Slovenia men's national ice hockey team

The Slovenia men's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Slovenia internationally. It is governed by the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia. As of May 2024, Slovenia is ranked 19th in the world by the IIHF World Ranking. The team's biggest success is reaching the quarter-finals at the 2014 Winter Olympics.^[4] Their best record at the Ice Hockey World Championships is 13th place, achieved in 2002 and 2005.^[5]

Slovenia

Nickname(s)	Risi (The Lynx)
Association	Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia
General manager	Dejan Kontrec
Head coach	Edo Terglav
Assistants	Gorazd Drinovec Mitja Robar Mitja Šivic
Captain	Robert Sabolič
Most games	Tomaž Razingar (212)[1]
Most points	Tomaž Vnuk (171)[2]
Team colors
IIHF code	SLO
Ranking
Current IIHF	19 2 (27 May 2024)[3]
Highest IIHF	14 (2014–15)
Lowest IIHF	20 (2020–21)
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)
Olympics
Appearances	2 (first in 2014)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	30 (first in 1993)
Best result	13th (2002 and 2005)

Seven players from Slovenia have been drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL) since 1998; Anže Kopitar and Jan Muršak have played in the league.^[6]

History

Slovenian players at the 2008 World Championship

Before Slovenia's independence, Slovenian hockey players played for the Yugoslavia national team. From 1939, when Yugoslavia took part in its first World Championship, to 1991, when the country disintegrated, 91% of all Yugoslav national team members were Slovenes, including the entire squad that represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.^[7]

Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and joined the International Ice Hockey Federation the following year.^[8] They first played as an independent nation at the 1993 World Championship, hosting the Group C tournament, the lowest tier.^[9] They played in the elite division for the first time in 2002,^[10] and at their first Winter Olympics in 2014.^[11]

Tournament record

Olympic Games

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	OW	OL	L	GS	GA
1964–1991	Part of Yugoslavia
1992	Did not enter
1994
1998	Did not qualify
2002
2006
2010
2014	Quarter-finals	7th	5	2	0	0	3	10	16
2018	Playoffs	9th	4	0	2	1	1	9	14
2022	Did not qualify
2026
Total		0 Titles	9	2	2	1	4	19	30

World Championship

Key

	Promoted to higher division
	Relegated to lower division

Championship	GP	W	OW	T	OL	L	GS	GA	Coach	Captain	Finish	Rank
1920 – 1992	Part of Yugoslavia
1993 Bled and Ljubljana, Pool C	7	5	0	0	0	2	78	16	Rudi Hiti		4th in Pool C	24th
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	0	0	2	41	19	Vladimir Krikunov		3rd in Pool C	23rd
1997 Tallinn and Kohtla-Järve, Pool C	5	3	0	1	0	1	25	8	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, 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		Winners	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	Tomaž Vnuk	Winners	17th
2005 Vienna, Innsbruck	6	2	0	0	0	4	12	32	Kari Savolainen	Robert Ciglenečki	Relegation round	13th
2006 Riga	6	0	0	2	0	4	14	26	František Výborný	Dejan Varl	Relegation round	16th
2007 Ljubljana, Division IB	5	5	0	—	0	0	29	5	Ted Sator	Marcel Rodman	Winners	17th
2008 Quebec City, Halifax	5	0	0	—	1	4	6	22	Mats Waltin	Marcel Rodman	Relegation round	15th
2009 Vilnius, Division IA	5	4	0	—	0	1	21	7	John Harrington	Tomaž Razingar	2nd in Division IA	19th
2010 Ljubljana, Division IB	5	4	1	—	0	0	29	10	John Harrington	Tomaž Razingar	Winners	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	Winners	17th
2013 Stockholm, Helsinki	7	0	0	—	2	5	12	27	Matjaž Kopitar	Tomaž Razingar	Preliminary round	16th
2014 Goyang, Division IA	5	4	0	—	0	1	15	6	Matjaž Kopitar	Tomaž Razingar	Winners	17th
2015 Prague, Ostrava	7	1	0	—	0	6	9	22	Matjaž Kopitar	Tomaž Razingar	Preliminary round	16th
2016 Katowice, Division IA	5	4	0	—	0	1	18	8	Nik Zupančič	Jan Urbas	Winners	17th
2017 Cologne, Paris	7	0	0	—	1	6	13	36	Nik Zupančič	Jan Muršak	Preliminary round	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[12]
2021 Ljubljana, Division IA	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[13]
2022 Ljubljana, Division IA	4	4	0	—	0	0	22	5	Matjaž Kopitar	Mitja Robar	Winners	17th
2023 Tampere, Riga	7	0	0	—	0	7	9	27	Matjaž Kopitar	Jan Urbas	Preliminary round	16th
2024 Bolzano, Division IA	5	3	0	—	0	2	14	8	Edo Terglav	Robert Sabolič	2nd in Division IA	18th
2025 Stockholm, Herning

