World Junior 2015 Preview: Slovakia hoping to take advantage of breaks in tough group

GROUP A: SLOVAKIA

2014 finish: Eighth, lost to Sweden 6-0 in quarterfinal
2014 round-robin record: 1-0-0-3, 16 GF/17 GA

Slovakia’s Martin Réway knows what it’s like to play at the Centre Bell.

The Canadiens prospect has played a couple of exhibition games for the Habs so far in his career, and he knows the raucous and spirited crowd the Montreal hockey cathedral can produce.

“It’s great, almost 22 thousand spectators,” Réway told Dennik SME. “A lot of guys haven’t played [with] such a backdrop, and they must deal with it as much as possible. We have a mental coach. It should not be a problem.”

A mental coach in Ernest Bokroš meaning a coach who can help the team handle the spotlight and the cheering fans Dec. 26 in their opening game against the host Canadians.

Coach Bokroš announced his starting netminder for the tournament, Denis Godla, after an impressive 3-1 win over rival Czech Republic in Peterborough, Ont. The Slovaks are coming in with three goalies: Godla and Dávid Okoličàny from HK Orange 20 and Daniel Gibl of the Barrie Colts, all 19-year-olds.

Gibl and Dávid Šoltés of the Prince George Cougars are the only two CHL representatives on the Slovakia squad. Two other CHL players, Patrik Maier of the Kamloops Blazers and Juraj Šiška of the Saint John Sea Dogs, didn’t make the cut.

The Slovaks have two distinct advantages in this tournament. The first is that most of the team’s players are already familiar with each other. HK Orange 20 plays in Slovakia’s top league and is a collection of the country’s best under-20 players. They play against the top men’s teams in Slovakia to better prepare them for tournaments like the World Junior.

The second advantage is that they get their round robin game against Canada out of the way. The Slovaks will take on the Canadians in the nightcap on the tournament’s opening day, Dec. 26, meaning Slovakia could steal a game from under the host Canadians with their chemistry advantage. If Team Canada has a slow start to the tournament, it’s Slovakia who would benefit first.

The game they have to win is not against Germany, the other “fodder” team in Group A, but against Finland in a turn-around game the afternoon of Dec. 27. If the Slovaks want a preferable draw into the playoff round, it’s Finland they have the best chance to beat out of the remaining teams in the group. It’s the only game against the big three teams of Group A where the Slovaks have the last change, and they need to take advantage.

With the presence of Germany in Group A, the chances of Slovakia being relegated are somewhat slim, but having to face Canada, the US and Finland in the same group, and the Canadians and Americans as the road team, could prevent the Slovaks from improving on last year’s eighth place finish.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Martin Réway (F, HC Sparta Praha – Czech Extraliga)

To the delight of Habs fans at the Centre Bell, Montreal prospect Martin Réway will captain the squad in the tournament. It’s his third crack at a WJC medal. Last season, he had 10 points in five games for the Sloavakian team that finished in eighth place.

This year, after graduating to the pro game in the Czech Republic, Réway has nearly a point a game, with 21 points in 23 games. He spent two seasons under Team Canada coach Benoit Groulx’swatch in Gatineau, where he had 112 points in 90 games in two injury-riddled years.

Coach Bokroš has said he expects Réway to lead the team and plans on building his team around him.

Peter Cehlárik, Robert Lantosi and Matej Paulovič (F, Lulea HF – SHL, F, VIK Vasteras HK – Allsvenskan, F, Muskegon Lumberjacks – USHL)

Cehlárik, Lantosi and Paulovič are among the secondary scoring coach Bokroš mentioned.

Cehlárik, a Bruins third rounder in 2013, is taking regular shifts with Lulea in Sweden, where he has 13 points in 29 games, and another three points in six games in Champions League action.

Lantosi has played primarily with the junior team in Vasteras, but he’s impressed with 15 points in 18 games so far, and it’s earned him a 12 game cup of coffee with the big squad in Vasteras.

Paulovič has produced at over a point-a-game clip in his first full season with the Lumberjacks, with 27 points in 25 games so far this season. Peterborough Petes fans may remember him as he suited up for 18 games with the team before ending up in Muskegon.

The Slovaks can’t just rely on Réway to do all the scoring, and these three men will have to make a difference for Slovakia to have success.

Radovan Bondra (F, Team Slovakia U18 – Slovakia-2)

Bondra is due up for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and has tantalizing size and skill at 6-foot-5 and 212 pounds.

Not related to the former Washington Capitals scoring star Peter, Bondra has great hands and a knack to getting to the net. He has no points in four games with HK Orange 20, but he does have 10 points in 13 games for the under-18 team in the second division in Slovakia.

Keep in mind, of course, the WJC is a 19-year-olds tournament, and it’s rare to see a player with a full-face mask dominate a World Junior, but Bondra should be able to make a name for himself with his performance in Montreal.

Erik Černák and Christián Jaroš (D, HC Kosice – Slovakia, D, Lulea HF – SHL)

Černák and Jaroš are both natives of Košice and eligible for the 2015 draft. They will have to have to live up to their 6-foot-3 statures and have big tournaments on the back end for the Slovaks.

Černák has six points on the back end with HC Kosice this season and was named by Bokroš as a player he wants contributing on the offensive end for the team. Jaroš is a quieter blueliner who can contribute on both ends, with four points in 13 games for Lulea so far.

Both players are no stranger to IIHF competition, as they were both named among their team’s top 3 players in U18 competition a year ago.

Denis Godla (G, HK Orange 20 – Slovakia Extraliga)

Keeping in mind that HK Orange 20, the Slovakian under-20 team in the top pro league, is 3-17-0 this season, Godla has very good numbers. He has a 3.19 GAA and a save percentage of .915.

Godla is the only goaltender of the three who has been to a WJC before, though he didn’t see any action as the third netminder. He had an unspectacular Hlinka tournament two years ago, with a GAA of 5.55 and a save percentage of .841, but he’ll surely want to put that behind him.

Last year with HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovakian junior league, he had a 13-8-0 record and a GAA of 2.64, with a save percentage of .919 and one shutout. That might be a bit of a better indicator of what he’s capable of.