Slovakia men's national ice hockey team

Slovakia

The Coat of arms of Slovakia is the badge used on the players jerseys.
Association Slovak Ice Hockey Federation
General Manager Otto Sýkora
Head coach Vladimír Vůjtek
Assistants Petr Jaroš
Peter Oremus
Vladimír Országh
Captain Tomáš Kopecký
Most games Miroslav Šatan (175)1
Top scorer Miroslav Šatan (85)1
Most points Miroslav Šatan (162)1
Home stadium Zimný Štadión Ondreja Nepelu
IIHF code SVK
IIHF ranking 8 Steady
Highest IIHF ranking 3 (2004)
Lowest IIHF ranking 10 (2011)
Team colors               
First international
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Bohemia 12–0 Slovakia Slovakia
(Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; 1 February 1940)2
Biggest win
 Slovakia 20–0 Bulgaria 
(Poprad, Slovakia; 18 March 1994)2
Biggest defeat
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Bohemia 12–0 Slovakia Slovakia
(Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; 1 February 1940)2
IIHF World Championships
Appearances 20 (first in 1994)
Best result Gold(2002)
Olympics
Appearances 6 (first in 1994)
International record (W–L–T)
240–178–51
Medal record
World Championships
Gold 2002 Sweden Team
Silver 2000 Russia Team
Silver 2012 Finland/Sweden Team
Bronze 2003 Finland Team
Slovakia hockey logo

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. As of March 2010, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the world governing body of hockey, ranks them as the seventh strongest national team in the world. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world. The team's general manager is Otto Sýkora and their head coach is Vladimír Vůjtek.

In the last sixteen years, Slovakia has won four medals at the World Championships, including a gold medal in 2002 in Sweden. In winter Olympic games, Slovakia's highest achievement is 4th place in Vancouver 2010. In the tournament they won against favourites Russia and Sweden, and lost against Canada in the semifinals 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. For years, the Czechs kept control over how the national team was run, and even had quotas instituted to ensure a minimal participation of Slovak players on the Czechoslovak national team. 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.

In the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, 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 Slovak team as most of their players were coming from NHL teams. The NHL had decided to only allow their players to participate in the final medal round, and thus Slovakia failed to qualify finishing a disappointing 13th. 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 include Marián Gáborík of the Los Angeles Kings; Marián Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks; Marcel Hossa; Miroslav Šatan; star goaltender of the New York Islanders 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 spoke/understood Slovak.

Tournament record

Olympic Games

Games GP W OW T OL L GF GA Coach Captain Roster Finish
1920–1990 Part of Czechoslovakia
Norway1994 Lillehammer 8 4 0 2 1 1 35 29 Július Šupler Peter Šťastný 6th
Japan1998 Nagano 4 1 0 1 0 1 11 13 Ján Šterbák Zdeno Cíger 10th
United States 2002 Salt Lake City 4 1 0 2 0 1 15 13 Ján Filc 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 Ján Filc Zdeno Chára roster 4th
Russia 2014 Sochi 4 0 0 – 1 3 5 16 Czech Republic Vladimír Vůjtek Zdeno Chára roster 11th

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 OW T OL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank
1920 – 1992 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 Ján Šterbák Zdeno Cíger Second round 7th
Norway 1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer 6 2 – 1 – 3 22 21 Ján Šterbák Zdeno Cíger Second round 7th
Russia 2000 St. Petersburg 9 5 0 1 0 3 34 22 Ján Filc Miroslav Šatan Final 2nd
Germany 2001 Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover 7 3 0 0 0 4 20 18 Ján Filc Zdeno Chára Quarter-finals 7th
Sweden 2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping 9 7 1 0 0 1 37 22 Ján Filc Miroslav Šatan Champions 1st
Finland 2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 9 7 0 1 0 1 45 17 František Hossa Miroslav Šatan 3rd Place Game 3rd
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 3 0 – 0 4 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 Ján Filc Ľuboš Bartečko Second round 10th
Germany 2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen 6 2 0 – 0 4 13 19 CanadaGlen Hanlon Richard Lintner Second round 12th
Slovakia 2011 Bratislava, Košice 6 2 0 – 0 4 16 15 CanadaGlen 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
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 Czech Republic Vladimír Vůjtek

World Cup

Year GP W OW T OL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank
1996 3 0 – 0 – 3 9 19 Július Šupler Round 1 7th
2004 4 0 0 0 0 4 4 18 Ján Filc Quarter-finals 8th

All-time record

The following table shows Slovakia's international record from 1940 – 1945 and since 1993, correct as of 20 May 2013.

