Slovakia has released a list of 34 players who will attend the team’s training camp ahead of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. Most of the players will converge in Montreal on Dec. 9, whether coming from Europe or Canadian junior hockey, while players from the NCAA or USHL will join on Dec. 16.
The team will train in Charlottetown, PEI, Moncton, N.B. and Cornwall, Ont., playing a pre-tournament exhibition game in each city as well as one in Kingston, Ont., before the final 25 or so players arrive in Ottawa on Dec. 24.
The team will play two pre-tournament games against Germany – which will presumably also be training in the Maritimes – on Dec. 12 in Charlottetown and Dec. 15 in Moncton. Those games will be played before most of their US-based players arrive. For the games Dec. 20 against Finland in Cornwall and Dec. 22 against the USA in Kingston, Slovakia’s roster should look closer to the team that competes in the World Juniors.
A question mark remains around Dalibor Dvorský, the St. Louis Blues’ first-round draft pick from 2023 who is currently playing for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. Dvorský has 13 points in 17 games this season. If released to play for Slovakia, this year will be Dvorský’s fourth World Junior Championship.
“We’re waiting for news from the club,” said Slovak head coach Ivan Feneš. “We are in communication with St. Louis and Dalibor. He is currently concentrating on playing for his team, where he has had an excellent season. We believe that positive news will come at the end of the day.”
Other drafted players at camp include defenseman Maxim Štrbák (Buffalo Sabres) and forwards Juraj Pekarčík (also St. Louis) and Miroslav Šatan Jr. (Washington Capitals). Defenseman Luka Radivojevič – projected to be a first-round pick in 2025 – will be at camp. He made news this past summer when he skipped the Hlinka Gretzky Cup to focus on training camp in Sweden before ultimately moving to the USHL.
Looking ahead to Slovakia’s Group B opponents, Feneš said, “The Swedes have enormous talent, they have not lost many games in the group stage in recent years, the Czechs will have a great team again, the Swiss are in our weight category, games against them are always 50-50, so the small details decide that. The Kazakhs are newcomers, but as underdogs, they will have the support and sympathy of Canadian fans.
“We have to have the mindset that we need to be almost perfect for 60 minutes if we want to succeed.”
Goaltenders: Michal Prádel (Barani Banská Bystrica), Alan Lenďák (Fargo Force, USHL), Samuel Urban (Sioux City Musketeers, USHL), Lukáš Fürsten (South Shore Kings, USPHL).
Defensemen: Tomáš Královič (HC Slovan Bratislava), Andrej Fabuš (HC Slovan Bratislava/HO Hamikovo Hamuliakovo), Milan Pišoja (HK Dukla Ingema Michalovce/HC 19 Humenné), Samuel Barcík (HK Rysy Spišská Nová Ves), Samuel Kupec (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL), Adam Beluško (Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL), Leo Eperješi (Coquitlam Express, BCHL), Jakub Chromiak (Kitchener Rangers, OHL), Peter Valent Quebec Remparts, QMJHL), Richard Baran (Des Moines Buccaneers, USHL), Maxim Štrbák (Michigan State University, NCAA), Luka Radivojevič (Muskegon Lumberjacks, USHL).
Forwards: Roman Kukumberg (HC Slovan Bratislava/HK Trnava), Matúš Vojtech (MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš), Róbert Fedor (HK Dukla Michalovce Jr.), Tomáš Pobežal (HK Nitra), David Kodhaj (MMHK Nitra/HC Nové Zámky), František Dej (HK Dukla Trenčín), Stanislav Gron (HKM Zvolen/HK Detva), Adam Cedzo (HC Oceláři Třinec, CZE), Ján Chovan (Tappara Tampere, FIN), Lukáš Klečka (Södertälje SK, SWE), Juraj Pekarčík (Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL), Andreas Straka, (Quebec Remparts, QMJHL), Tobias Pitka (Victoria Grizzlies, WHL), Theo Kiss (Des Moines Buccaneers, USHL), Peter Císar (Michigan State University, NCAA), Andrej Párička (Shreveport Mudbugs, NAHL), Miroslav Šatan Jr. (Sioux Falls Stampede, USHL), Daniel Alexander Jenčko (University of Massachusetts, NCAA).