Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary will be competing in his first Olympic Games, as he's been named to Team Slovakia's roster for the upcoming winter tournament in Milan, Italy. Fehervary is one of the first six NHLers named to Slovakia's roster, joining Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky, New Jersey Devils foward Tomas Tatar, Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak and New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec. This is the first time since 2014 in Sochi that NHL players will get to compete in the Olympics. Slovakia is one of the 12 teams that qualified for this year's games, joining Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Russia remains unable to compete in international play amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Fehervary has earned his place as one of the top Slovakian players in the league, known for his shutdown style, physicality and versatility. The 23-year-old appeared in 81 games for the Capitals this past season, picking up five goals and 20 assists for a career-high 25 points, along with a plus/minus of plus-18, 139 hits and 150 blocked shots. His season ended early, though, when he suffered a torn meniscus in the second-to-last game of the campaign and had to undergo surgery. Fehervary is expected to be ready for the start of training camp and return stronger for the upcoming season. Longtime Capitals center Lars Eller, who will be an unrestricted free agent, was also named to Team Denmark’s roster. Eller, who famously scored the Cup-clinching goal in Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Washington, was re-acquired in November to fill in as the third-line center, putting up six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 63 games.
