The year 2026 started very well for Slovak hockey. After the excellent performance of the national team at the Olympics, another great success came. The medal of the 18 is all the more valuable because it came at the home championship.
The silver medal is no accident. At the three previous championships, the 18th team was in the semi-finals and this year they reached the finals.
In 2019, she dropped out of the elite category. Due to the pandemic, she finally returned only in 2023. And since then, she has always been in the medal fights.
After the relegation seven years ago, the union, headed by president Miroslav Šatan, decided to restart the project of centralized preparation of the under-18 national team and cancel the project of the 20-year-old team, which until then played in the extra league.
The 18-year-old jumped into the second highest senior competition in which she has been active so far. However, most of the players of the current silver squad did not play for the 18th in the league this season. The skeleton was made up of players from overseas, Europe or Slovak league teams. However, several of them went through this project at some point.
At the four previous championships, Slovakia was able to compete with the best national teams, which was also the goal of the rebirth of centralized training. However, the project itself is not a guarantee of success.
Three successful championships for Dendis
An important piece of the puzzle is the coaches and the implementation team. During the last three successful World Championships, Martin Dendis was the head coach. He joined the national team in June 2023, and Šatan introduced him as very young, but with many years of experience.
Dendis worked in Sweden first as a coach in junior teams and later as an assistant in senior Linköping and AIK Stockholm.
When he started, he was the target of criticism from fans because of his young age. Now, only 34 years old, he has made two semi-finals of the Under-18 World Championship and one final. Such a success has no parallel in Slovakia.
Dendis is excellent at preparing the team tactically and is a good motivator. After winning matches, he always talked about the team’s performance. He did not single out individuals, but noted that every single player contributed to the result.
Changes in the game and in the mental setting
Slovakia achieved success despite the fact that it did not have a big star that stood out above the rest. The basis was precisely good tactical preparation, organization of the game and adherence to the system.
In addition, a change in mental attitude was also seen. The players believed in each opponent. Such a self-confident approach is increasingly common among young Slovak hockey players.
The results of the round of 18 indicate that Slovak youth hockey has moved forward. Several changes are visible at first glance in the game as well, be it tactical readiness, fitness, the ability to play at a high pace, but also better skating.
Good results are based not only on educated coaches and the work of the association, but also on clubs that educate young players and give them a chance in senior hockey.
It will be seen in a few years whether these changes will be reflected in the entire Slovak hockey. It will be important how the achievements of the 18 team are reflected in the championship of the twenties and subsequently in the representative events of the senior team.
Source: Postoj
