David Vyborny and the late Pavol Demitra were two of the top players of the Czech and Slovak Republics in the 1993 World Juniors.
photo: Jukka Rautio, Matthew Manor / IIHF
When the players of the Czech and Slovak U20 teams at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship were born, they were born in separate countries. On this day 30 years ago, the Velvet Divorce – the peaceful split-up of Czechoslovakia – became reality. In the midst of the World Juniors.
Because the countries were split during the 1993 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden, it caused the IIHF, organizers, the team and its players a trivia-worthy situation.
The team went into the tournament representing Czechoslovakia, with juniors coming from both parts of the country.
The offence was led by David Vyborny, born in the Czech city of Jihlava, and the late Pavol Demitra from the Slovak city of Dubnica, who died in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in September 2011.
The team’s top defender was Jan Vopat from the Czech city of Most. His promising career in the NHL ended early due to a rare skin illness and he started working as an NHL scout in 2005. Frantisek Kaberle just had one point, but kickstarted a long and successful career on the blueline. Igor Murin from the Slovak city of Trencin was the goalie.
After losing to Finland 5-2 and defeating the United States 6-5, the Czechoslovaks lost the third game in Gavle to host Sweden 7-2. A 1-1 tie against Russia on 30 December 1992 was the last international ice hockey game for Czechoslovakia.
When the players gathered for New Year’s Eve, it was not a normal celebration. Although they continued the tournament as one team, the players were suddenly from two different countries from then on.
“That was very tough. At that time, we had a very tight group,” the late Demitra told IIHF.com in an interview published in May 2011. “I remember after the New Year, we’d won a couple of games, and then they didn’t play our national song anymore. That was very weird.”
With the Velvet Divorce, politicians from then-Czechoslovakia wanted to separate the two brotherly nations and leave the Czechoslovak past behind them. It had brought glory in hockey, but it was also mentally connected with tough decades for the people under communism and Soviet control.
It was a self-determined separation that ended the more-than-six-decades-long history of a country that was created following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The peaceful way it was done makes the people speak proudly about the separation, especially in comparison with other post-communism break-ups like the wars in former Yugoslavia or the casualties during the Baltic nations’ movement to restore independence from the Soviet Union.
On 1st January 1993 the same team called “Czech and Slovak Republics” as of that day, defeated Japan 14-2. It continued with wins over Germany (6-3) and Canada (7-4) to end the round-robin event in third place and claim the bronze medals behind Canada with Paul Kariya and host country Sweden with a record-setting Peter Forsberg.
But something was different. The Czechoslovak anthem was not played anymore. Instead the Czech/Slovak team was honoured without a flag and the IIHF anthem was played.
“I remember that after we won the bronze medal, everybody sang the Czechoslovak national anthem all together, and that was very special,” Demitra said.
While the 1993 World Juniors in Sweden marked the beginning of a professional career for many players, it was also a kickstart for two new countries that have caught up in prosperity and openness in the three decades to follow.
Not all players became superstars, but eight Czechs and four Slovaks from the 1993 U20 team went on to represent their new nations at least once in another IIHF tournament.
Their national teams went in different directions from then on. The Czech Republic (called Czechia in international ice hockey since last season) was the formal successor of Czechoslovakia in the sporting world, while Slovakia started as a new country.
The Slovaks had to start from bottom in the World Championship system in ice hockey and work their way up. They did so with success. At the 2000 World Championship in St. Petersburg, the two brotherly nations even met in the gold medal game, which the Czechs won 5-3.
Two years later the Slovaks won their first and so far only gold medal at the 2002 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Sweden. In 2012, Slovakia ousted the Czechs 3-1 in the semi-finals before settling for silver against Russia. That event was followed by a huge welcome by tens of thousands of fans at home in Bratislava same as earlier this year when Slovakia won Olympic bronze.
Over the last 30 years, life in the two countries has become different. Daily news doesn’t alternate in the two related languages anymore like it did in the past, which was leading to passive bilingualism from Karlovy Vary to Kosice.
While many Slovaks still understand Czech nowadays, it’s more difficult the other way around. It’s that kind of drifting apart that led politicians in 1992 to believe that a separation would be better than a closer federation.
But many things have stayed the same. Products are still traded a lot between the countries and brands are shared across the border. For four years following the dissolution, the countries even continued to share the same country code, before phone calls between Czechia and Slovakia became international in 1997.
Long after the split, there have also been initiatives for closer co-operation, mostly from the side of Slovakia. With roughly five million people, its population is half that of Czechia.
For example, the countries’ version of the casting show “Pop Idol” was merged in 2009 to determine the “Cesko Slovenska SuperStar”.
Similar things have happened in sports, where, for instance, the Slovak hockey league lacks in competitiveness and money compared to the big European leagues. But plans for a merged Czech-Slovak hockey league fell through in the very early stages due to lack of interest from the Czech clubs. As a result, the famous Slovak team Slovan Bratislava turned towards Russia and joined the KHL for a couple of years before returning home.
The Slovaks also proposed a co-hosted World Championship in Prague and in Bratislava in 2015, just like during the Czechoslovakian era in 1959 and 1992. But the Czechs said “ne”, and hosted the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship alone in Prague and Ostrava setting an attendance record. In 2024 the tournament will go back to the cities. And in 2019, Slovakia hosted for the second time after 2011 the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship as an independent country.
In hockey terms, the rivalry will continue without a closer partnership off the ice. But for the Czech and Slovak players in Halifax and Moncton born in 2003 and later, that’s exactly what they have known for their whole life: a brotherly rivalry between two neighbours.
Both the Czechs and Slovaks were able to win World Championships over the last two decades with their men’s national teams. But at the junior level, they haven’t been able to repeat their past success in the last few years. Slovakia came closest with a bronze medal in 2015. The last Czech medal win was in 2005.
In the 17 years that Czechoslovakia played in the World Junior Championship, it won 11 medals. In the 30 years since, the Czechs have medalled only three times (although it won two golds in 2000 and 2001, a colour Czechoslovak U20 teams never achieved), and Slovakia has won two U20 medals, both bronze.
A downward spiral of decreasing competitiveness in domestic junior leagues and juniors leaving the country has hurt the two nations’ programs. But the passion for hockey has never stopped in the country and at senior level one can still see the Czechs or Slovaks hitting the podium albeit not as frequently as they used to until the early 2000s.
– This story was originally published in 2013 and republished as a new edition for the 30-year anniversary.
Because the countries were split during the 1993 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden, it caused the IIHF, organizers, the team and its players a trivia-worthy situation.
The team went into the tournament representing Czechoslovakia, with juniors coming from both parts of the country.
The offence was led by David Vyborny, born in the Czech city of Jihlava, and the late Pavol Demitra from the Slovak city of Dubnica, who died in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in September 2011.
The team’s top defender was Jan Vopat from the Czech city of Most. His promising career in the NHL ended early due to a rare skin illness and he started working as an NHL scout in 2005. Frantisek Kaberle just had one point, but kickstarted a long and successful career on the blueline. Igor Murin from the Slovak city of Trencin was the goalie.
After losing to Finland 5-2 and defeating the United States 6-5, the Czechoslovaks lost the third game in Gavle to host Sweden 7-2. A 1-1 tie against Russia on 30 December 1992 was the last international ice hockey game for Czechoslovakia.
When the players gathered for New Year’s Eve, it was not a normal celebration. Although they continued the tournament as one team, the players were suddenly from two different countries from then on.
“That was very tough. At that time, we had a very tight group,” the late Demitra told IIHF.com in an interview published in May 2011. “I remember after the New Year, we’d won a couple of games, and then they didn’t play our national song anymore. That was very weird.”
With the Velvet Divorce, politicians from then-Czechoslovakia wanted to separate the two brotherly nations and leave the Czechoslovak past behind them. It had brought glory in hockey, but it was also mentally connected with tough decades for the people under communism and Soviet control.
It was a self-determined separation that ended the more-than-six-decades-long history of a country that was created following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The peaceful way it was done makes the people speak proudly about the separation, especially in comparison with other post-communism break-ups like the wars in former Yugoslavia or the casualties during the Baltic nations’ movement to restore independence from the Soviet Union.
