Slovakia unveils men’s roster for 2026 Winter Olympics
Slovakia is ready to take on the world’s best on the sport’s biggest stage.
On Thursday, the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation released its men’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 25-man unit has the potential to surprise a few teams with some notable names, including one of the rising stars in the NHL.
Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky leads a contingent that returns from the 2022 team that brought home the bronze medal in Beijing. His electrifying play has made him a fan-favorite in Montreal, with many hoping he can bring that level of play into these Winter Games. He’s part of a forward group that includes Pavol Regenda and former NHLer Tomas Tatar, all looking to make an impact in Milan.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec and Tampa Bay Lightning rearguard Erik Cernak lead a solid blue line that will have its hands full in Group B, with Sweden and Finland in their ranks. That could put some pressure on the goaltending, which features former World Juniors stars Samuel Hlavaj and Adam Gajan. Gajan, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect who recently played with the U.S. Collegiate Selects at the Spengler Cup, has been having a terrific season at Minnesota Duluth.
Here’s the full roster representing Slovakia at this year’s Winter Olympics:
Forwards: Peter Cehlárik, Dalibor Dvorský, Marek Hrivík, Libor Hudáček, Miloš Kelemen, Adam Liška, Oliver Okuliar, Martin Pospíšil, Pavol Regenda, Adam Ružička, Juraj Slafkovský, Matúš Sukeľ, Samuel Takáč, Tomáš Tatar
Defensemen: Peter Čerešňák, Erik Černák, Martin Fehérváry, Martin Gernát, Michal Ivan, Patrik Koch, Martin Marinčin, Šimon Nemec
Goaltenders: Adam Gajan, Samuel Hlavaj, Stanislav Škorvánek
This will be the first time NHLers will be allowed to compete at the Olympics since Sochi in 2014. In the “NHL era” of the Olympic hockey tournaments, Slovakia only made it to the semifinals once, that coming in Vancouver in 2010. The team’s bronze medal four years ago remains the only hardware the team has won in its history.
Here’s Slovakia’s schedule for its group stage games:
- Wednesday, Feb. 11: Slovakia vs. Finland, 10:40 a.m. ET
- Friday, Feb. 13: Italy vs. Slovakia, 6:10 a.m. ET
- Saturday, Feb. 14: Sweden vs. Slovakia, 6:10 a.m. ET
The play-off round will take place on Feb. 17, with the quarterfinals taking place the following day. Both semifinal games will occur on Feb. 20. The bronze medal game will be held on Feb. 21, with the tournament culminating on Feb. 22 with the gold medal game.