Source:[1]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 Austria 28 22 2 4 120 48 +72
 Belarus 23 14 1 8 64 37 +27
 Bulgaria 1 1 0 0 20 0 +20
 Canada 47 21 4 22 152 137 +15
 Czech Republic 56 13 7 36 121 198 −77
 Denmark 11 7 0 4 51 23 +28
 Finland 26 5 3 18 57 81 −24
 France 19 15 3 1 95 32 +63
 Germany 46 26 1 19 121 109 +12
 Great Britain 2 2 0 0 14 4 +10
 Hungary 7 5 0 2 46 18 +28
 Italy 15 11 1 3 67 38 +29
 Japan 5 5 0 0 39 12 +27
 Kazakhstan 9 7 1 1 42 15 +27
 Latvia 22 14 3 5 76 46 +30
 Netherlands 2 2 0 0 24 4 +20
 Norway 22 16 2 4 90 42 +48
 Poland 6 5 1 0 36 10 +26
 Romania 4 4 0 0 39 3 +36
 Russia 26 8 5 13 72 81 −9
 Slovenia 9 8 0 1 37 14 +23
  Switzerland 57 24 7 26 140 129 +11
 Sweden 30 9 3 18 68 94 −26
 Ukraine 10 9 1 0 49 18 +31
 United States 18 6 3 9 44 58 −14
Finland Finland olympic 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1
 Russia B 2 1 0 1 8 9 −1
Sweden Sweden Vikings 2 0 0 2 5 8 −3
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1 0 0 1 0 12 −12
Vienna Wiener EG 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
  Switzerland B 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Yugoslavia 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3
 Croatia 1 1 0 0 6 1 +5
Bucharest Bucharest 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
Total 511 263 49 199 1711 1285 +426

Team

2014 Olympics

The following is the Slovak roster in the men's ice hockey tournament of the 2014 Winter Olympics.[2]

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Birthplace 2013–14 team
7 D Baranka, IvanIvan Baranka 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 19 May 1985 Ilava Russia Avangard Omsk (KHL)
13 F Jurco, TomasTomáš Jurčo 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 28 December 1992 Košice United States Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
14 D Meszaros, AndrejAndrej Meszároš 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 13 October 1985 Považská Bystrica United States Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
19 D Starosta, TomášTomáš Starosta 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) 90 kg (200 lb) 20 May 1981 Trenčín Russia Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (KHL)
23 D Vydareny, ReneRené Vydarený 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 6 May 1981 Bratislava Czech Republic Hradec Králové (CZE)
26 F Handzus, MichalMichal Handzuš – A 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 11 March 1977 Banská Bystrica United States Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
28 F Panik, RichardRichard Pánik 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) 94 kg (207 lb) 7 February 1991 Martin United States Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
31 G Budaj, PeterPeter Budaj 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 18 September 1982 Banská Bystrica Canada Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
33 D Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chára – C 206 cm (6 ft 9 in) 116 kg (256 lb) 18 March 1977 Trenčín United States Boston Bruins (NHL)
41 G Halak, JaroslavJaroslav Halák 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 13 May 1985 Bratislava United States St. Louis Blues (NHL)
43 F Surovy, TomasTomáš Surový 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 24 September 1981 Banská Bystrica Belarus Dinamo Minsk (KHL)
44 D Sekera, AndrejAndrej Sekera 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 8 June 1986 Bojnice United States Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
50 G Laco, JanJán Laco 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) 83 kg (183 lb) 1 December 1981 Liptovský Mikuláš Ukraine Donbass Donetsk (KHL)
52 D Marincin, MartinMartin Marinčin 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 18 February 1992 Košice Canada Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
61 F Bartovic, MilanMilan Bartovič 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 9 April 1981 Trenčín Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (KHL)
65 F Marcinko, TomasTomáš Marcinko 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) 94 kg (207 lb) 11 April 1988 Poprad Slovakia HC Košice (SVK)
67 F Zaborksy, TomasTomáš Záborský 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 14 November 1987 Trenčín Russia Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)
68 D Jurcina, MilanMilan Jurčina 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) 114 kg (251 lb) 7 June 1983 Liptovský Mikuláš Finland TPS Turku (FIN)
81 F Hossa, MarianMarián Hossa – A 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 12 January 1979 Stará Ľubovňa United States Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
82 F Kopecky, TomasTomáš Kopecký 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 5 February 1982 Ilava United States Florida Panthers (NHL)
85 F Olvecky, PeterPeter Ölvecký 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) 97 kg (214 lb) 11 October 1985 Nové Zámky Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (KHL)
88 F Hossa, MarcelMarcel Hossa 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) 99 kg (218 lb) 12 October 1981 Ilava Latvia Dinamo Riga (KHL)
90 F Tatar, TomasTomáš Tatar 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 1 December 1990 Ilava United States Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
91 F Miklik, MichelMichel Miklík 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) 90 kg (200 lb) 31 July 1982 Piešťany Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (KHL)
92 F Radivojevic, BrankoBranko Radivojevič 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 24 November 1980 Piešťany Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (KHL)