On 1st January 1993 the same team called “Czech and Slovak Republics” as of that day, defeated Japan 14-2. It continued with wins over Germany (6-3) and Canada (7-4) to end the round-robin event in third place and claim the bronze medals behind Canada with Paul Kariya and host country Sweden with a record-setting Peter Forsberg.
But something was different. The Czechoslovak anthem was not played anymore. Instead the Czech/Slovak team was honoured without a flag and the IIHF anthem was played.
“I remember that after we won the bronze medal, everybody sang the Czechoslovak national anthem all together, and that was very special,” Demitra said.
While the 1993 World Juniors in Sweden marked the beginning of a professional career for many players, it was also a kickstart for two new countries that have caught up in prosperity and openness in the three decades to follow.
Not all players became superstars, but eight Czechs and four Slovaks from the 1993 U20 team went on to represent their new nations at least once in another IIHF tournament.
Their national teams went in different directions from then on. The Czech Republic (called Czechia in international ice hockey since last season) was the formal successor of Czechoslovakia in the sporting world, while Slovakia started as a new country.
The Slovaks had to start from bottom in the World Championship system in ice hockey and work their way up. They did so with success. At the 2000 World Championship in St. Petersburg, the two brotherly nations even met in the gold medal game, which the Czechs won 5-3.
Two years later the Slovaks won their first and so far only gold medal at the 2002 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Sweden. In 2012, Slovakia ousted the Czechs 3-1 in the semi-finals before settling for silver against Russia. That event was followed by a huge welcome by tens of thousands of fans at home in Bratislava same as earlier this year when Slovakia won Olympic bronze.
Over the last 30 years, life in the two countries has become different. Daily news doesn’t alternate in the two related languages anymore like it did in the past, which was leading to passive bilingualism from Karlovy Vary to Kosice.
While many Slovaks still understand Czech nowadays, it’s more difficult the other way around. It’s that kind of drifting apart that led politicians in 1992 to believe that a separation would be better than a closer federation.
But many things have stayed the same. Products are still traded a lot between the countries and brands are shared across the border. For four years following the dissolution, the countries even continued to share the same country code, before phone calls between Czechia and Slovakia became international in 1997.
Long after the split, there have also been initiatives for closer co-operation, mostly from the side of Slovakia. With roughly five million people, its population is half that of Czechia.
For example, the countries’ version of the casting show “Pop Idol” was merged in 2009 to determine the “Cesko Slovenska SuperStar”.
Similar things have happened in sports, where, for instance, the Slovak hockey league lacks in competitiveness and money compared to the big European leagues. But plans for a merged Czech-Slovak hockey league fell through in the very early stages due to lack of interest from the Czech clubs. As a result, the famous Slovak team Slovan Bratislava turned towards Russia and joined the KHL for a couple of years before returning home.
The Slovaks also proposed a co-hosted World Championship in Prague and in Bratislava in 2015, just like during the Czechoslovakian era in 1959 and 1992. But the Czechs said “ne”, and hosted the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship alone in Prague and Ostrava setting an attendance record. In 2024 the tournament will go back to the cities. And in 2019, Slovakia hosted for the second time after 2011 the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship as an independent country.
In hockey terms, the rivalry will continue without a closer partnership off the ice. But for the Czech and Slovak players in Halifax and Moncton born in 2003 and later, that’s exactly what they have known for their whole life: a brotherly rivalry between two neighbours.
Both the Czechs and Slovaks were able to win World Championships over the last two decades with their men’s national teams. But at the junior level, they haven’t been able to repeat their past success in the last few years. Slovakia came closest with a bronze medal in 2015. The last Czech medal win was in 2005.
In the 17 years that Czechoslovakia played in the World Junior Championship, it won 11 medals. In the 30 years since, the Czechs have medalled only three times (although it won two golds in 2000 and 2001, a colour Czechoslovak U20 teams never achieved), and Slovakia has won two U20 medals, both bronze.
A downward spiral of decreasing competitiveness in domestic junior leagues and juniors leaving the country has hurt the two nations’ programs. But the passion for hockey has never stopped in the country and at senior level one can still see the Czechs or Slovaks hitting the podium albeit not as frequently as they used to until the early 2000s.
– This story was originally published in 2013 and republished as a new edition for the 30-year anniversary.