Calgary Flames sparkplug forward Martin Pospisil has warned he may reconsider his commitment to represent Slovakia at an Olympic qualifying tournament later this month, saying he’s not sure he would be comfortable skating alongside players from the Russia-based KHL.
As he told Dennik Sport in Slovakia, according to a translation: “I am a person who has moral principles that are difficult to cross.”
In protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Slovakia is one of several countries that has avoided selecting KHLers for recent international competition.
However, Pospisil’s home federation recently reversed its policy on the matter.
“I was surprised by the news. We’ll see how it all develops,” said the 24-year-old Pospisil, one of Slovakia’s top performers at the world championship tournament in May, in his interview with Dennik Sport. “It’s hard for me to comment on that, because I found out everything just a while ago. I have to process that information first. In the next few days, I will decide whether I will represent the team.
“I will definitely talk to several people closest to me,” he continued. “I am interested in their opinions on this situation. I don’t want to divide society or people in the hockey association, but the information is not pleasant. I have to deal with it and make a final decision whether I will come to represent or not.”
The Olympic qualifier is slated for Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in Slovakia’s capital of Bratislava. The tournament will also include Austria, Hungary and Kazakhstan, with only the top squad earning a berth in the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.
Pospisil, who emerged as a fan favourite during his rookie campaign with the Flames in 2023-24, notching eight goals, 24 points and a team-high 238 hits and 109 penalty minutes, was among the first wave of players announced via social media for Slovakia’s roster.
Other names to be revealed so far included Simon Nemec and Tomas Tatar, both regulars for the New Jersey Devils.
Pospisil has been hoping that he can share the international ice with his older brother Kristian, a fellow forward who helped Slovakia to a bronze medal at Beijing 2022. Kristian, 28, plays for HC Kometa Brno in Czechia.
“It is a difficult situation as I can fulfil my dream of playing with my brother,” Pospisil told Dennik Sport. “It is still an honour for me to wear the national jersey. Sometimes, however, one has to put sports aside, but it’s hard for me to talk about it now. I will decide in the next few days.
“I’m sorry, after my career, I would like to live here and raise children,” he added later. “That’s why I’m thinking about how I will behave now, because with my attitude I can also influence the future youth. I love hockey and the national team but, at the moment, it’s difficult.”