Slovakia sets its sights on qualifying for the Olympics with NHL players back for the Milan Games

PRAGUE (AP) — In the days leading up to Slovakia’s chance to return to the Olympics, coach Craig Ramsay made sure to remind players what is at stake.

“We want to defend our medal and maybe look for something even better, and we should be thinking that way,” Ramsay said this week, 2 1/2 years since bronze in Beijing gave Slovakia its first podium finish in Olympic hockey.

Easier said than done with the return of NHL talent, but getting to Milan is the first step.

Slovakia is hosting one of three qualifying tournaments this week in Europe that will determine the final few spots for the 2026 Olympics. Even without reigning Olympic MVP and 2022 No. 1 pick Juraj Slafkovsky and two-time Stanley Cup champion Erik Cernak, Slovakia figures to be favored to advance along with Denmark and either Latvia or France, though there is still the question of whether Russia will play given the country’s war in Ukraine.

“We just need to win,” Slovak defenseman Martin Fehervary of the NHL’s Washington Capitals said. “Those games are really always hard. We’re supposed to win, so everyone is expecting that, and I think we should do it.”

Milan is the most anticipated men’s hockey tournament since Sochi in 2014 given the return of the NHL’s best players after the league skipped the 2018 Olympics in South Korea and pandemic-related scheduling issues canceled plans for China in 2022. That could mean Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon teaming up for Canada and Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane and Jack Eichel for the U.S.

The biggest lingering question surrounds Russia, which along with Belarus has been barred from International Ice Hockey Federation play since invading Ukraine just after the Olympics ended in February 2022. Teams from those countries were not allowed to participate in the Summer Games in Paris, with the International Olympic Committee allowing a few dozen athletes to compete under a neutral flag.

2024 Paris Olympics:

• What to know about the closing ceremony: A skydiving Tom Cruise and performances from Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Paris Olympics mainstay Snoop Dogg highlighted the French capital’s au revoir to the Olympics.
• Indelible images: AP photographers pick their favorite images from the Paris Olympics.
• Who won the 2024 Olympics?: See which countries tied for the most gold medals in Paris, and who exceeded expectations.
• When are the next Summer Games? The Olympics will always have Paris. But next up for the Summer Games: Los Angeles 2028. See how the City of Angels is preparing to follow the City of Light.

“We’re informed by the International Ice Hockey Federation as to what their thinking is,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. “Ultimately, we all make our own decisions, so I don’t expect kind of a change in position in the short term, but it’s something they keep us abreast of.”

An IIHF spokesperson said the deadline to determine Russian participation is February 2025.

This week, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Kazakhstan are playing in Bratislava, Slovakia, for an Olympic spot; Latvia, France, Slovenia and Ukraine are playing in Riga, Latvia, for another; and Denmark, Norway, Britain and Japan are competing in Aalborg, Denmark, for a third.

If Russia — which has arguably three of the best goaltenders in the world and several of the sport’s biggest stars — is not allowed to participate, there would be room for a fourth qualifier. According to the IIHF, the highest-ranked second-place team from this week’s games would take that spot.

Ramsay, the 73-year-old former player and longtime NHL assistant who has coached Slovakia since 2017, said he has not put much thought into getting back in the Olympics in Russia’s absence.

“We just think our job is to go out and win this event,” Ramsay said by phone from Bratislava on Tuesday. “I have a lot of faith in my boys, and I think when they get playing our style and our system of speed and aggression and attacking mode, I think we can beat anybody.”

Even without Montreal’s Slafkovsky, Tampa Bay’s Cernak and with Fehervary’s status uncertain because of injury, the Slovak roster includes a handful of players with NHL experience, including New Jersey’s Simon Nemec and Tomas Tatar and Calgary’s Martin Pospisil. Samuel Hlavaj, a 23-year-old who recently signed with Minnesota, is expected to start in net.

“I’m sure they’re going to very well without me and Slafkovsky,” Cernak said. “Craig Ramsay has done an amazing job with Slovakian hockey, and I’m really confident they’re going to do it.”

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar is not playing for Slovenia, among others resting up for the season. Denmark has the most well-known NHL players on its roster, from goalie Frederik Andersen to forwards Lars Eller, Nikolaj Ehlers and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Mats Zuccarello is playing for Norway.

Slafkovsky and Cernak after respective discussions with the Canadiens and Lightning decided the injury risk was not worth it two weeks before training camp. Still, they are hoping to be in Milan in February 2026 if their countrymen get the job done this week.

“I feel like we are still going to make it,” said Slafkovsky, whose seven goals in Beijing were the most in the tournament. “It’s going to be different with all the NHL players. It’s going to be way harder, I think, than it was in China. But it’s going to be a fun one. I like to play in hard games, and we want to get good national teams with all their best players.”