Tomáš Chrenko erupted for three goals against Germany, propelling Slovakia's offense and showcasing his draft potential. He found his scoring touch after a frustrating opener against Sweden.
The first hat trick of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship was netted on Saturday by Slovakia’s Tomáš Chrenko.
Projected to be a late first-round pick in next year’s NHL Entry Draft, the 18-year-old center scored twice in the first period and once in the second to give his team a 3-0 lead against Germany. The Slovaks ultimately prevailed 4-1 to even their record at 1-1.
“I felt good,” Chrenko said after the win. “Yesterday, I hit a couple of posts against the Swedes, so today I think I made up for it. I thought about it there.”
Indeed, Chrenko was a noticeable player in the opener against Sweden and had some chances – three shots on target in addition to hitting iron. If he had capitalized on just one of his chances, the Slovaks might have salvaged a point but surrendered a late goal and lost 3-2.
“We were disappointed, but on the other hand, we showed the boys that we can play with any opponent here in the tournament,” Chrenko reasoned.
Chrenko plays on a line with HK Nitra teammate Adam Nemec, who is another rated prospect for next spring’s draft. The pair has shown good chemistry so far in the tournament, with Nemec drawing the primary assist on Chrenko’s two first-period tallies against Germany.
“We’ve been playing together since we were 13, so we’re like brothers, both on and off the ice,” Chrenko described. “He’s a smart player; he knows where to stand.”
The pair played together at each of the last two U-18 World Championships, where the Slovaks finished fourth each time. As they are both late-2007-births, they unfortunately won’t be eligible to play in the tournament on home ice next spring.
While this year’s World Juniors have drawn some criticism for lower-than-expected attendance in Minnesota, Chrenko still notices its a big step up from the U-18 Worlds, which where in Texas last year. Slovakia’s first two games in St. Paul have drawn 5,125 and 3,702.
“Last year, in the U18s, we played for bronze against the home team in the USA, and there were about a hundred people there,” said Chrenko. “Quite a few of our fans came today. I was surprised that anyone came to watch Slovakia-Germany at lunchtime.”
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Although he plays professional hockey in Slovakia, Chrenko is in awe of Grand Casino Arena, the 17,000-seat home to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, which is almost double the size of any rink in the top Slovak league.
“Unbelievable, it can't be compared to Slovakia,” Chrenko marvelled. “Everything is beautiful here. We definitely won’t want to move to the other rink for the quarterfinals.”
The optimism is admirable, but staying in St. Paul for the quarters will be a tall order for the Slovaks, as they play in the same group as the host Americans, who will stay no matter what. That means that Slovakia would have to finish higher than the Swedes, whom they’ve already lost to. Slovakia plays the USA on Monday and then Switzerland on New Year’s Eve.
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