Team Slovakia Announces 2026 Olympic Roster

Slovakia became the latest country to announce its roster for next month’s Olympics this morning. Now, only the host country, Italy, has yet to release its full roster for the event, which begins on Feb. 11.

Forwards:

• Peter Cehlarik (Leksand/SHL)
• Dalibor Dvorsky (Blues)
• Marek Hrivik (Vitkovice/ELH)
• Libor Hudacek (Ocelari Trinec/ELH)
• Milos Kelemen (Dynamo Pardubice/ELH)
• Adam Liska (Severstal Cherepovets/KHL)
• Oliver Okuliar (Skelleftea/SHL)
• Martin Pospisil (Flames)
• Pavol Regenda (Sharks)
• Adam Ruzicka (Spartak Moscow/KHL)
• Juraj Slafkovsky (Canadiens)
• Matus Sukel (Litvinov/ELH)
• Samuel Takac (Slovan Bratislava/Slovakia)
• Tomas Tatar (Zug/NL)

Defensemen:

• Peter Ceresnak (Dynamo Pardubice/ELH)
• Erik Cernak (Lightning)
• Martin Fehervary (Capitals)
• Martin Gernat (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl/KHL)
• Michal Ivan (Bili Tygri Liberec/ELH)
• Patrik Koch (Ocelari Trinec/ELH)
• Martin Marincin (Ocelari Trinec/ELH)
• Simon Nemec (Devils)

Goaltenders:

• Adam Gajan (Minnesota-Duluth/NCHC)
• Samuel Hlavaj (Wild)
• Stanislav Skorvanek (Mountfield/ELH)

While most secondary hockey powers that have released their Olympic rosters in recent days have had a clear weak spot on defense, the same can’t be said for the Slovaks. Five of their eight defenders have NHL experience. Three of them are currently playing impact roles in the bigs, with Cernak and Fehervary serving as top-four staples in Tampa and Washington, while Nemec is amid a breakout season in New Jersey. Koch only had a cup of coffee with the Coyotes in 2023-24, but Marincin, now 33, played in 227 games across eight seasons with the Oilers and Maple Leafs from 2013-20.

The men between the pipes are the biggest question marks as they attempt to upset one of Finland or Sweden for a top-two spot in Group B (the host Italians pose little threat to them for third place). None of them has NHL experience, although the two youngest names on the list are both NHL-affiliated.

Hlavaj, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing by Minnesota in 2024 out of Plzen in the Czech Extraliga. He started for them in the Olympic qualifiers last year and is the expected No. 1 heading into the tournament, but he’s having a tough year with a .876 SV% in 13 games for AHL Iowa. Gajan, an unsigned second-rounder by the Blackhawks in 2023, is having a breakout year in college and will compete with the European pro veteran Skorvanek for backup duties.

As for the forwards, the most experienced NHLer on the entire roster is Tatar, who’s no longer in the league after signing in Switzerland last summer. Tatar and Marincin are the only returning members from the 2014 Olympics, the last time NHLers were permitted to attend. The 35-year-old had 496 points in 927 career NHL games before heading off to Zug, where he’s tied for third on the National League club in scoring with 23 points in 26 games.

The rest of Slovakia’s high-profile offensive talent is on the younger side. Dvorsky and Slafkovsky were both top-10 picks in the last four years, with the former just beginning to lock down an NHL role with St. Louis. Pospisil, 26, has back-to-back 20-point seasons in Calgary but hasn’t played yet this year due to an undisclosed injury. Regenda has bounced between the NHL and AHL with the Ducks and Sharks over the past several years, but has been on a tear in San Jose this season, scoring six goals in six games.