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 IIHF World Championship.^[14][15]

Head coach: Matjaž Kopitar

No.	Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Team
4	D	Aleksandar Magovac	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	(1991-02-09) 9 February 1991 (age 34)	HK Olimpija
6	D	Miha Štebih	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	92 kg (203 lb)	(1992-04-07) 7 April 1992 (age 32)	Nice hockey Côte d'Azur
8	F	Žiga Jeglič	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	80 kg (180 lb)	(1988-02-24) 24 February 1988 (age 36)	Fischtown Pinguins
12	F	Nik Simšič	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	90 kg (200 lb)	(1997-03-12) 12 March 1997 (age 27)	HK Olimpija
14	D	Matic Podlipnik	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	83 kg (183 lb)	(1992-08-09) 9 August 1992 (age 32)	Fischtown Pinguins
15	D	Blaž Gregorc	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	95 kg (209 lb)	(1990-01-18) 18 January 1990 (age 35)	Augsburger Panther
17	D	Žiga Pavlin – A	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	97 kg (214 lb)	(1985-04-30) 30 April 1985 (age 39)	HC Pustertal Wölfe
18	F	Ken Ograjenšek	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	75 kg (165 lb)	(1991-08-30) 30 August 1991 (age 33)	Graz 99ers
19	F	Žiga Pance	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	89 kg (196 lb)	(1989-01-01) 1 January 1989 (age 36)	HK Olimpija
21	F	Jan Drozg	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(1999-04-01) 1 April 1999 (age 25)	Amur Khabarovsk
24	F	Rok Tičar – A	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(1989-05-03) 3 May 1989 (age 35)	EC KAC
26	F	Jan Urbas – C	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	98 kg (216 lb)	(1989-01-26) 26 January 1989 (age 36)	Fischtown Pinguins
32	G	Gašper Krošelj	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1987-02-09) 9 February 1987 (age 38)	BK Mladá Boleslav
33	G	Žan Us	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	78 kg (172 lb)	(1996-06-10) 10 June 1996 (age 28)	HK Olimpija
35	G	Luka Gračnar	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	83 kg (183 lb)	(1993-10-31) 31 October 1993 (age 31)	EV Landshut
44	D	Aljoša Crnovič	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(1999-04-16) 16 April 1999 (age 25)	HK Olimpija
45	F	Luka Maver	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	(1997-10-25) 25 October 1997 (age 27)	Pioneers Vorarlberg
55	F	Robert Sabolič	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	90 kg (200 lb)	(1988-09-18) 18 September 1988 (age 36)	EC VSV
76	D	Kristjan Čepon	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	(1995-11-12) 12 November 1995 (age 29)	HK Olimpija
81	F	Tadej Čimžar	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	80 kg (180 lb)	(1992-04-21) 21 April 1992 (age 32)	HK Olimpija
88	F	Miha Zajc	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	90 kg (200 lb)	(1996-12-08) 8 December 1996 (age 28)	HK Olimpija
91	F	Miha Verlič	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(1991-08-21) 21 August 1991 (age 33)	Fischtown Pinguins
92	F	Anže Kuralt	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	80 kg (180 lb)	(1991-10-31) 31 October 1991 (age 33)	Fehérvár AV19
96	D	Bine Mašič	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	75 kg (165 lb)	(2002-11-14) 14 November 2002 (age 22)	Vaasan Sport
98	F	Blaž Tomaževič	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	75 kg (165 lb)	(1997-10-14) 14 October 1997 (age 27)	EC VSV

