Head coach Ernest Bokros named the players after the last games of HK Orange 20, an under-20 team that played games in the first half of the season of the Slovak top men’s league.

The “real” U20 national team will now have a camp in Slovakia until 22nd December with exhibition games against club teams Dukla Trencin (20 December) and SHK 37 Piestany (21 December).

21 of the 28 players have been loaned to HK Orange 20 during the season. Two players join from other Slovak teams, two from Energie Karlovy Vary – a Czech team in the Russian junior league MHL –, and one each from Sweden, Canada (QMHL) and the United States (NAHL).

Two forwards already have experience in top senior leagues in Europe. Marko Dano, who will play his third IIHF World Junior Championship, has already played 76 games for Slovan Bratislava’s men’s team in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League and Peter Cehlarik is under contract with Luleå HF where he played 18 games in the Swedish Hockey League and 17 games for second-tier team Asplöven this season.

Dano also played with the men’s national team at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Stockholm and Helsinki and last summer he became the first Slovak first-round draft pick since 2005 when the Columbus Blue Jackets selected him in 27th position overall.

Slovak U20 national team

Goalkeepers:
Samuel Baros, Slovan Bratislava
Maros Mikolas, MsHK Zilina
Richard Sabol, HC ‘05 Banska Bystrica