Martin Fehervary’s start to the 2024-25 season has been delayed due to injury.
The 24-year-old defender’s undisclosed nagging ailment has forced him to withdraw from Team Slovakia’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympic qualifiers in Bratislava. Fehervary was one of 25 players called up by Slovakia for 2026 Winter Olympic qualifiers against Austria, Hungary, and Kazakhstan starting at the end of this month.
The team announced the news on their Instagram account.
“The twenty-four-year-old defender wanted to help Slovakia fight for the Winter Olympic Games,” the translated caption reads. “However, he will not play in the qualification just like three years ago. He was knocked out by a non-treatment injury 😣
“We wish Fehy a speedy recovery and we are glad he will support the guys from the [bench] 🙏”
Fehervary indicated to NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika last week that this scenario was possible if he didn’t get the full health clearance he needed.
“I would like to [play],” Fehervary said then. “We’ll see. I’m still a little bit dealing with some health issues, but we’ll see how the thing’s going. So far it looks good. [It’s] nothing major. I’m practicing, but it’s before the season and we talked with the Caps and if I’m not going to be 100 percent, I shouldn’t go. So, we’ll see.”
Slovakia will play in a round-robin tournament to qualify for one of the 12 spots at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Per Slovak reporter Martin Turcin, Fehervary has been replaced on the team’s roster by Frantisek Gajdos, a rearguard who plays professionally for Slovak Extraliga champions HK Nitra.
Fehervary was practicing as the team’s top defender on a pairing with Peter Ceresnak but that duty now belongs to 2011 Edmonton Oilers draft pick, Martin Gernat. Slovakia plays Austria in their opening matchup.
Zostava #HockeySlovakia🇸🇰 v úvodnom zápase proti Rakúsku.
Tretia formácia 🔥, na tribúne zostal Marián Studenič. pic.twitter.com/dviLxhvimd
— Martin Turčin (@martin_turcin) August 29, 2024
Fehervary is set for his fourth full campaign with the Washington Capitals in 2024-25. Washington has yet to set the exact dates for its 2024 Training Camp but it should come a couple weeks after the tournament wraps up in Slovakia.
The young defender missed 16 games for the Capitals last year due to three separate injuries, the most serious costing him 10 games. Washington will still have representation at another set of Olympic qualifiers as prospects Pierrick Dubé and Antoine Keller suit up for France against Latvia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.
S/T to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti for first posting the news on X.
