How a teenage sensation is growing women's hockey in her native Slovakia

Nela Lopušanová arrived in America in the fall of 2023 with a hockey bag, some clothes and a few essentials for her dorm room.

Then just 15, Lopušanová came alone to her new country, where she was immersed in a new language and a new school far from home.

It was a big move, but it's what the Slovakian teenager always wanted: to come to North America, get an education and keep developing as a hockey player.

"It was my biggest dream from [from when I was] little," Lopušanová said in an interview with CBC Sports.

She rose to fame after scoring a viral lacrosse-style "Michigan" goal at the Under-18 Women's World Championship two years ago. She's since been named MVP of that tournament twice, the only player who's ever accomplished that.

Now 16, Lopušanová is trying to lead her country to its first Olympic tournament berth since 2010, all with the goal of growing the sport in Slovakia and showing other female players in her country what is possible.

Lopušanová came from Slovakia to New York to attend high school and play hockey with the Bishop Kearney Selects program in the fall of 2023. (Christina Colontino Photography/Bishop Kearney Selects)

The 'Michigan' goals

Her rise is a sign of how much the sport has grown internationally over the last few years. She now has a big platform to showcase her talent, beyond college and the Olympics. The PWHL aims to attract the best players from all over the world, and Lopušanová has the league in her sights. No one from Slovakia has played in the league yet.

"I would love to be the first one," Lopušanová said. "I'm going to work hard and in the future, I wish I'll be there."

A year and a half since coming to America, Lopušanová has settled in well at Bishop Kearney, a private school with an elite hockey program in Rochester, N.Y.

Off the ice, she's learned to play flag football, a sport that helps with her hockey speed. Earlier this year, the NFL's Buffalo Bills named her as its nominee for Girls National Flag Football Player of the Year.

She likes to play pickleball and video games with her teammates, and even does a bit of cooking. Quesadillas are her specialty, though she said she misses her mother's cooking back home, and is looking forward to a visit from her family this year.

Lopušanová credits her coaches and teammates for helping her transition to a new country.

"They're amazing people," she said. "They helped me and it was easy for me to live here."

On the ice, Lopušanová has dazzled everyone who's come to watch her play, whether they've seen her at the world championship or in Rochester with Bishop Kearney, where her exploits with the puck have earned her many fans.

You may have seen Lopušanová's infamous "Michigan" goal at the 2023 U18 worlds. She learned how to do it from watching YouTube videos. She decided to try it in a game after her father challenged her to score a "Michigan" goal at the tournament.

"I'm really happy that I did that," she said with a smile.

Lopušanová mastered scoring a lacrosse-style 'Michigan' goal by watching videos on the Internet. Her father challenged her to try one at the Under-18 Women's World Championship. That goal, scored when she was 14, went viral. (Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)

She scored another highlight-teel "Michigan" goal, this time with Slovakia's senior team, at an Olympic qualifying tournament in December.

A playmaker

But that's only part of her game.

Lopušanová describes herself as a playmaker who loves to set up her teammates. That's exactly what she did at the U18 tournament in Finland this year. She earned six assists and was involved in all but three of Slovakia's goals, finishing with 11 points in five games.

"Her goal is to give her teammates empty net looks, if she can captivate the goalie, captivate the attention of the opposition," said Chelsea Walkland, who coaches the Bishop Kearney Selects' U19 team.

"You should just see her light up when her teammates score on something that she set up like that. It's pretty remarkable for a player of that calibre to be that humble and find that much joy in her play."

Lopušanová started playing hockey on a pond in Slovakia, drawn to the game after watching her older brother play.

That sense of joy and playfulness has stuck with Lopušanová. She always looks like she's having a blast on the ice, like she's out on the pond at home, and never shies away from trying something new.

"She's an artist in a lot of ways," Walkland said. "I think from an opposition standpoint, she's a threat against you every time she's on the ice. But I think from a fan perspective, every time she's got the puck, you're excited because something cool could happen."

Lopušanová is committed to play at one of the top women's hockey programs in the NCAA, the University of Wisconsin, in 2026.

Lopušanová describes herself as a playmaker, who loves setting up her teammates on the Bishop Kearney Selects. (Christina Colontino Photography/Bishop Kearney Selects)

Growing the game in Slovakia

Slovakia was overmatched against powerhouses like Canada and the United States at the U18 tournament, especially when Lopušanová wasn't on the ice. When she was, her vision and ability with the puck stood out. She played a big role in keeping her country in the top level of the tournament by earning a win over Japan in the relegation round.

"Nela is the biggest talent we've ever had in women's hockey," said Michal Kobezda, who coached Slovakia at the U18 worlds. "For us, it's like [Connor] McDavid for Canada. She made women's hockey in Slovakia much more popular than it was before. She did that just with her game."

Now, she will try to power Slovakia's senior team to a spot in the Olympic tournament next year in Milano-Cortina, Italy. The final qualification tournament begins on Feb. 6 with three groups competing in three different countries. The team that finishes atop each group will earn a spot at the Olympics, alongside the top six teams from the 2024 world championship and Italy, the host country.

Slovakia is in the third group, and will compete against Germany, Hungary and Austria for a spot.

Lopušanová wants to qualify Slovakia's women's hockey team for the Olympics and to keep growing the game at home. (Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)

Going to the Olympics would be another dream come true for Lopušanová, who's made it her goal to grow the sport at home and set an example for girls who want to come to North America to play.

"I'm really trying hard to improve hockey in Slovakia," she said. "To play against U.S. and Canada, if that would happen at the Olympics, it would be amazing and one of my dreams."

'She rises to those moments'

That would be the biggest stage yet for Lopušanová. Her coaches are excited about the prospect of more people getting to see her play.

They also have no doubt she belongs there.

"Nela is that kind of player: the bigger the game, the bigger she rises," Walkland said. "She rises to those moments."

There is no minimum draft age in the PWHL. The typical path to the league sees players complete their college eligibility.

But it's hard to imagine waiting another five years to see Lopušanová play in the top league.

"I think she could go play at that level even today, to be honest," said Cari Coen, the director of girls hockey at Bishop Kearney.