Slovak Ice-hockey Federation chair Miroslav Šatan. (source: TASR)
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Hockey players from Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) will play in the qualification for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Perhaps there is some kind of symbol in today's date, August 19. The day before the anniversary of the Warsaw Pact's invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968 marks the official return of Slovak ice-hockey players in the KHL to the national team.
They will be part of the team that will play in the qualification tournament held in Bratislava to get a spot at the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy. It's no surprise; it was only a matter of time.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the sports world also reacted to the military aggression. But while the hockey federations in Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Latvia made their stance clear and banned KHL players from their national teams, the leadership of the Slovak Ice-hockey Federation (SZĽH) tactically waited.
It withstood concerns of some advertising partners; it also successfully repelled a rare attack of morality from within its own ranks by one member of the executive board, former hockey player Michal Handzuš.
