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Olympic Hockey Preview 2006: Slovakia
By BRIAN PIKE, MOP Squad Sports Hockey Editor
Feb 18, 2006 - 3:39:00 AM |
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2006 Men’s Olympic Hockey Preview: Slovakia
2002 Result: Slovakia finished a disappointing 13th after an embarrassing preliminary round.
Since then: Gold at the 2002 World Championships, bronze at the 2003 Worlds.
Lineup:
Players are listed in probable combinations with their NHL city or European club team city and country in parentheses.
Forwards (LW-C-RW):
1. Marian Gaborik (Minnesota) – Pavol Demitra (Los Angeles) – Marian Hossa (Atlanta)
2. Richard Zednik (Montreal) –Richard Kapus (Novokuznetsk, Russia) - Miroslav Satan (New York Islanders)
3. Peter Bondra (Atlanta) – Lubos Bartecko (Lulea, Sweden) - Marek Svatos (Colorado)
4. Marcel Hossa (New York) - Ronald Petrovicky (Atlanta)* - Tomas Surovy (Pittsburgh)**
Extra: Jozef Stumpel (Florida)
Defensemen:
1. Zdeno Chara (Ottawa) – Andrej Meszaros (Ottawa)
2. Lubimor Visnovsky (Los Angeles) – Ivan Majesky (Washington)
3. Martin Strbak (CSKA Moscow) – Milan Jurcina (Boston)
Extra: Radoslav Suchy (Columbus)
Goaltenders:
1. Peter Budaj (Colorado)
2. Jan Lasak (Pardubice, Czech Republic)
3. Karol Krizan (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden)
*injury replacement for Michal Handzus (Philadelphia, center)
**injury replacement for Ladislav Nagy (Phoenix, winger)
Key Player: Zdeno Chara. Chara will be playing big minutes in all situations for this Slovak team, which is not as thin on defense as it has been in the past but could still use some more talent on the blueline. Chara is, of course, Ottawa’s 6’9, 260 pound mountain on skates who was a Norris Trophy candidate as the NHL’s best defenseman in 2003-04 and has been every bit as good this season. He had a tough time at the 2004 World Cup, where he was a –5 in four games, and had trouble last season adjusting to the game in Sweden, where he seemed to get a penalty every time he leaned on a guy. He’ll be tested here in Turin, because the Slovak team will need him to stay out of the penalty box, but at the same time play physical against the opposition’s best forwards. Unfortunately for Chara, a brilliant tournament from him might not be enough to win Slovakia a medal, but a lousy tournament from him will almost certainly be enough to lose them one.
How They’ll Win:
1. While it’s not as deep an attack as Russia, Sweden or Canada, Slovakia has some of the most talented forwards in the world on their team, and may have the single best line in Turin in Pavol Demitra between Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa. All three are amazing talents, and while this team will sorely miss the offense of Phoenix’s Ladislav Nagy, who had to pull out due to injury, wingers Peter Bondra, Richard Zednik, Miroslav Satan and Marek Svatos should be more than enough offensive support for the first line. With Lubimor Visnovsky and Andrej Meszaros firing passes up-ice and Chara and Milan Jurcina shooting bullets from the point, Slovakia will have a very strong offense.
2. Led by Chara, Slovakia’s defense is easily bigger than most. At 6’9, 260, Chara is a giant of a man, but Ivan Majesky (6’5, 225), Milan Jurcina (6’4, 198), Radoslav Suchy (6’2, 204), Martin Strbak (6’2, 200) and Andrej Meszaros (6’2, 189) are no slouches either. Only Visnovsky is under 6’2, checking in at 5’10 and 183 pounds, but he’s the best puck-mover among the group. Chara and Majesky in particular like to throw their weight around, but the rest of the defense prefer to use their size and long sticks in a more positional game. While Chara and Visnovsky will play big minutes, one of the key defenders may end up being Meszaros, who is only 20 but has played mature beyond his years in his rookie season in Ottawa and is already capable of taking on a top-four role at this level.
3. Slovakia has a lot to avenge at this tournament. While NHL players have been permitted at the Olympics the last two tournaments, Slovakia finished a disappointing 10th and 13th in 1998 and 2002, respectively. Under the old format, teams outside the top six (traditionally Canada, the US, Finland, the Czechs, Russia, and Sweden) had to play a preliminary round to qualify for another round robin against the top six, but the NHL refused to shut down until after the preliminary round was over, and very few Slovaks could get their release from their NHL teams to play. That’s all changed in this new format, with an expanded round robin and no preliminary round. Now that the Slovaks are automatically pooled in with the big boys, they’ll be eager to prove they belong. Three medals at the last six World Championships are nice, but the Olympics are a cut above, and Slovakia will be feeling as though they have something to prove.
How They’ll Lose:
1. For years Slovakia has searched for an elite starting goaltender. In tournament after tournament, Slovakia has played well only to have a bad goal or shaky start derail their efforts. For years Slovakia’s only real choice in goal has been Jan Lasak, a second round pick by Nashville in 1999, and he has produced some maddeningly inconsistent results. Lasak’s crowning achievement was gold at the Worlds in 2002, but he was awful at the Olympics that same year and just hasn’t been able to give Slovakia any consistency. This tournament, Lasak can expect to split time with Colorado rookie goaltender Peter Budaj, who has, coincidently enough, struggled with consistency in his first NHL season. The fact that Slovakia has nowhere near the goaltending prowess that their arch-rivals, the Czech Republic, do with Dominik Hasek and Tomas Vokoun is grating, to say the least. Slovakia needs one of these two to step up in this tournament, and maybe solidify himself as the Slovakian starter for years to come.
2. With only three natural centers on the roster, Slovakia has to be somewhat concerned when it comes to faceoffs and defensive zone play. Richard Kapus is essentially an unknown in terms of his faceoff prowess and two-way play; he has scored points in the Slovak league, which is not considered to be ultra-competitive, but has struggled to do the same in the Czech Republic and Russia. Demitra hasn’t even been playing center this season in Los Angeles, instead spending much of his time on the right wing. His faceoff skills are dubious (his 49.5 winning percentage this season is easily his best mark of the last few seasons) and he is less than renowned for his play in the defensive zone. Jozef Stumpel, meanwhile, is only a slightly better alternative; his 49.2 winning percentage for Florida this season is about average for him in the faceoff circle and he’s not the most defensive-minded player either. This team will badly miss Michal Handzus, who’ll miss the tournament with an injury. His replacement, Ronald Petrovicky, is usually a right winger but has played center before so likely will draw that assignment on the fourth line, as no one else on the roster plays center. But the Slovaks are badly lacking a big, two-way presence like Handzus and a guy they can depend on to go out in the last minute of play and win the big defensive-zone draw.
3. While this team isn’t as high-strung as the Russians, in the past there have been rumblings of a lack of unity in the Slovak dressing room. At times they’ve looked like a very cohesive unit, but in some tournaments, such as the 2004 World Cup, they’ve looked extremely out of joint and as a result performed badly. It’s hard to imagine the Slovaks missing the playoff round, and as such they’ll finish higher at this Olympics than they ever have before. But there’s a lot of talent on this team, and the fact that they have only rarely been able to pull it all together and produce a good showing at a major international tournament raises questions about whether this group of players can put together a solid team effort.
The Bottom Line: As stated before, Slovakia will have a better finish at this Olympics than they ever have before. Will it be enough for a medal? Probably not, but they may well come heartbreakingly close. Fourth is the prediction.
Copyright 2007 - MOP Squad Sports
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