In one month, the 2026 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship begins in Trencin and Bratislava, Slovakia. 

The host Slovaks will play in Group A at Trencin’s Pavol Demitra Arena – named for one of the great hockey players to come from the region, but far from the only one. Other notable names include Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik and Zdeno Chara.

“It’s a pleasure and privilege to play U18 Worlds at home,” said Slovak head coach Martin Dendis. “Trencin is historically one of the greatest hockey cities in Slovakia and many great players have come from there.” 

Trencin was a natural choice to serve as the primary venue of the tournament after showing great support at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2023 and 2025. 

“There is a great tradition for hockey and fans are very passionate there,” Dendis added. “And Trencin as a city is very beautiful, as well.”

The Slovaks hope to reward fans in the city and throughout the country with a good showing in the tournament and they feel they have a decent shot of doing so. Since returning to the top division in 2023, they’ve made three straight semi-final appearances. This year, they hope to get back on the medal podium for the first time at the U18 level since 2003. 

“We have a good group of guys who have known each other very well for a long time,” said Dendis. “They are friends who love to play with each other. Everybody is proud to represent our country with a team-first mentality.”

A lot of that can be attributed to Project 18, which for the last seven seasons has brought most of Slovakia’s top U18 talent together on one team all season, somewhat similar to the USA’s immensely successful National Team Development Program. The Slovak U18 team plays partial schedules in the country’s top U20 league and second-highest men’s league, and against other U18 national teams at international breaks. The players also attend the same high school in Piestany. 

“We work very hard with all players the whole season, develop personal relationships and hopefully all comes together at the end of the season,” said Dendis.

“Project 18 has been a great part of all the success”

Graduates of the program include current NHLers Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec and Dalibor Dvorsky. Graduates from last year’s team include prospects Jan Chovan, Michal Svrcek and goaltender Michal Pradal. 

“Project 18 has been a great part of all the success our national teams have had in recent years,” Dendis confirmed. “So many players have come through Project 18, developed there and taken advantage of it.”

This year’s team will be mostly made up of players from Project 18 but will be led by defenceman Adam Goljer, a Trencin native who spent the year playing professionally for local club Dukla Trencin, and also represented Slovakia at the IIHF World Junior Championship. At 190 cm and 88 kg (6’3”, 194 lbs), Goljer is the Slovak player scouts are most interested in ahead of next year’s NHL Entry Draft. 

“Adam is a very hard-working guy who is motivated to reach his dreams,” said Dendis. “He plays with heart and passion, and is very competitive. He’s a leader by example and we’re proud to be able to have him on our team.”

Dendis elaborated on Goljer’s game by saying he “has great vision for the game with his first pass, can hit very hard and has an amazing shot.” 

The team will also be able to add centre Adam Stankoven and goaltender Samuel Hrenak, whose Brampton Steelheads and Fargo Force will miss the OHL and USHL playoffs, respectively. There are other Slovaks on teams in the OHL, QMJHL and USHL, but Dendis refused to speculate who else would become available, stating, “We’ll wait for the playoffs in North America and take it from there.”

Other teams in Group A include Canada, Finland, Latvia and Norway, so Slovakia will face some tough competition but, barring a collapse, should not have much trouble advancing to the quarter-finals. The goal will be to finish as high as possible to gain the most favourable cross-over match-up. 

Dendis isn’t too worried about his players feeling the pressure of playing at home, stating, “The only pressure is on coaches. For the players, this is a great opportunity to play the game they love most in front of people who’ve supported them all their lives and in front of their countrymen.” 

His advice to his players? “Enjoy it.”