Martin Fehervary is soon to be an Olympian for the first time in his hockey career.
The 25-year-old Washington Capitals defenseman was one of six players announced to be on Team Slovakia’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The 12 qualified nations are announcing the first six players on their preliminary rosters at various times on Monday.
Joining Fehervary as the initial selections are Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec, Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil, and Devils forward Tomas Tatar.
Fehervary has played for Slovakia four times at the senior level in World Championships, but this will be his first chance to don his nation’s sweater in the Olympics. The left-shot blueliner last dressed for his national team in the 2024 World Championship quarterfinals.
The Bratislava native recorded 25 points (5g, 20a) in 81 games for the Capitals last season. Fehervary’s season ended prematurely when he suffered a torn meniscus in the penultimate game of the regular season and underwent surgery to repair the injury.
Lars Eller, longtime Capitals center and soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, was also selected to Team Denmark’s initial roster. Eller captained Denmark through qualifying, posting four points (2g, 2a) in three games.
The 2026 games are set to be the first with participation from NHL players since the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The 12 participating countries in men’s hockey will be Slovakia, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
The International Olympic Committee confirmed last month that Russian teams, including the men’s and women’s hockey teams, remain banned from competing at the Olympics. The continued bans come as part of sanctions imposed following the nation’s illegal military invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
