2022 Olympic hockey roster prediction: Slovakia

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Martin Fehérvary — Steven Ellis / Euro Hockey

Slovakia left the 2018 tournament rather disappointed. Without NHL players, the Slovaks should have done better than 11th, the same place they finished in 2014 against the world’s top talent.

This meant that they had to fight to get back into the tournament via the Olympic qualifying round. Slovakia were one of the favorites to win and progressed easily after winning all three games. Slovakia have never missed the Olympics since separating from Czechoslovakia, with a better fourth-place team result at Vancouver 2010.

How is the team going to do this time? It’ll be a challenge for the Slovaks, but they still have the potential to steal a game or two from the top dogs – they did against Russia in 2018.

Let’s see what Slovak programming could look like in winter:

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Each team is entitled to a list of 22 skaters (14 forwards, eight defenders) and 3 goalkeepers.

Before

Tomas Tatar – Libor Hudacek – Richard Panik
Peter Cehlárik – Marek Hrivík – Robert Lantoši
Tomas Jurco – Adam Ruzicka – Kristian Pospisil
Marian Studenič – Milos Roman – Martin Pospíšil
Juraj Slafkovský, Marko Dano

It certainly won’t be the best offense in the tournament, but the one that tends to work well together. Obviously, current NHL players Tatar and Panik should lead the team’s offensive hopes, but at the very least, the team isn’t too shy in the depth department.

If Tatar can rejuvenate his career to the way he played at the start of his tenure at Montreal, then he should be able to rack up a few points along the way. But this Slovak team, in general, is not going to score much. They’ll need a full defensive showcase, and at least they can count on some defensive help from this culture.

Cehlárik will be an interesting non-NHL player to watch. The former Boston Bruins forward was named the top forward at the World Championship in the spring with five goals and 11 points in eight games, followed by two more goals in Olympic qualifying. To improve matters, Cehlárik had a four-point night to open the KHL season and has generally peaked since leaving North America ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Particular attention should be given to Slafkovský, the main contender for the 2022 draft. A true top five contender next June, Slafkovský has shown his quick hands a few times in Olympic qualifying and is ready for his first full season of professional hockey. male in Finland. As he continues to put himself under his feet against older competitors, Slafkovský might surprise some as one of the few draft prospects to play in this event.

Defenders

Andrej Sekera – Erik Cernak
Martin Fehérváry – Christian Jaroš
Martin Marinčin – Peter erešňák
Martin Gernat – Simon Nemec

The blue line will certainly be busy for the Slovaks. Sekera and Cernak – a pair of NHL players – are expected to lead the team’s back in ice time, with Sekera likely serving as the team’s captain. Cernak will bring the size up to 6’4 ” and will skate well on NHL sized ice, so that will translate well once he makes his Olympic debut. Fehevary and Jaros will also make their big debuts, with Jaros hoping to capitalize on a new home in New Jersey to become a full-time NHL player for the first time since 2018-19.

A player to watch will be Čerešňák, a former New York Rangers prospect who put in a formidable Olympic performance in 2018 with four points in as many games. He was an integral part of Slovakia’s Olympic qualifying team with five assists. He definitely warmed up at the right time, so we’ll see if he has time to take advantage of the men’s advantage to rack up some assists.

Nemec is another to follow. Like Slafkovsky, Nemec is a top five draft contender and has a realistic chance of making the top three. Nemec has started to feel more comfortable against the men and spending half a season doing it again should help heading into the tournament.

Goalkeepers

Jaroslav Halak, Branislav Konrad, Adam Huska

Halak has one last chance to be a starting goalie for the Slovaks and as long as he stays healthy he should be good enough not to be a problem. Halak has a new home for the 2021-22 season in Vancouver after a tough last year in Boston. Will it pay off? Potentially. He should get more starts than he did last season and potentially use that as a boost ahead of the Olympics. He’s the only Slovak goaltender in the NHL, but at 36, it should be his last kick to the pot. Halak hasn’t competed in many international events over the past decade, but he was one of the main reasons Europe qualified for the World Cup final. He will have to be huge in the round robin for the Slovaks again.

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