Slovenia men's national ice hockey team

The Slovenian men's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Slovenia internationally. It is governed by the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia. The team is currently ranked 20th in the world by the International Ice Hockey Federation as of the 2020 IIHF World Ranking. The team's biggest success is reaching the quarter-finals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Their best record at the Ice Hockey World Championships is 13th place, while their highest IIHF ranking is 12th place.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Slovenia
Nickname(s)Risi (The Lynx)
AssociationIce Hockey Federation of Slovenia
Head coachMatjaž Kopitar
AssistantsGorazd Rekelj
Anže Ulcar
CaptainMitja Robar
Most gamesTomaž Razingar (212)
Top scorerJan Urbas (89)
Most pointsTomaž Vnuk (171)
Team colors     
IIHF codeSLO
Ranking
Current IIHF19 1 (30 March 2022)[1]
Highest IIHF12 (2014)
Lowest IIHF20 (2020)
First international
Austria  1–0  Slovenia
(Klagenfurt, Austria; 20 March 1992)
Biggest win
Slovenia  29–0  South Africa
(Ljubljana, Slovenia; 15 March 1993)
Biggest defeat
Finland  12–0  Slovenia
(Tampere, Finland; 28 April 2003)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances28 (first in 2002)
Best result13th (2002 and 2005)
Olympics
Appearances2 (first in 2014)

Six players from Slovenia have been drafted into the NHL since 1998; Anže Kopitar and Jan Muršak have played in the league.[9]

History
Slovenian players at the 2008 World Championship.

As a member of Yugoslavia, Slovenia had been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 1939 and participated in several World Championships and five Winter Olympics. Many of the players on the Yugoslav national team came from Slovenia: from 1939, when Yugoslavia first played a World Championship, to 1991 when it was broken up, 91% of all players on the national team were Slovene, and the entire roster for the team at the 1984 Winter Olympics, held in the Yugoslav city of Sarajevo were from Slovenia.[10]

Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and joined the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1992 along with Croatia and several former Soviet republics. They first played as an independent nation at the 1993 World Championship, hosting the Group C tournament, the lowest tier.[11] They reached the elite division for the first time in 2002 IIHF World Championship. They played at their first Winter Olympics at the 2014 Sochi Games.[12]

Tournament record

Olympic Games
Year Round Position GP W OW OL L GS GA
1964–1984 Part of Yugoslavia
1992Did not enter
1994
1998Did not qualify
2002
2006
2010
2014Quarter-finals7th520031016
2018Playoffs9th40211914
2022Did not qualify
Total2/70 Titles922141930

