Tomáš Slovák (born April 5, 1983) is a Slovak professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

. He is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted 42nd overall by the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Slovak played as a youth in the developmental program of hometown club,

HC Košice Hockey Club Košice is a Slovak professional ice hockey club based in Košice that competes in the Slovak Extraliga, the top tier of Slovak ice hockey. It is the most successful hockey club in Slovakia and the former Czechoslovakia, having won the ...

, from 1997 to 2001. He made his

Slovak Extraliga The Slovak Extraliga, known as the Tipsport liga since the 2025–26 season for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From 2018–19 to 2020–21, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. Teams fro ...

debut with Košice in the 1999–00 season, appearing in a pair of games. After impressing on the international junior stage for the Slovak junior team, Slovak was selected by the Nashville Predators in the second round, 42nd overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. With intention to pursue an NHL career, Slovak opted to play major junior hockey in North America after he was drafted 4th overall in the 2001

CHL Import Draft The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) may select the rights to eligible import players. An import is classified as a player who does not have residency status in either Canada or the Un ...

by the

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL). Slovak enjoyed a standout second season with the Rockets in 2002–03, contributing with 71 points in 65 games to lead the league amongst defensemen. Having concluded his junior career, Slovak's was expected to compete for a roster position on the Predators defense corps. However, with the Predators going heavy in 2003 NHL Entry Draft on blue chip defenseman

Ryan Suter Ryan Suter (born January 21, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also the owner of the Madison Capitols of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He has previ ...

and

Shea Weber Shea Michael Weber (born August 14, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally selected in the second round, 49th overall, by the Na ...

, his rights were traded by the Nashville Predators to the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

in exchange for Sergei Soin on June 21, 2003. On July 15, 2003, Slovak agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Avalanche. After attending the Avalanche's training camp, Slovak was assigned to begin his rookie season with affiliate,

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

, of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

. In the 2003–04 season, Slovak split time between the Bears and the

Reading Royals The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown R ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. He contributed with 11 points in 43 AHL games. In the following 2004–05 season, with his role affected with the Bears by the

2004–05 NHL Lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Slovak returned to Slovakia after just one game with the Bears and played out the season with HC Košice. Slovak returned to North America for the final year of his entry-level contract with the Avalanche in the 2005–06 season. He was familiarly assigned by Colorado to the AHL, playing with new partner the

Lowell Lock Monsters Lowell may refer to: Places United States * Lowell, Arkansas * Lowell, Florida * Lowell, Idaho * Lowell, Indiana * Lowell, Maine * Lowell, Massachusetts ** Lowell National Historical Park ** Lowell (MBTA station) ** Lowell Ordnance Pla ...

. In 59 games, Slovak produced just 8 assists from the blueline, signalling the end of his tenure within the Avalanche organization. On the opening day of free agency, Slovak was unable to gain NHL interest and opted to sign a contract with Swedish club,

Mora IK Mora IK (or Mora Ishockeyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Mora in northern Dalarna. After failing the 2019 SHL qualifiers, Mora has been relegated for play in the second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan. Mora has previously p ...

of the then

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

on July 1, 2006. He played just 6 games with Mora in the 2006–07 season, before embarking on a tumultuous year by playing in four separate European teams in three different leagues. From his return to European hockey, Slovak adapted to his journeyman status and has played in 6 countries and 14 clubs. Playing predominately in the Czech Extraliga over the last 7 years, Slovak agreed to extend his playing career by signing a one-year contract with Piráti Chomutov on May 1, 2017. His signing marked a return to Chomutov after 6 years from his first stint in the Czech 1st Division.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links