Slovakia 4, Germany 1: Tomas Chrenko, a C-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list, scored a hat trick in Slovakia’s first win of the preliminary-round stage at Grand Casino Arena.
Adam Nemec (2026 NHL Draft eligible), the brother of New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec, had two assists, and Michal Pradel (Detroit Red Wings) made 34 saves for Slovakia (1-0-0-1).
Pradel made 16 saves in the third period when Germany was pressing.
Dustin Willhoft (2026 draft eligible) scored, and Linus Viellard (2026 draft eligible) made 34 saves for Germany (0-0-0-2).
Chrenko gave Slovakia a 1-0 lead off a scramble in the slot at 10:33 of the first period. The 18-year-old center extended Slovakia’s lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal on a redirection from the slot at 19:12.
Chrenko, a projected mid-round pick in the 2026 draft, completed his three-goal performance with a power-play goal at 13:23 of the second period for a 3-0 lead.
Willhoft pulled Germany within 3-1 at 11:09 of the third period on a backhand while skating through the slot.
Adam Belusko scored a short-handed, empty-net goal at 19:07 for the 4-1 final.
Germany resumes preliminary-round play against Sweden on Monday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN), as does Slovakia against the United States (6 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).
