BRATISLAVA – On Tuesday, September 7, the Slovak Extraliga will head into its 18th season. The league has been reduced by two teams making it a ten team competition.

The contraction was necessary as the Slovak league was slowly but surely losing in quality. The rationale behind the decision - less is more. The two clubs who had to leave the elite are MHK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas and Spisska Nova Ves.

“There were too many games that had very little on the line,” explained Vladimir Pastinsky, Director of Pro Hockey to the media. Pro Hockey is the organization responsible for professional hockey in Slovakia.

“In the new model we will see the top teams face each other more often which should increase the number of fans attending the games.” The league has suffered declining attendance figures in the last few years.

The ten teams will play each other six times with Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays being the playing days.

With less roster spots available, Pro Hockey is hoping to raise the quality of play in the league. “In recent years there were too many players playing in the Extraliga. By limiting the number of teams we hope the overall quality in the league will move up, which would make it more attractive to sponsors and fans,” Pastinsky continued.

Extra sponsor income would be highly welcome for the cash-strapped Slovak teams. This summer two teams faced bankruptcy and didn’t receive a licence to play in the Extraliga. In the end both HK Nitra and HK Poprad managed to get all required funding in order, but it once again showed the need for Slovak GMs to spend more carefully.

If a team budget is an indication of a final position, then the 2010-11 season should be decided once again between giants HC Kosice and Slovan Bratislava.

The reigning champion from Kosice has made it to the Extraliga finals in the past three seasons, winning twice. The team carries a budget of three million Euros and remains competitive despite having lost more than a handful of quality players.

Defenceman Peter Mikus and forward Vladimir Dravecky signed new contracts in Russia while forwards Rudolf Huna, Peter Huzevka and Juraj Sykora moved to Vitkovice Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Replacements come mainly from their junior ranks.

Another playoff final spot is the aim for the Steelworkers from Kosice. To reach that they will face stiff competition from arch rivals Slovan Bratislava.

While reportedly on the same budget as HC Kosice, the team from the country’s capital is looking to be back on top of the league. There will be a new face behind the bench as coach Pavel Hynek was hired after leading Czech Sparta Prague last season.

The biggest off-season loss for Slovan has been top forward Miroslav Lazo who had 16 goals and 32 points last season. The veteran forward signed with Avtomobilist Ekaterinburg in the KHL together with defenceman Michal Sersen.

Slovan’s roster still oozes enough quality to compete for the championship in the upcoming season. The fans were jubilant when veteran Richard Kapus returned to the team. The 37-year-old has never represented a different jersey than Slovan’s when playing in Slovakia and he has won five titles with the team. He returns home after two years in the KHL, with Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Lada Togliatti.

Behind the two top contenders a pack of teams is looking to challenge.

Last year’s surprise team MHC Martin will be trying to defend their bronze medal with a budget that is half of that of HC Kosice and Slovan Bratislava. Without much activity on the transfer front MHC Martin made a big coup in finding a new sponsorship partner in Mountfield, who also affiliates with Czech club Ceske Budejovice.

The glory days of in Skalica seem to be over now that Zigmund Palffy has left the club. Nevertheless, a playoff spot is very well within reach for the team which has a budget just over €1 million.

Other mid-table candidates include HK Nitra and HK Poprad. Both teams were struggling financially and are just happy to still be part of the Extraliga. The group also includes Dukla Trencin, HC 05 Banska Bystrica and HKM Zvolen.

Dukla Trencin used to be among the top teams in Slovakia but has dropped out of the title race. The team management has decided to inject the current squad with a load of young players to build for the future, and it hopes a playoff spot will give the youngsters some much needed experience.

HKM Zvolen saw a complete overhaul of their roster. The 2001 Slovak champions, coached by experienced Ernst Bokros, had ten new players arrive.

The lone team not claiming to chase a playoff spot is MsHK Zilina. The Slovak champion of 2006 has a budget well under the million Euro mark and has decided not to take any financial risks. As a direct result the team management has spoken publically that it hopes the team can avoid relegation this season.

Making another “guest appearance” in the Extraliga is the Slovak U20 national team. The team will participate in games against Extraliga teams in order to prepare for the upcoming World U20 Championship, in Buffalo.

It might be the last season that this project will see green light. The current agreement between Pro Hockey and the Slovak Ice Hockey Association runs out after this season and a decision about the future of the project is expected to come sometime during the season. The results of the games against the U20 team will count in the standings, but the youngsters will not be relagated.

Notebook:

• There will be a promotion/relegation playoff series played between the team that finishes tenth in the Extraliga and the winner of the second-tier league, 1. Liga. The winner of this series will play in the top league in 2011-2012.
• The two teams that were cut from the Extraliga - MHK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas and Spisska Nova Ves - both aim for making an immediate return to the Extraliga for next season.
• Without a face-off taken yet, the first managerial change has already taken place. MsHK Zilina fired former captain Roman Kontsek, who was also acting as a Sports Director. Due to the financial situation of the club, the city council decided to scrtach this position to save money. They could do so as the city is a major shareholder of the 2006 champion. In the past three seasons the team has run short of over one million Euros in running costs.

JOERI LOONEN