World Championship
Slovenia's all-time top scorer Jan Urbas.
Championship GP W OW T OL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank
1920 – 1992Part of Yugoslavia
1993 Zagreb and Ljubljana, Pool C 2 2 0 0 0 0 22 3 Rudi Hiti 5th in Pool C 25th
1994 Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves, Pool C 6 2 0 0 0 4 26 27 Rudi Hiti 5th in Pool C 25th
1995 Sofia, Pool C 4 2 0 0 0 2 28 15 Rudi Hiti 7th in Pool C 27th
1996 Jesenice and Kranj, Pool C 7 5 0 2 0 1 41 19 Vladimir Krikunov 3rd in Pool C 22nd
1997 Tallinn and Kohtla-Järve, Pool C 6 3 0 2 0 1 27 11 Pavle Kavčič 2nd in Pool C 22nd
1998 Ljubljana and Jesenice, Pool B 7 5 0 1 0 1 28 15 Pavle Kavčič 2nd in Pool B 18th
1999 Odense and Rodovre, Pool B 7 2 0 1 0 4 14 17 Pavle Kavčič 5th in Pool B 21st
2000 Katowice and Krakow, Pool B 7 0 0 2 0 5 16 31 Rudi Hiti 7th in Pool B 23rd
2001 Ljubljana, Division IB 5 4 0 1 0 0 44 6 Matjaž Sekelj Winner, Promoted 17th
2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping 6 3 0 0 0 3 18 26 Matjaž Sekelj Consolation Round 13th
2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku 6 0 0 1 0 5 12 37 Matjaž Sekelj Consolation Round 15th
2004 Gdańsk, Division IB 5 5 0 0 0 0 33 5 Kari Savolainen Winner, Promoted 17th
2005 Vienna, Innsbruck 6 2 0 0 0 4 12 32 Kari Savolainen Relegation round 13th
2006 Riga 6 0 0 2 0 4 14 26 František Výborný Relegation round 16th
2007 Ljubljana, Division IB 5 5 0 – 0 0 29 5 Ted Sator Marcel Rodman Winner, Promoted 17th
2008 Quebec City, Halifax 5 0 0 – 0 5 6 22 Mats Waltin Relegation Round 15th
2009 Vilnius, Division IA 5 4 0 – 0 1 21 7 John Harrington Promoted, 2nd 19th
2010 Ljubljana, Division IB 5 4 1 – 0 0 29 10 John Harrington Tomaž Razingar Winner, Promoted 18th
2011 Bratislava, Košice 6 1 0 – 1 4 15 24 Matjaž Kopitar Tomaž Razingar Relegation round 16th
2012 Ljubljana, Division IA 5 5 0 – 0 0 17 9 Matjaž Kopitar Tomaž Razingar Winner, Promoted 17th
2013 Stockholm, Helsinki 7 0 0 – 2 5 12 27 Matjaž Kopitar Tomaž Razingar Group stage 16th
2014 Goyang, Division IA 5 4 0 – 0 1 15 6 Matjaž Kopitar Tomaž Razingar Winner, Promoted 17th
2015 Prague, Ostrava 7 1 0 – 0 6 9 22 Matjaž Kopitar Tomaž Razingar Group stage 16th
2016 Katowice, Division IA 5 4 0 – 0 1 18 8 Nik Zupančič Jan Urbas Winner, Promoted 17th
2017 Cologne, Paris 7 0 0 – 1 6 13 36 Nik Zupančič Jan Muršak Group stage 15th
2018 Budapest, Division IA 5 2 0 – 0 3 15 15 Kari Savolainen Jan Urbas 5th in Division IA 21st
2019 Nur-Sultan, Division IA 5 2 0 – 0 3 21 12 Ivo Jan Anže Kopitar 4th in Division IA 20th
2020 Ljubljana, Division IA Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[13]
2021 Ljubljana, Division IA Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[14]
2022 Ljubljana, Division IA Matjaž Kopitar Mitja Robar

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2021 Beat Covid-19 International Ice Hockey Tournament in Ljubljana.[15]

