Slovakia Announces Olympic Squad With 7 NHLers, 3 KHLers

The Slovak Ice Hockey Federation announced on Thursday its roster for the 2026 Olympic men’s tournament in Milan, Italy.

The 25-man roster includes nine players based in North America – seven in the NHL, one in the AHL, and one in the NCAA. The team otherwise includes nine players from the Czech Extraliga, three from the KHL, two from the Swedish Hockey League, and one each from Switzerland’s National League and Slovakia’s domestic Liga.

"We are pleased that everyone wanted to play – we didn’t have a single refusal,” said head coach Vladimír Országh. “We needed to look at many aspects – for example, to have power play players, PK specialists, to have enough players for physical play, offensive and defensive defensemen. That’s also why some names didn’t make the team.”

Two interesting additions to the team that were questioned by Slovak media at the press conference were two returning bronze medalists from Beijing – forwards Martin Pospíšil and Adam Ružička.

“Martin was an important player for the team at the 2024 World Championship in Ostrava,” said GM Miroslav Šatan. “We’ve been monitoring his situation closely. His start date has been postponed several times – I believe that he will play in the next few days and play a few games before he comes to the Olympics.”

Martin Pospíšil after Olympic qualifiers: “It was never anything against the players” from the KHL Martin Pospíšil was calm and reflective after Slovakia’s 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday in Bratislava, which <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/latvia-denmark-slovakia-and-maybe-france-qualify-for-2026-olympics">qualified the team for the 2026 Winter Olympics</a> in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

“Adam had a difficult period that he’s overcome,” said Országh. “He already had an excellent season last year, and this year he’s continued to play well. He’s an offensive player from whom we expect points and productivity.”

Ružička is one of three KHL players on the team, along with defenseman Martin Gernát and forward Adam Liška. The issue of KHL players on the national team has been an ongoing controversy in Slovakia for the past couple of years.

Minnesota Wild prospect Samuel Hlavaj has established himself as Slovakia’s starting netminder over the past couple of seasons and is expected to be the main man between the pipes. A surprise pick in goal is Adam Gajan, who played for the U.S. Collegiate Selects at the recent Spengler Cup, ahead of KHL goalie Patrik Rybár, who made the tournament all-star team four years ago in Beijing.

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GOALTENDERS 

Adam Gajan (University of Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA)
Samuel Hlavaj (Iowa Wild, AHL)
Stanislav Škorvánek (Mountfield Hradec Králové, CZE)

DEFENSEMEN

Peter Čerešňák (HC Dynamo Pardubice, CZE)
Erik Černák (Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL)
Martin Fehérváry (Washington Capitals, NHL)
Martin Gernát (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL)
Michal Ivan (Bílí Tygři Liberec, CZE)
Patrik Koch (HC Oceláři Třinec, CZE)
Martin Marinčin (HC Oceláři Třinec, CZE)
Šimon Nemec (New Jersey Devils, NHL)

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FORWARDS

Peter Cehlárik (Leksands IF, SWE)
Dalibor Dvorský (St. Louis Blues, NHL)
Marek Hrivík (HC Vítkovice Ridera, CZE)
Libor Hudáček (HC Oceláři Třinec, CZE)
Miloš Kelemen (HC Dynamo Pardubice, CZE)
Adam Liška (Severstal Cherepovets, KHL)
Oliver Okuliar (Skelleftea AIK, SWE)
Martin Pospíšil (Calgary Flames, NHL)
Pavol Regenda (San Jose Sharks, NHL)
Adam Ružička (Spartak Moscow, KHL)
Juraj Slafkovský (Montreal Canadiens, NHL)
Matúš Sukeľ (HC Litvinov, CZE)
Samuel Takáč (Slovan Bratislava, SVK)
Tomáš Tatar (EV Zug, SUI)

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