Coaching history

• Rudi Hiti (1992–1995)
• Vladimir Krikunov (1995–1996)
• Pavle Kavčič (1996–1999)
• Rudi Hiti (1999–2000)
• Matjaž Sekelj (2001–2003)
• Kari Savolainen (2003–2005)^[16]
• František Výborný (2005–2006)
• Ted Sator (2006–2007)
• Mats Waltin (2007–2008)
• John Harrington (2009–2010)
• Matjaž Kopitar (2010–2015)
• Nik Zupančič (2015–2017)^[17]
• Kari Savolainen (2017–2018)^[16]
• Ivo Jan (2018–2019)^[18]
• Matjaž Kopitar (2019–2023)^[19][20]
• Edo Terglav (2023–present)^[21]

NHL Entry Draft

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

Players from Slovenia selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

Year	Name	Overall	Team
1998	Edo Terglav	249th overall	Buffalo Sabres
2000	Jure Penko	203rd overall	Nashville Predators
2001	Marcel Rodman	282nd overall	Boston Bruins
2005	Anže Kopitar	11th overall	Los Angeles Kings
2006	Jan Muršak	182nd overall	Detroit Red Wings
2017	Jan Drozg	152nd overall	Pittsburgh Penguins
2024	Jan Goličič	118th overall	Tampa Bay Lightning

References

1. "Rekorder Tomaž Razingar se vrača v reprezentanco" (in Slovenian). Siol. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
2. Mavrič, Petra (15 May 2016). "Uspehi, s katerimi so nas od osamosvojitve razvajali slovenski hokejisti" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 13 May 2022. Največ točk v dresu Slovenije je dosegel Tomaž Vnuk, 171.
3. "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
4. Gruden, Toni (26 February 2014). "Risi v Sočiju - največji uspeh slovenskih reprezentanc" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
5. "Hokejski palček, ki kljubuje zakonitostim" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 25 April 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
6. "Jan Goličič je postal sedmi Slovenec, izbran na naboru lige NHL" (in Slovenian). Siol. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
7. Manninen, Henrik (4 February 2014). "A Slovenian send-off". IIHF. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
8. "IIHF Member National Association Slovenia". IIHF. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
9. "Breakup of old Europe creates a new hockey world". IIHF. 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
10. Mavrič, Petra (21 April 2021). "20 let od sanjskega večera, ko Golica kar ni nehala doneti" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
11. Uroševič, Siniša (19 December 2013). "Slovenski hokejisti prvič po Sarajevu vrnili plošček na OI". Delo (in Slovenian). Retrieved 28 May 2024.
12. Steiss, Adam (17 March 2020). "IIHF cancels Division I tournaments". IIHF. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
13. Steiss, Adam (18 November 2020). "IIHF Council announces more cancellations". IIHF. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
14. "Risi uspešno tudi čez prezadnjo pripravljalno preizkušnjo". hokej.si (in Slovenian). Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
15. "Team Roster Slovenia" (PDF). IIHF. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
16. "Kari Savolainen je novi selektor risov". hokej.si (in Slovenian). Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
17. "Zupančič sprejel izziv in postal novi selektor risov" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
18. "Uradno: Ivo Jan je novi selektor hokejske reprezentance" (in Slovenian). Siol. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
19. "Matjaž Kopitar bo novi slovenski hokejski selektor". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). 20 June 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
20. "Matjaž Kopitar ne bo več selektor risov" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
21. "Nazaj med svetovno elito bo skušal rise popeljati Edo Terglav" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

External links

• Official website
• IIHF profile