A major youth movement is underway for Slovakia's senior women's national team, which includes seen teenagers on their roster.
A major youth movement is underway for Slovakia's senior women's national team, which includes seen teenagers on their roster.
There will be no Nela Lopusanova this year, but if Slovakia can earn promotion, it would mean the young superstar would soon get her chance at the top level.
It will be a challenging task given Slovakia's current roster, but there is hope for the future, especially from the crop of players ready to graduate from Slovakia's U-18 roster. Slovakia brought seven teenagers to China, and has an average roster age under 21 years old.
One major loss for the team is Julia Matejkova, 21, who had a standout season in Naisten Liiga scoring 43 points in 34 games for HPK. She was one of the final five players removed from Slovakia's roster in a surprise move considering Matejkova was Slovakia's top player competing abroad.
Veterans Romana Kosecka and Janka Hlinka have both had stints in the PHF, albeit with little offensive output, but their experience will still be crucial to the depth and competitiveness of Slovakia. Lucia Haluskova, who is only 22, had a breakout season winning the EWHL's scoring title with 37 points in only 15 games for HK Budapest.
Slovakia also brought their first wave of youth to prepare for the future in U-18 captain Zuzana Dobiasova, along with several other teenagers including 16-year-old rising star Ema Tothova, Hana Fancovicova (19) and Lily Stern (18) who both played at Ontario Hockey Academy last year in Canada, Tatiana Blichoba (17), Laura Jancsoova (17), Barbora Kapičáková (19), and Livia Debnarova (17).
In net, Nikola Zimkova played in Sweden's NDHL this year finding better competition, but the position remains a question mark for the Slovaks at the tournament. There's nothing saying Slovakia doesn't give 17-year-old Livia Debnarova a chance in net after she put up spectacular numbers in the EWHL last season with SKP Bratislava, and spent the remainder of her campaign playing U-18 boys' hockey.