Slovakian Ice Hockey Federation Allows Players from Russian Teams to Play in National Team

The Slovak Ice Hockey Federation voted to allow players from the Russian-organized championship, the Kontinental Hockey League, to join the national team. The decision voted 52 percent of the participants in the federation’s congress, according to its website.

38 percent voted against, the rest abstained. “The hockey movement is inclined to think that at individual tournaments the national team should be in the strongest possible lineup, regardless of the players’ club affiliation,” the federation said in a statement.

The decision was made ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics qualification. The Slovak team will play in Latvia against teams from Austria, Hungary and Kazakhstan. The team is considered the group favourite.

The Slovak Federation did not formally ban KHL players from playing for the national team, but they missed two world championships, in Latvia and the Czech Republic. In 2022, the Federation’s Executive Committee ruled that players playing in Russia were not breaking any rules and could be invited to international tournaments. After that, World Champion and Stanley Cup winner Michal Handzuš left the body in protest, and the decision was condemned by the Federation’s sponsors and representatives of the Ministry of Sports.

In 2023, the federation stated that the players themselves had agreed not to call up the players from the KHL. This was explained by the players’ reluctance to be distracted from training by public discussion of the topic. In 2024, a survey commissioned by Denník N showed52 percent of the country’s residents are against the ban on calling players from Russia, while 28 percent are in favor.

KHL clubs have contracts with 10 players from Slovakia. In 2024, Neftekhimik player Samuel Buček, who signed a contract with the Russian team that was already in full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was called up to the national team. However, immediately after that, he was injured, tells Denník N.