Slovakia has produced a plethora of talent on the men's side, but women's hockey in the nation continues to be an afterthought. Can the nation replicate the success of their neighbors in Czechia?
Slovakia has produced a plethora of talent on the men's side, but women's hockey in the nation continues to be an afterthought. Can the nation replicate the success of their neighbors in Czechia?
Nela Lopusanova is Slovakia's great hope in women's hockey. One player, however, cannot single handedly lift a national program up the ranks. While Lopusanova is the name most associate with Slovakia, a nation that saw nine men selected in the first two rounds of the NHL Draft in 2022 and 2023, there are other high end women's prospects coming from the nation.
Beyond Lopusanova, the biggest name in Slovakia's future is 5-foot-10 forward Ema Tothova. This Fall, the 17-year-old committed to play NCAA DI hockey for Ohio State, annnually one of the best programs in the world.
Tothova had seven points in three games for Slovakia at the Olympic qualifiers, and is scoring well over a point per game in the ever strengthening EWHL with HK Bratislava.
Michaela Paulínyová is a third Slovakian player heading to the NCAA. She'll join Lindenwood University at the Division I level. Paulínyová has been playing in Ontario with the Ontario Hockey Academy and was an assistant captain for Slovakia's U-18 national team last year. She's playing alongside Lilien Benakova at OHA, who is a fourth Slovakian teenager who could move to the NCAA soon.
While it's a good start, to replicate Czechia's success, Slovakia is multiple cohorts away. Czechia will not only have close to a dozen players in the PWHL by next season, they also have a strong group entering the NCAA, another cohort that has come to North American minor hockey programs for the same reason, to step into the NCAA and then the pros.
The first step for Slovakia will be seeing Tothova, Lopusanova, and Paulínyová move to the NCAA. Currently, there are no Slovakian players competing at the NCAA Division 1 level. There are four Slovakian players in NCAA DIII hockey this season, but it's not a level of competition that will lift the nation beyond their current status.
The choice to stay in Slovakia to play isn't an option for most girls in the nation. The top women need to be playing U-16 or U-18 boys hockey to find any competition, or move to North America like several have done this season with players at Bishop Kearney, Bourget College, Winchendon, and the Ontario Hockey Academy.
For other young players like Tatiana Blichova, who have shown the upside to climb the hockey ladder, staying in Slovakia will limit that climb.
To continue building their program at the senior national level, Slovakia will need to springboard as many of their promising young players out of the country, whether it's to Finland or Sweden in Europe, or more effectively to USA and Canada to continue growing. While Lopusanova and Tothova will be the inspirations for youth, they won't be able to single handedly carry Slovakia out of the Division 1A World Championships, or perhaps even keep them there.
Czechia isn't the only nation seeing results from continuing to send players abroad. After witnessing a downward spiral beginning at the senior national level, Japan is finally seeing their top players move to Europe. Other nations including Hungary are seeing more players move to the NCAA than ever before.
The model for Slovakia, aside from their neighbors in Czechia, could be a nation like France, who last season along had eight players competing in Quebec's top women's league in Canada. Of those players, Manon le Scondan has committed to play NCAA hockey for Clarkson, Jade Barbirati committed to Quinnipiac, and others who made those steps in recent seasons including Elina Zilliox (Lindenwood), Julia Mesplede (Vermont), and Lea Berger (Montreal) have already jumped to college hockey in North America. Chloe Aurard also took that step before moving to the NCAA and then PWHL.
Slovakia managed to advance to the final round of Olympic qualification, even without top players Janka Hlinkova and Julia Matejková who were injured, with their youth taking the lead.
Slovakia's first significant steps in producing players who can keep them internationally competitive for the next decade is complete, but to match the success of their men's program, or the women's program of the nation's former compatriots in Czechia, Slovakia will need to get serious about equitable treatment and development of women and girls in hockey.