The hockey tournament at Milan Cortina Olympic Games next month will be littered with Sharks after Pavol Regenda was named Thursday to Slovakia’s roster.
Regenda will be joined in Italy by fellow San Jose forwards Philipp Kurashev (Switzerland), Alexander Wennberg (Sweden) and Macklin Celebrini (Canada).
The 26-year-old left wing has only played in six games for the Sharks this season, but he has made his brief time count, scoring all three of the Sharks’ goals on Saturday in a 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning for his first career hat trick. He has six total goals this season, including one in Tuesday’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Regenda has spent the majority of the season in the AHL with the Barracuda but was called up for his second Sharks stint on Dec. 30. Over 28 games with the Barracuda this season, he has four goals and eight assists.
He won bronze with Slovakia in Beijing at the 2022 Olympics, where he scored a goal and added three assists. Regenda has also represented Slovakia in four consecutive World Championships, totaling nine goals over 29 games.
Regenda joined the Sharks via trade last January from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Justin Bailey.
Men’s hockey in Milan will begin in the preliminary round Feb. 11 when Regenda’s Slovakia faces Finland and Wennberg’s Swedes take on the host Italians. Switzerland, Canada and the United States all play their first games the following day.