Team Slovakia embraces underdog role at Olympics, eager to surprise 

MILAN -- The players on Team Slovakia know they are considered underdogs at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

They know they are not being mentioned in the same category as Team Canada, Team USA, Team Sweden and Team Finland.

With just seven NHL players on the roster, it’s understandable.

But it’s also a huge motivator heading into their opening game against Finland on Wednesday (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, TSN, CBC).

“Maybe we are the underdog, but I don't think it's going to be easy against us,” Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil said. “We will try to just play simple, hard, especially my line, we’re going to be heavy. I believe it's not going to be easy against us.”

When asked specifically about playing Finland, Pospisil was more defiant.

“We can’t give them too much respect,” Pospisil said. “You need to kind of have a [forget]-you mindset and then just go there and play.”

To get an idea of the challenge Slovakia provides, just look at the line Pospisil will play on.

First, there is Pospisil himself, the center at 6-foot-2, 173 pounds. On one wing will be Pavol Regenda of the San Jose Sharks, all 6-3, 215 pounds of him. The other wing is Milos Kelemen (6-2, 218), who plays for HC Dymano of the Kontinental Hockey League.

“I don't think they (Canada, United States, Sweden, Finland) will want some Slovakian team being around the boards, and you know, that's what we want to do -- we want to be in their faces, throw them off their game because they have high skill,” Regenda said. “They have the best guys, the most paid, the superstars of their NHL teams, so I don't think we can outskill them, but we can for sure outwork them and give them a lot of [problems], you know?”

It's an attitude that extends through the whole team.

“We know who we are, what we are, so we just have to play our game, simple game, kind of play physically, move our legs and just kind of make everything harder for other teams,” Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak said. “Like I said, it's not going to be easy, because they'll have experienced guys from NHL, they know how to play hockey. We just have to stick together and play the right way.”

One advantage the Slovaks have over most teams here is Olympic experience. Of the 26 players on the roster, nine were on the team that won the bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. That includes Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who scored seven goals in seven games, including two in a 4-0 win against Sweden in the bronze medal game. He was named the MVP of the tournament. Four months later, Slafkovsky was the No. 1 pick at the 2022 NHL Draft.

There were no NHL players at those Olympics, but they are everywhere now. In fact, Finland has all but one NHL player on its roster, while Sweden, which is also in Group B with the Slovaks, has every roster spot filled by an NHL player. The other team in the group, host Italy, does not have any.

“It’s a different tournament here with the presence of the best players in the world,” Slafkovsky said Monday. “I just want to give my best performance. I’ll be looking to help my team and be the best version of myself. I hope to help the team win as many games as possible.”

There are three groups of four teams in Milan, with each team playing each other once in the group. The three group winners and the next-best team will advance to the quarterfinals, while the other eight begin the single-elimination tournament in the qualifying round.

Group B is considered the toughest, with medal favorites Finland and Sweden part of it.

That’s just fine for the Slovaks.

“I like to be the underdog,” Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary said. “Like the people don’t expect much, but if you play well, then you can surprise everyone.”

That could start Wednesday against Finland.

“We know they have a really good team,” Pospisil said. “But with those types of players, you can’t give them too much respect because they’re going to score.

“We just need to focus on us and play simple and hard.”