In a recent interview with Slovak media outlet Denník Šport, Martin Pospíšil expressed his opinion on KHL players representing Slovakia at the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament and, because of that, was not sure whether he would accept the nomination to play for the team. One of the factors going into his decision was his strong desire to play together with older brother Kristian for the first time on the national team.
On Sunday, both Pospíšil brothers issued identical statements on their Instagram accounts. While strongly stating that they have not changed their opinions, they will nonetheless play for the team because “our desire to represent Slovakia and help achieve the best possible results is a priority for us, as well as the desire to play together.”
-Hello everyone, hockey fans and friends.
In recent days, you have certainly not missed information asking whether we brothers will play for the Slovak national team as part of the qualification for the Olympics.
We have already said enough about the players from the KHL and their participation on the national team, and it is known what our attitude is. It is up to each of you to form an opinion on the matter and act accordingly and also believe in what is right.
WE HAVE NOT CHANGED OUR OPINION!!!
But our desire to represent Slovakia and help achieve the best possible results is a priority for us, as well as the desire to play together.
We are athletes, and we have shown many times how much sport can unite our society, and we believe that we will do it again with the best possible performances and once again please Slovakia and every single Slovak who is a fan of sports and our hockey.
Martin Pospíšil, 24, is a center for the NHL’s Calgary Flames. He represented Slovakia once each at the U18 World Championship and the World Juniors, and played in his first IIHF World Championship this year in Czechia.
Kristian Pospíšil, 28, plays for Kometa Brno in the Czech Extraliga. He played for Slovakia at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships and was part of the bronze-medal team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He was also part of the team that played in the last Olympic qualification tournament in 2021, which was also in Bratislava.
Other players so far named to the team are Tomáš Tatar, Šimon Nemec, Martin Fehérváry, Samuel Hlavaj, Patrik Koch, Miloš Kelemen, Pavol Regenda, Adam Sýkora, Marek Hrivík and Libor Hudáček have already been confirmed for Olympic qualification. KHLers Mário Grman, Martin Gernát and Adam Liška are also reportedly expected to be named. No KHL players represented Slovakia at the 2022, 2023 or 2024 World Championships due to the league's support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the Slovak Ice Hockey Association recently reversed its policy.
The Slovak Ice Hockey Association has called a press conference for Monday at 9:30 AM Central European Time (3:30 AM EDT) where the full roster will be announced.
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