FLAMES FORWARD POSPISIL HELPS SLOVAKIA TO OLYMPIC BERTH, HONOURS GAUDREAUS
Calgary Flames sparkplug Martin Pospisil can now daydream about throwing bodychecks on another big stage.
Pospisil played an important role as Slovakia clinched a spot Sunday in the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The host Slovaks were 3-0 in a qualifying event in Bratislava, capped by a 3-1 victory in a must-win against Kazakhstan.
“I’m excited to be going to Milan,” Pospisil told the IIHF website.
Logging his shifts at centre for his national team, a possibility the Flames will explore when training camp opens later this month, the 24-year-old Pospisil earned three points — all assists — during the qualifier.
While some other NHLers declined to avoid the risk of injury, one of the reasons that Pospisil was so adamant about suiting up for the qualifying tournament was for the opportunity to play alongside his older brother, Kristian, who helped Slovakia to a bronze medal in Beijing in 2022 and will now hope to add to his collection in 2026 in Milan.
The hard-working, hard-hitting Flames forward told Dennik Sport that he was skating with a heavy heart as the hockey world mourns the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau , who were killed Thursday after being struck by a suspected drunk driver while they were riding bicycles in Salem County, N.J.
“I met Johnny Gaudreau at camps in Calgary, we trained together,” said Pospisil, who has spent the past five seasons in the Flames organization but didn’t log his NHL debut until November 2023, in an interview with Dennik Sport. “The nickname Johnny Hockey was well-deserved. There are very few players like him. He was an incredible talent. I still can’t process this tragedy.”
Slovakia’s victory Sunday could also turn out to be a big deal for Flames forward prospect Sam Honzek, a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The 19-year-old Honzek is expected to start his pro career this fall with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. He has twice represented Slovakia at the world juniors and will be aiming to play his way into roster consideration for the 2026 Winter Games.
2024-09-01T20:51:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd