Second time competing in WJHC
MARQUETTE, Mich. — Freshman forward Tobias Pitka will represent his home country of Slovakia at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
The annual tournament runs from December 26, 2025 to Jan. 5, 2026, in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, a tournament that highlights the best junior players in the world.
This marks the second World Juniors he will have attended, as he represented Slovakia as an 18-year-old in the U18 WJC during the 2023/24 season. He registered an assist in seven games played that tournament. Pitka has also represented Slovakia internationally on many separate occasions outside of the WJC.
The forward recorded six points (three goals and three assists) in 14 games for the ‘Cats, while averaging just north of 16 minutes per game and playing in all situations as the second-line center. Pitka’s 119 faceoff wins and 48% in the circle are second on the ‘Cats to Altrichter.
Pitka and Luka Radivojevic of Boston College will make up the two athletes joining Slovakia from the NCAA ranks. Radivojevic has the most experience of any of the Slovakia returners, as he is the only returner to play in his third U20 WJC, where he has at least double the career WJC games-played and points from any other returner. The freshman blueliner has nine assists in 16 games for the Eagles.
Slovakia is the seventh-ranked team in terms of experience, with its returners combining for 27 games played at these championships, before those numbers jump to Germany in sixth with a combined 51 games played. Slovakia has just six returners and 22 skaters making their U20 WJC debuts.
Team Slovakia will compete alongside USA, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland in Group A preliminary round play at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul. Slovakia will open the tournament against Sweden on the 26th, with puck-drop from Grand Casino Arena at noon local time and 1 p.m. EST.
Group B preliminary round competition will take place at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis and include Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland and Latvia.
Two quarterfinals will be played at Grand Casino Arena and two at 3M Arena at Mariucci with the semifinals, bronze and gold-medal games all being staged at Grand Casino Arena.
