The Slovak Ice Hockey Association has decided that, from now on, KHL players will be eligible to play for the Slovak national team. This is based on a recent poll of Slovak hockey clubs in which 52 percent of teams voted in favor of their inclusion.
There have been no KHL players on the Slovak national team in the last three IIHF World Championships. Most other competing teams have also declined to select KHL players since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, either formally or informally.
Slovak players currently under contract in the KHL include goaltender Patrik Rybár, defensemen Christián Jaroš, Martin Gernát, Michal Čajkovský and Mário Grman, and forwards Tomáš Jurčo, Adam Ružička, Michal Krištof and Adam Liška. All nine of those players have represented Slovakia at major international tournaments in the past and most will surely be at least considered for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament.
Slovakia will host one of three final Olympic qualifying tournaments in Bratislava from August 29 to September 1, with the winner qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The other teams will be Kazakhstan, Austria and Hungary.
The member clubs of the Slovak Ice Hockey Association were able to express their opinions on the participation of players with valid contracts in the KHL on the Slovak national team, based on the proposal by HKH Zvolen representative Dušan Mráz at the April session of the SZĽH Congress.
All clubs that had the right to vote at the SZĽH Congress were included in the opinion poll. Of those who voted, 52% were FOR the participation of KHL players in the national team, 38% of clubs were AGAINST the participation of KHL players in the national team, while 10% of clubs abstained. Based on the poll's results, the association therefore leans towards the opinion that the national team should be composed of the strongest possible players at individual tournaments, regardless of the players' club affiliations.
The coaches of the national team will thus have a free hand when selecting for international tournaments and it will be up to the individual players whether they accept the nomination for the national team.
The roster of players and team staff for the final Olympic qualifying tournament in late August will be announced in the coming weeks.
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