 5 4 7
Ján Filc 1999–2002 29 17 3 9
František Hossa 2002–2006 38 24 5 9
Ján Filc 2004 4 0 0 4
Július Šupler 2006–2008 12 6 – 6
Ján Filc 2008–2010 13 6 – 7
Glen Hanlon 2010–2011 12 4 – 8
Vladimír Vůjtek 2011–2015 36 16 – 20
Zdeno Cíger 2015–2017 14 4 – 10
Craig Ramsay 2017–2024 59 30 – 29
Vladimír Országh 2025– 6 2 – 4

Retired Numbers

  • 38 – Pavol Demitra was a star player for the national team. His number was retired after he passed away in a plane crash in 2011. This happened at the World Championship hosted in Slovakia that year.

All-Time Record

This table shows Slovakia's international record against other national teams since 1993. Wins and losses include games decided in overtime or by shootouts.

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost
Flag of Austria.svg Austria 45 34 2 9
Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus 37 24 1 12
Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria 1 1 0 0
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 53 20 4 29
Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia 1 1 0 0
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic 77 16 7 54
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 24 17 0 7
Flag of Finland.svg Finland 39 7 3 29
Flag of France.svg France 38 30 3 5
Flag of Germany.svg Germany 87 50 2 35
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain 5 5 0 0
Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 9 7 0 2
Flag of Italy.svg Italy 18 14 1 3
Flag of Japan.svg Japan 5 5 0 0
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan 13 10 1 2
Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia 38 24 2 12
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 2 2 0 0
Flag of Norway.svg Norway 37 28 2 7
Flag of Poland.svg Poland 9 8 1 0
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1 0 0 1
Flag of Romania.svg Romania 7 5 1 1
Flag of Russia.svg Russia 34 9 5 20
Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia 13 11 0 2
Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 1 1 0 0
Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 43 11 3 29
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland 81 34 7 40
Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine 10 9 1 0
Flag of the United States.svg United States 32 11 3 18
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Yugoslavia 1 1 0 0
Total 761 395 49 317

Uniform Evolution

  • National team jerseys
  • Slovak national team jerseys 1994 (WOG)

    1994 Olympic jerseys

  • Slovak national team jerseys 1994 (WC)

    IIHF jerseys 1994

  • Slovak national team jerseys 1995

    IIHF jerseys 1995

  • Slovak national team jerseys 1996

    IIHF jerseys 1996, 1997

  • Slovak national team jerseys 1998

    1998–2000 IIHF jerseys

  • Slovak national team jerseys 2001

    2002 Olympic jerseys, 2001–2004 IIHF jerseys

  • Slovak national team jerseys 2004 (WCH)

    2004 WCH jerseys

  • Slovak national team jerseys 2005

    IIHF jerseys 2005

  • Slovak national team jerseys 2006

    2006 Olympic jerseys, later used at IIHF tournaments 2006

  • Slovak national team jerseys 2007

    IIHF jerseys 2007, 2008

  • Slovak national team jerseys 2009

    2010 Olympic jerseys, 2009–2013 IIHF jerseys

  • Slovak national team jerseys 2014

    2014 Olympic jerseys, later used at IIHF tournaments 2014–2017

  • Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2018 (WOG)

    2018 Olympic jerseys

  • Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2021 IHWC

    2018–2021 IIHF jerseys

  • Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2022 (WOG)

    2022 Olympic jerseys

  • Slovakia national ice hockey team jerseys 2022 IHWC

    2022– IIHF jerseys

See also

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