Martin Pospíšil was calm and reflective after Slovakia’s 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday in Bratislava, which qualified the team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

“That was the goal,” the Calgary Flames center said. “It wasn’t easy. All three games were pretty hard but we won all three. That was our goal before the tournament, so I’m really proud of how we handled the pressure. We have great fans and it was nice to play in front of them.”

It wasn’t always clear if Pospíšil would be part of this team. After he expressed his disappointment in the Slovak Ice Hockey Association’s decision to allow KHL players on the national team roster, he became the center of attention. Some thought he should follow the often parroted adage that “sports and politics shouldn’t mix,” while others wanted him to stick to his guns and boycott the tournament.

But there were a lot of things for Pospíšil to consider. He wanted to do what he thought was right. He also wanted Slovakia to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics. And he wanted to play for the national team with his older brother, Kristián, for the first time.

“It was a big decision,” he said after the Olympic qualifiers were over. “As I said to the media, our neighboring country is fighting a war against Russia. I made a statement, saying my opinion about it. But at the same time, my brother and I also knew that our team needed us and we wanted to help them qualify for the Olympics. So we made our opinions clear.”

At the time, Pospíšil said that he needed some time to talk to people close to him before he made a decision. Then he and his brother put out a joint Instagram statement.

“When my brother and I made the public statement, I think it was the right thing to do, and our opinion today hasn’t changed. If people think it doesn’t look like that because we played, well, they can think that if they want, but we’re still against it.”

Pospíšil said that there weren’t any divisions within the team, despite the inclusion of three KHL players who might have thought his statements were directed at them.

“It was good,” he said about the team’s cohesion. “It was never anything against the players. It’s against the regime and what the Russians are doing in Ukraine. That’s it.”

Indeed, despite the outside distractions – disgruntled players passed up by the team, or Marián Studenič leaving for not being satisfied with his role – there didn’t seem to be any on-ice issues. Craig Ramsay rolled four fairly balanced lines, with only two skaters failing to record a point and only two – Pospíšil and Marek Hrivík – recording three.

“We were saying before this tournament that we needed every line to be productive,” said Pospíšil. “I think that was our biggest advantage over the other teams here – that we have so many good players who can score. I think all four lines did a good job.”

The Pospíšil brothers played on a line with Pavol Regenda. Right winger Regenda was the trigger man, scoring twice, while Martin the center and Kristián on the left side had three and two assists, respectively. Their style of play resembled an NHL third line, playing a solid two-way game and creating energy. They should garner consideration when it comes time to choose Slovakia’s 2026 Olympic team.

“Our line is really physical and we spend a lot of time on offense, getting under their skin,” Regenda said about the trio.

“I think it’s part of our job and it’s what the team needed,” said Pospíšil. “We did a really good job on the forecheck, just driving to the net. Kristián and Pavol, they’re both big guys and I think we were a pretty good combination.”

As for playing with Kristián, two years Martin’s senior and a member of Czech club Kometa Brno, he smiled and said, “It was special. It was my dream, so I enjoyed every moment with him on the ice. It was fun and, hopefully, it wasn’t the last time that we played together.”

Now that the Olympic qualifiers are over, Pospíšil has almost a week in Slovakia before he flies to Calgary next Saturday, with training camp set to begin on September 18. He thinks playing intense games at this time of year will benefit him heading into the season.

“It was a really good experience,” he said “I had an injury so I didn’t have much off-season training this summer. I only had four weeks to prepare for this tournament, but now I feel good and ready to have a good training camp.”

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