There isn’t much buzz about Team Slovakia heading into the Sochi Olympic hockey tournament, and that may be fair since head coach Vladimir Vujtek’s squad is sorely lacking in high-quality depth all over the place.
Yet the Slovaks have one thing that nobody else has: Zdeno Chara. It’s impossible to argue that he is the most physically dominant defenceman of his generation and any team has a chance whenever the so-called “Trencin Tower” can play upwards of 35 minutes a night for them.
Their roster may not wow anyone, but with solid goaltending and a strong understanding of big ice hockey due to the fact that the team is speckled with Kontinental Hockey League players, nobody can take the Vancouver semifinalists lightly.
Here is a breakdown of Team Slovakia’s roster by position.
Forwards
Marian Hossa is a genuine star in the NHL when healthy, as he demonstrated the last two seasons by putting up 108 points in 128 regular-season games and 16 points in 22 games during the Chicago Blackhawks’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2013.
Marian Gaborik constantly falls through the cracks in discussions about the NHL’s elite snipers, but the Columbus Blue Jacket has seven 40-goal seasons in his career, the most recent coming in 2011-12 when he had 41 goals and 76 points in his first-ever 82-game season. Health is an issue with the 31-year-old; talent is not.
A relative weakness up the middle means Tomas Kopecky will likely be relied on to pivot the first line, while early-20s American Hockey League stars Tomas Tatar (Grand Rapids) and Richard Panik (Syracuse) will in all probability have crucial secondary scoring roles.
Gaborik’s future teammate in Colombus, the soon-to-be-19-year-old Marko Dano, was a first-rounder in this summer’s draft, and though he will stay another year in the KHL with Slovan Bratislava, he could parlay his ruggedness and passion into centering a unit as well.
Miroslav Satan and Michal Handzus are both still effective in the international game, and they both will be there.
Defence
Zdeno Chara, Zdeno Chara, and more Zdeno Chara.
The Boston Bruin will be Slovakia’s captain, barring something extremely unforeseen, though he will have veteran backup.
At 37 (he’ll be 38 by then), Lubomir Visnovsky is getting long in the tooth, but as a smart, skilled puck-mover, he makes an ideal partner for Chara.
Carolina Hurricanes defender Andrej Sekera is effective, if unspectacular, while Philadelphia Flyer Andrej Meszaros is coming off of an injury (as always) – though his game is not overly physical anyways and he will be important in the top four (if healthy).
Goaltenders
When he is on, Jaroslav Halak is as good as anybody, as was proven during his time with the Montreal Canadiens and over the last four seasons with the St. Louis Blues. He backstopped an equally as unheralded Slovak squad to the semifinals at the last Olympic Games with a 2.41 goals-against average.
Peter Budaj was steady as the Montreal Canadiens’ backup during the season but was just as unsteady as Carey Price, their starter, in the postseason. He will contend with Slovan Bratislava’s Jaroslav Janus, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect who made a name for himself by stoning Team USA in the 2009 world juniors and who was – at the age of 23 – one of the best goaltenders in the world outside of the NHL last year.
