Slovakia is quickly becoming the best story at the 2026 Winter Olympics, if they haven't already cemented that moniker. The team won a bronze medal at the 2022 edition, but their previous best finish was fourth at the 2010 tournament in Vancouver. That team nearly upset Canada in the semis, then held a two-goal lead in the third period of the bronze medal game against Finland before blowing the lead late.
The 2010 team was a star-studded cast of journeymen NHLers, led by Pavol Demitra, Marian Hossa, Michal Handzus, Marian Gaborik, Jaroslav Halak, and, of course, the big man on defense, Zdeno Chara. The group was the golden age of Slovakian hockey, and people shouldn't have been so surprised that they nearly won an Olympic medal. Imagine a world where Slovakia had upset Canada in the semis and went on to face Team USA in the gold medal game.
The 2026 group now sits in a similar position, staring in the face of a final four with some of the world's top hockey powers. If Canada and Finland win their quarterfinal matchups, the fourth team to join the group will be the winner of Sweden and the USA. It'll be an uphill battle for Slovakia to defy the odds and win a medal at this tournament.
Slovakia now has a 35 percent chance to medal 👀
— dom 🇨🇦 (@domluszczyszyn) February 18, 2026
The roster for the 2026 team doesn't have the same abundance of NHL talent as the 2010 team. They consist of only seven current NHLers, with Juraj Slafkovsky leading the way along with Dalibor Dvorsky, Martin Pospisil, Pavol Regenda, Erik Cernak, Martin Fehervary, and Simon Nemec. While no longer on an NHL roster, Tomas Tatar also offers the most experience as the team's captain.
The 2022 bronze medal offered a glimpse into the future, as Slafkovsky was the hero of the entire tournament on his way to being the first-overall pick that June. Nemec also impressed and became the second-overall pick in the same draft. Having two Slovaks taken that early in the draft was a direct correlation to what Chara and his fellow compatriots built through the early 2010s.
Zdeno Chara and his 2010 teammates' impact on Slovakian hockey
If it wasn't enough that Chara built a culture for the Boston Bruins that still resonates today, he also changed the future of Slovak hockey. The 2026 tournament was meant to be a stepping stone to a much deeper team in 2030, but the roster is ahead of schedule in its quest to be one of the world's top hockey nations.
If winning a bronze medal in non-best-on-best hockey in 2022 wasn't enough, entering this first best-on-best Olympics since 2014 and claiming another medal will go a long way. While Chara and his 2010 teammates are long retired, it's hard not to give them credit for paving the way.