Head coach: Matjaž Kopitar

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Current Team
69GMatija Pintarič1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)84 kg (185 lb) (1989-08-11) 11 August 1989 Rouen Hockey Élite 76
32GGašper Krošelj1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)87 kg (192 lb) (1987-02-09) 9 February 1987 BK Mladá Boleslav
35GLuka Gračnar1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)85 kg (187 lb) (1993-10-31) 31 October 1993 Steinbach Black Wings 1992
1GŽan Us1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)83 kg (183 lb) (1996-06-10) 10 June 1996 HDD Jesenice
7DKlemen Pretnar – C1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)82 kg (181 lb) (1986-08-31) 31 August 1986 TH Unia Oświęcim
17DŽiga Pavlin – A1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)97 kg (214 lb) (1985-04-30) 30 April 1985 HC Košice
61DJurij Repe1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)90 kg (200 lb) (1994-09-17) 17 September 1994 HC Frýdek-Místek
14DMatic Podlipnik1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)87 kg (192 lb) (1992-08-09) 9 August 1992 Progym Gheorgheni
76DKristjan Čepon1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)100 kg (220 lb) (1995-11-12) 12 November 1995 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
4DAleksandar Magovac1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)92 kg (203 lb) (1991-02-09) 9 February 1991 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
6DMiha Štebih1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)91 kg (201 lb) (1992-04-07) 7 April 1992 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
95DAljoša Crnovič1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)90 kg (200 lb) (1999-04-16) 16 April 1999 HDD Jesenice
97DNejc Stojan1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)91 kg (201 lb) (1999-08-30) 30 August 1999 HDD Jesenice
44DBine Mašič1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)68 kg (150 lb) (2002-11-14) 14 November 2002 HDD Jesenice
92FAnže Kuralt1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)80 kg (180 lb) (1991-10-31) 31 October 1991 Fehérvár AV19
18FKen Ograjenšek – A1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)82 kg (181 lb) (1991-08-30) 30 August 1991 Graz99ers
45FLuka Maver1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)88 kg (194 lb) (1997-10-25) 25 October 1997 American International College
94FAljaž Predan1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)72 kg (159 lb) (2000-07-24) 24 July 2000 Red Bull Hockey Juniors
96FRok Kapel1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)83 kg (183 lb) (1999-05-04) 4 May 1999 EC KAC II
19FŽiga Pešut – A1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)87 kg (192 lb) (1992-10-05) 5 October 1992 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
12FNik Simšič1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)90 kg (200 lb) (1997-03-12) 12 March 1997 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
81FTadej Čimžar1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)80 kg (180 lb) (1992-04-21) 21 April 1992 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
20FGregor Koblar1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)84 kg (185 lb) (1993-01-15) 15 January 1993 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
93FLuka Kalan1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)75 kg (165 lb) (1993-05-03) 3 May 1993 HK Olimpija Ljubljana
91FŽan Jezovšek1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)92 kg (203 lb) (1997-04-22) 22 April 1997 HDD Jesenice
98FBlaž Tomaževič1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)80 kg (180 lb) (1997-10-14) 14 October 1997 HDD Jesenice
8FJaka Šturm1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)95 kg (209 lb) (1999-04-21) 21 April 1999 HDD Jesenice
71FJaka Sodja1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)82 kg (181 lb) (1997-12-17) 17 December 1997 HDD Jesenice

Coaching history
Slovenia (in white), shakes hands with Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

NHL Entry Draft
Two-time NHL champion Anže Kopitar at the 2008 World Championship.

Players from Slovenia selected in the NHL Entry Draft

YearNameOverallTeam
1998Edo Terglav249th overallBuffalo Sabres
2000Jure Penko203rd overallNashville Predators
2001Marcel Rodman282nd overallBoston Bruins
2005Anže Kopitar11th overallLos Angeles Kings
2006Jan Muršak182nd overallDetroit Red Wings
2017Jan Drozg152nd overallPittsburgh Penguins

References
  1. "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  2. Greg Wyshynski (18 February 2014). "Slovenia's miracle on ice continues; Swedes up next for 'Slovenderella'". Yahoo!. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  3. "Slovenia hockey becoming feel-good story of 2014 Winter Olympic ice hockey with quarter-final berth | The National". The National. Abu Dhabi. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  4. "Slovenia's ice hockey team secure Olympic berth". Sloveniatimes.com. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  5. "Devoted Coach and Gifted Son Lead Slovenia to Hockey Heights". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  6. "Ice hockey: Slovenia extend magical run into quarters | SBS News". Sbs.com.au. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  7. "STA: Slovenia's ice hockey team secure Olympic berth". English.sta.si. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  8. "News". Slovenia.si. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  9. Mitja Lisjak (24 June 2017). "Po 11 letih na naboru Lige NHL spet izbran Slovenec" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  10. Manninen, Henrik (4 February 2014). "A Slovenian send-off". IIHF.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  11. IIHF (2008). "Breakup of old Europe creates a new hockey world". IIHF.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  12. "Sochi: Slovenian Hockey Team Making History". Slovenia Times. SloveniaTimes.com. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  13. "IIHF cancels Division I tournaments". iihf.com. 17 March 2019.
  14. "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  15. "Selektor Kopitar izbral reprezentante". 24ur.com. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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