A recent report from Hockey Slovakia has confirmed that two New Jersey Devils, Simon Nemec and Tomas Tatar, are set to participate for their National Team in the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers. NHL teams must give their permission to participate, so the Devils must have given them the green light. They’ll have three games in four days, beginning on August 29.
The Slovaks will host their group (Group D), with games in Bratislava. If they win their group, which includes Kazakhstan, Austria and Hungary, they’ll automatically qualify for the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy. The following countries have already qualified: Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy (Host), Finland, Germany, Czechia, and the United States.
Here’s their full schedule:
August 29 vs. Austria
August 30 @ Hungary
September 1 vs. Kazakhstan
Slovakia appears to be the favorite to win their group, as they have more current NHLers than the other three countries in their group combined. Nemec played in the 2022 Winter Olympics as a 17-year-old, where he helped Team Slovakia earn a bronze medal. He’s notched 63 points across U18, World Juniors (U20), and Men’s International Competition – including the previous qualifiers and four IIHF World Championships.
As a veteran in the NHL, Tatar is the likely captain of Team Slovakia, with 70 points over the years for his respective National Programs. He was part of one of the most successful Slovak teams of all time – the 2012 World Championship silver medalists, where he had five points in ten games.
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Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames has also announced his commitment to the Slovak Qualifying team, as well as New York Rangers prospect Adam Sykora. The Slovak announcement stated they “believed Pospisil is not the last” of the NHLers who will be participating. If that’s the case, it’s likely that at least one of Juraj Slafkovsky (Montreal Canadiens) or Martin Fehervary (Washington Capitals) will join as well. Here are the other qualifying groups, where the winner will head to the Olympics:
Group E (Riga, Latvia): Latvia, France, Slovenia, Ukraine
Group F (Aalborg, Denmark): Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, Japan
Other Devils Participating
If Slovakia does qualify, it’s near-certain that they won’t be the only Devils participating in the 2026 Olympics. The following rostered players could be considered: Jack Hughes (USA), Luke Hughes (USA), Brett Pesce (USA), Jesper Bratt (SWE), Jacob Markstrom (SWE), Erik Haula (FIN), Ondrej Palat (CZE), Nico Hischier (SUI), Timo Meier (SUI), Jonas Siegenthaler (SUI), Dawson Mercer (CAN). Of course, there’s always the possibility that a younger player like Nico Daws (CAN) or Santeri Hatakka (FIN) breaks out in the 2024-25 season and grabs some last-minute consideration.
Nemec and Tatar will likely head to the Devils’ training camp on Sept. 18, just a little over two weeks after the Qualifiers wrap up. Then their first preseason contest will be four days later, on Sept. 22 vs. New York Islanders, and the NHL season will be underway.
