Slovakia Slovakia ( long form : Slovak Republic ; Slovak : " Slovensko " , long form " Slovenská republika " ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about 49 , 000 square kilometres ( almost 19 , 000 square miles ) . The Slovak Republic borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west , Poland to the north , Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south . The largest city is its capital , Bratislava . Slovakia is a member state of the European Union , NATO , OECD , WTO , and other international organizations . History of hockey in Slovakia . The first organised ice hockey game in Slovakia was played in 1921 . Three years later , CSSK Bratislava played Slovakias ' s first international game , losing to Wiener EV of Austria . Hockey in Slovakia received a major boost in popularity after the European Championships of 1925 , hosted by Czechoslovakia . International . The Slovak men ' s national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Slovakia and is controlled by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation . As of March 2010 , the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) , the world governing body of hockey , ranks them as the seventh strongest national team in the world . It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world . The team ' s general manager is Peter Bondra and their head coach is Glen Hanlon . Slovakia has a total of 12 , 375 hockey players enrolled in organized ice hockey ( 0 . 23 % of its population ) . The Slovak U20 , U18 , Womens , and Womens U18 teams also participate in the world championships . In the last sixteen years , Slovakia has won three medals at the World Championships , including a gold medal in 2002 in Sweden . In winter Olympic games , Slovakia ' s highest achievement is 4th place in Vancouver 2010 . In the tournament they won against favourites Russia and Sweden , and narrowly lost against Canada in the semifinals and against Finland in the bronze medal game . The Slovak national team was formed following the breakup of Czechoslovakia , as the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia . For years , the Czechs kept control over how the national team was run , and even had quotas instituted to ensure a minimal participation of Slovak players on the Czechoslovakian national team . While the Czechs were allowed to compete at the highest pool ( A ) , the IIHF ruled that because fewer players of the former Czechoslovak team were Slovaks , Slovakia would be required to start international play in Pool C . However , Slovakia ' s play in the lower pools won it promotion to pool A by 1996 . " See also Post - Cold War period of the IIHF world championships " . In the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City , Utah , the Slovak team was unable to use its National Hockey League ( NHL ) players in the preliminary round due to a scheduling conflict . This affected all of the smaller countries , but devastated the Slovak team as most of their players were coming from NHL teams . The NHL had decided to only allow their players to participate in the final medal round , and thus Slovakia failed to qualify finishing a disappointing 13th . This turn of events was troubling to the entire hockey community , and the rules were changed for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin , Italy . Notable Slovak national team members and current NHL players include Pavol Demitra of the Vancouver Canucks ; Marián Gáborík of the New York Rangers ; brothers Marián Hossa and Marcel Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks and Dinamo Riga , respectively ; Miroslav Šatan ; and the tallest player in NHL history , Zdeno Chára . In the late 1990s , the St . Louis Blues placed Ľuboš Bartečko , Michal Handzuš , and Demitra on the same line . This trio became known as the " Slovak Pack , " and were able to communicate in their native language without the opposition knowing what they were saying , unless of course they also spoke / understood Slovak . Notable players from Slovakia include ,