2014 IIHF World Championship

Goaltenders
# Player Date of birth Club
32 Jaroslav Janus 21 September 1989 Slovakia HC Slovan Bratislava
50 Ján Laco 1 December 1981 Russia Barys Astana
88 Július Hudáček 9 August 1988 Sweden Örebro HK
Defensemen
# Player Date of birth Club
8 Marek Ďaloga 10 March 1989 Czech Republic HC Sparta Praha
11 Peter Čerešňák 26 January 1993 Slovakia HK Dukla Trenčín
12 Ivan Švarný 30 October 1984 Slovakia HC Slovan Bratislava
16 Juraj Valach 1 February 1989 Czech Republic HC Slavia Praha
22 Karol Sloboda 16 May 1983 Russia HC Lada Togliatti
52 Martin Marinčin 18 February 1992 Canada Edmonton Oilers
91 Ján Brejčák 29 June 1989 Slovakia HC Slovan Bratislava
Forwards
# Player Date of birth Club
9 Dávid Skokan 6 December 1988 Czech Republic HC Slavia Praha
15 Marek Hrivík 28 August 1991 United States Hartford Wolf Pack
18 Miroslav Šatan 22 October 1974 Slovakia HC Slovan Bratislava
19 Michel Miklík 31 July 1982 Slovakia HC Slovan Bratislava
21 Radoslav Tybor 23 November 1989 Czech Republic HC Pardubice
25 Marek Viedensky 18 August 1990 United States Worcester Sharks
27 Ladislav Nagy 1 June 1979 Finland Jokerit
28 Richard Pánik 7 February 1991 Canada Toronto Maple Leafs
65 Tomáš Marcinko 11 April 1988 Slovakia HC Košice
71 Juraj Mikúš 22 February 1987 Slovakia HC Slovan Bratislava
77 Martin Réway 24 January 1995 Czech Republic HC Sparta Praha
90 Tomáš Tatar 1 December 1990 United States Detroit Red Wings

2002 World Championship

Goalies

Defensemen

Forwards

Player statistics

Source:

As of 11 Nov 2013

Players in bold are still active.

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

Most caps
# Player GP G
1. Miroslav Šatan 169 85
2. Martin Štrbák 162 13
3. Ľubomír Sekeráš 152 29
4. Peter Pucher 144 23
5. Ľubomír Višňovský 141 18
6. Richard Kapuš 136 16
7. Dominik Graňák 130 6
8. Stanislav Jasečko 128 9
9. Tomáš Starosta 126 5
10. Ladislav Čierny 123 11
Most goals
# Player GP G GPG
1. Miroslav Šatan 169 81 .48
2. Ľubomír Kolník 109 59 .54
3. Jozef Daňo 117 45 .38
4. Ján Pardavý 120 45 .38
5. Vlastimil Plavucha 119 44 .37
6. Žigmund Pálffy 74 37 .50
7. Marián Hossa 84 37 .44
8. Branislav Jánoš 117 37 .32
9. Peter Bondra 47 35 .74
10. Zdeno Cíger 108 34 .31

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.

Source:[3]

Name Years G W OW T OL L GF GA W%
Július Šupler 1993–1996 29 16 0 5 1 7 160 92 .552
Jozef Golonka 1996–1997 8 3 0 1 0 4 20 23 .375
Ján Šterbák 1997–1999 16 5 0 4 0 7 44 46 .313
Ján Filc 1999–2002 29 16 1 3 0 9 106 75 .552
František Hossa 2002–2006 38 24 0 5 1 8 133 68 .632
Ján Filc[note 1] 2004 4 0 0 0 0 4 4 18 .000
Július Šupler 2006–2008 12 5 1 – 0 6 42 35 .417
Ján Filc 2008–2010 13 4 2 – 2 5 34 42 .308
Glen Hanlon 2010–2011 12 4 0 – 0 8 29 34 .333
Vladimír Vůjtek 2011 – present 29 13 0 – 3 13 77 80 .448
Notes
  1. ↑ Managed the team during 2004 World Cup of Hockey

As of after the 2014 World Championship.

Retired numbers

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SLOVENSKO verzus SVET" (in Slovak). SZLH. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Team Roster Slovakia
  3. ↑ "Slovenských hokejistov povedie Čech Vladimír Vůjtek" (in Slovak). 17 August 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2014.

External links