Without championship caliber goaltending and nine non-NHL players on their roster, Slovakia is not expected to contend for a medal; they finished 5th in 2006, and 13th in 2002. Who are their top 10 players for this year?s Olympics? 10. Jozef Stumpel ? Barys Astana (KHL) Stumpel played in the NHL from 1991-2008, amassing 677 points in 957 games for Boston, L.A. and Florida. 9 times he had over 50 points in a season, but injuries kept him from ever playing a full 82 game season. His best two seasons, came from 1997-1999, gaining 155 points in 155 games. He currently plays in the Kontinental Hockey League where he has 65 (46 assists) points in 82 games over the last two seasons. The talented play maker has played 76 games for Slovakia over his career in various international competitions, potting 16 goals. The 37 year old needs to contribute if Slovakia has any aspirations of an upset. 9. Miroslav Satan ? Boston Bruins Satan signed with the Bruins on January 2nd for the remainder of the season, bringing the 35-year-old veteran back to the NHL after a brief flirtation with playing overseas. He has 1,012 games of NHL experience with a fair amount of success (354 goals, 721 points). Prior to the lockout, he led the Sabres in scoring during 6 of his 7 seasons with the club. Last season he played sparingly for the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins, but was a positive dressing-room influence, and Boston hopes that he can duplicate both feats this season while helping out an offense that is 4th from the bottom in goals per game. 8. Michal Handzus ? Los Angeles Kings The 32-year-old Handzus is in his 12th NHL season and third with the Kings. He has twice scored 20 goals in a season, both with Philadelphia before the lockout. During the lockout he played in the Slovak Extraliga league and had 38 points in 33 games. Since then he has topped out at 44 points, and with 20 in 41 games this year, he isn?t on pace to top that. He is proven to be a decent third-line center who is winning over 50% of his faceoffs. His role and ice time will be elevated in the Olympics, where he has represented his country in the Winter Games in both 2002 and 2006. He has 25 games of total experience with Slovakia, scoring 6 times. 7. Andrej Meszaros ? Tampa Bay Lightning Meszaros is a hard-hitting, stay at home defender who broke into the NHL in 2005-06 with Ottawa after being drafted in the first round in 2004. He played in all 82 games, registering 39 points and led rookies with a +34 rating (third in the entire NHL). After three straight seasons of 35 or more points, he couldn?t come to terms on a contract extension with Ottawa, so they dealt his rights to Tampa Bay. He is playing less and producing less, but at only 24 years of age, still has a bright future. He was a member of the 2006 Olympic team at only 20, and will be relied upon heavily this year as third best defender on the Slovakian squad. 6. Pavol Demitra ? Vancouver Canucks The 35-year-old has yet to play a game this season, but is expected to return to the Canucks lineup soon after offseason shoulder surgery. He has played 819 career games with Vancouver, Minnesota, L.A., St. Louis and Ottawa, netting 752 points. 9 times he has scored more than 25 goals in a season, three times reaching 35 or more. He also had a career-best 57 assists and 93 points in 2002-03. In his native Slovakia during the lockout, he dominated with 82 points in only 54 games. The veteran of two prior Olympic appearances has over 300 NHL goals, is a three-time All-Star, and won the Lady Byng award in 2000 for sportsmanship. 5. Lubomir Visnovsky ? Edmonton Oilers The brittle 33-year-old has played in 70 or more games only 4 times in his first 8 seasons, including a career-low 50 last year, his first with Edmonton. Prior to his arrival with the Oilers, his first 7 seasons were with the Kings, where he was on the All-Rookie team in 2000-01 after contributing 39 points (tops among rookie defenders) and a +16 rating. He was also a 2007 All-Star during a 69 game, 58 point campaign. He had a career high 67 points in the season before that, proving to be one of the top offensive defensemen in the NHL. This season he has 26 points in 39 games, good for 8th among blue-liners. Internationally, he has been voted Slovakia?s best defenseman 6 times, the last coming in 2005, and has played in 3 Olympic Winter Games (1998, 2002, 2006) with 5 points in 11 games. 