The Slovak national team was formed following the breakup of
Czechoslovakia, as the country was split into the
Czech Republic and Slovakia. Although the Czechs were allowed to compete in 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 back-to-back promotions to pool A by 1996. Slovakia's first appearance in an elite ice hockey competition was at the
1994 Winter Olympics in
Lillehammer. With a lineup led by star
Peter Šťastný, the Slovaks finished first in their group with three wins and two ties before losing to Russia in overtime in the quarterfinals. In the
1998 Winter Olympics in
Nagano and
2002 Winter Olympic Games in
Salt Lake City, the Slovak team did not 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 Slovaks as most of their best players were from NHL teams. The NHL only shut down its schedule in time for the second group stage, and thus Slovakia failed to qualify among the final eight teams both times. 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. Following the successful years for the Slovaks in the early 2000s at the World Championships, when they won the silver in
St. Petersburg at the
2000 edition after a loss to the
Czechs, winning the only title so far in
Goteburg at the
2002 edition and securing bronze in
Helsinki (
2003), the results of Slovakia worsened and Slovakia began to drop out in the quarterfinals. The closest Slovakia came to relegation into Division I was in
2008, when they avoided relegation only thanks to two victories over
Slovenia in the Relegation Round. These were followed by three subsequent eliminations in the qualifying round (round of 12), including one at a
2011 edition Slovakia hosted in
Bratislava and
Košice for the first time since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. However, Slovakia unexpectedly received silver medal at the
2012 edition, again won in Helsinki. This was the first tournament after the introduction of the new tournament format, followed by the quarterfinals. Due to the surprise this medal was after a number of unsuccessful tournaments, it was regarded as with a value of a triumphal gold. Moreover, the following year, Slovakia failed to repeat medal successes again or even qualify for the quarterfinals, except
2013. In the following years, the team narrowly missed out on a quarterfinal spot for three consecutive years. In
2017, Slovakia recorded its worst tournament in history by placing 14th, narrowly escaping elimination thanks to an overtime victory against
Italy. After the unsuccessful World Championships,
Craig Ramsay was appointed as the head coach with the goal of improving the results and playstyle of the national team. Despite missing out on the quarterfinals again in
2018 in
Denmark and one year later on home ice, the overall appearance of the team looked much better than the years prior. In the
Winter Olympic Games, Slovakia's highest achievement prior to 2022 was fourth place in
Vancouver 2010. In the tournament, it won against favourites
Russia and
Sweden, and lost against
Canada in the semi-finals and against
Finland in the bronze medal game. In
2022, the Slovaks claimed their first ever Olympic medal after defeating Sweden 4–0 in a bronze medal game. ==Tournament record==