SEVEN SLOVAN PLAYERS AT OLYMPIC SUMMER CAMP

The four-day camp starts on Monday, July 1^st in Starý Smokovec. Otto Sýkora outlined the program: “In the afternoon, we’ll hold a meeting with all the players, tell them what we expect from them, and discuss everything to do with the Winter Olympics and Sochi. The next day we’ll take a cable car trip up to Lomnický Štít, then in the afternoon the guys will play a soccer match in Štrba against Slovak internationals.” On Wednesday there will be a doubles tennis tournament, followed by a group barbecue in the evening. The camp draws to a close on Thursday morning. Above all, the outing is about having fun and building a team which should form part of the selection for the high point of the coming season – the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

A total of 36 players received an invitation from the Slovak national team management, nine of whom are from HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Jaroslav Janus, Michal Sersen, Milan Bartovič, Mário Bližňák, Marko Daňo, Roman Kukumberg, Michel Miklík, Juraj Mikúš, Miroslav Šatan. However, two players – Marek Daňo and Miroslav Šatan – have excused themselves from attending. The group also includes Andrej Sekera and Ľubomír Višňovský, who played several games for Slovan last season during the NHL lockout. “He said no to the last World Championships, but expressed a real interest in the Olympics,” Sýkora explained regarding Višňovský, “He was always inclined to it, and always wanted to play in Sochi.”

“We don’t want to give the impression that these 36 players are guaranteed selection for the Winter Olympics; someone else could still get in,” said Sýkora, “It’s more a mix of the guys we wanted to see. Partly so they can get to know each other better, partly so trainer Vladimír Vůjtek has better contact with the players from the NHL.”

Invitees to the Olympic hockey summer camp (High Tatras, July 1^st – 4^th 2013):

Goaltenders - Peter Budaj, Jaroslav Halák, Jaroslav Janus, Ján Laco, Rastislav Staňa Defensemen - Ivan Baranka, Marek Ďaloga, Dominik Graňák, Zdeno Chára, Milan Jurčina, Martin Marinčin, Andrej Meszároš, Andrej Sekera, Michal Sersen, Tomáš Starosta, Ľubomír Višňovský, René Vydarený Forwards - Milan Bartovič, Mário Bližňák, Marko Daňo, Marián Gáborík, Michal Handzuš, Marel Hossa, Marián Hossa, Marek Hrivík, Tomáš Jurčo, Tomáš Kopecký, Roman Kukumberg, Michel Miklík, Juraj Mikúš, Richard Pánik, Branko Radivojevič, Tomáš Surový, Miroslav Šatan, Tomáš Tatar, Tomáš Záborský

Apart from Šatan and Daňo, also not attending are: Jaroslav Halák, Marián Hossa, Michal Handzuš, Zdeno Chára, Marek Hrivík and Tomáš Záborský