4. Zigmund Palffy - HK 36 Skalica (Slovak Extraliga) Ziggy is still a dynamic offensive talent, despite being 37-years-old and not having played in the NHL since the 2005-06 season. In the ?90?s he had three straight years of 40+ goals, followed by three straight years of over 30 goals from 2000-03. He played 684 games in the NHL with the Islanders, Kings, and one year in Pittsburgh. He averaged over a point-per-game for his career, netting 329 goals, 384 assists and 713 points. The 4 time All-Star was a member of the 1994 and 2002 Olympic teams, contributing 10 points in 9 games. He is currently in his third season in Slovakia, leading the league with 40 points in 26 games, after amassing an astounding 174 points in 99 games during his first two seasons. He will bring much needed firepower to a largely non-NHL frontline for the Slovaks. 3. Marian Hossa ? Chicago Blackhawks The 30-year-old Hossa is one of the top snipers in the NHL. The Chicago winger has 345 goals and 735 points in 794 career games. He has 7 seasons of over 30 goals, including three years with 40+. After starting his career in Ottawa, he was traded to Atlanta straight up for Dany Heatley when Heatley desperately needed a change of scenery. It was a beneficial move for Hossa too, netting a career-best 92 points in his first season with the Thrashers, and eclipsing it with first and only 100 point season the following year. During the 2007-08 season, he made it clear he was not interested in staying with Atlanta after the season (and his contract) was over , so they dealt him to Pittsburgh. Prior to the Penguins? run to the Cup Finals, he had zero playoff success, tallying a mere 35 points in 55 career playoff games. But he was finally able to break out during the 2008 Playoffs, with 26 points in 20 games. Despite his success the Pens lost to the Wings, so he signed with Detroit that offseason for a small one year contract to try and win a Stanley Cup. After a 40 goal season, he couldn?t find the same playoff success and Detroit lost in the finals to those same Penguins he played for the year before. Now a ?Hawk for life after signing a 12 year deal, he will play in his third Olympics, with 16 points in 10 games during his first two Winter Games. 2. Zdeno Chara ? Boston Bruins At 6?9?, Chara is the tallest player in NHL history. His large shoulders have been carrying his teams? back ends for the better part of his 12 seasons. He was drafted by the Islanders, but began his track to stardom after being traded to the Ottawa Senators (along with the draft pick used on Jason Spezza) for Alexei Yashin. After signing with Boston in the 2006 offseason, he was immediately named team captain, and he has only gotten better with the added responsibility. The 4 time All-Star had a career-best 19 goals last year en route to usurping Nicklas Lidstrom as the league?s Norris Trophy winner. Slovakia?s coach has hinted that he is likely to captain the team in the Olympics. He will be counted on heavily both defensively and offensively, showing off the cannon that has earned him three straight wins in the hardest shot competition ? the last of which he set a record when he reached 105.5mph on the radar gun. Playing on an NHL ice surface, instead of the bigger international ice, will mean that Chara?s size will be a major factor in the tournament. 1. Marian Gaborik ? New York Rangers Gaborik is one of the biggest stories in the NHL this season. He leads the league in goals (27) and power-play goals (12), and is third in points (52) through his first 39 games in The Big Apple. He was the third overall pick in 2000 by the Minnesota Wild, where he played his 8 seasons prior to this. He has always been an elite goal scorer, having five 30-goal seasons already. The main issue has been his ability to stay healthy, having only played more than 70 games once over the last 5 seasons. Thus, at 5-years/$37.5 million, it was seen as an overpayment by New York to lure the free agent who only has one year with more than 80 points in his career. He is only 27 though, and is just entering the prime of his career. So if he is able to play 70+ games a year at the pace he is currently on, it is a worthy investment (unlike prior big free agency investments by the Rangers ? Wade Redden, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury). Gaborik was a member of the 2006 Olympic squad, with 7 points in 6 games, and will be leaned on by Slovakia just as heavily as the Rangers are leaning on him now. Up next: Finland Nick can be reached at [email protected]