Samuel Hlavaj (born 29 May 2001) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL). Hlavaj has played for Slovakia senior team in the World Championships of 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. He also played in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Playing career Junior Hlavaj signed for Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League (USHL) during the 2018–19 season. The following season, 2019–20, Hlavaj played for Canadian side Sherbrooke Phoenix, during which time he won the Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy.

Professional Back in Europe, he played for Slovak team HC Slovan Bratislava for two seasons, before joining Czech side HC Škoda Plzeň in May 2023, signing a two-year contract.

On 5 April 2024, after completing his first season with Plzeň, Hlavaj enacted his NHL out clause after agreeing to terms with the Minnesota Wild on a two-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2024–25 NHL season.

Having completed his two year tenure with the Wild, Hlavaj was released by the Wild as a free agent. On 3 July 2026, Hlavaj continued his career in North America, signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the season.

International play Hlavaj played for the Slovakia men's national junior ice hockey team at the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Hlavaj started three games for Slovakia at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. At the 2024 IIHF World Championship he didn't play in Slovakia's opening game, but made five appearances, including a 4–0 win against Poland in which he completed a shutout. At the tournament Hlavaj wore a mask with an image of Juraj Jánošík on it.

In August 2024 he was included in the Slovakia squad for the qualification tournament for the 2026 Winter Olympics, in which he played, and resulted in Slovakia, as well as Denmark and Latvia, qualifying.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2017–18 MHA Martin Slovak.20 8 3 5 0 419 22 0 3.15 .917 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 HK Orange 20 Slovak 1 0 0 1 14 2 0 8.67 .714 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 HK Orange 20 Slovak.1 5 1 3 1 283 17 0 3.61 .877 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 HK Orange 20 Slovak 4 0 3 1 212 21 0 5.95 .861 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 HK Orange 20 Slovak.1 3 2 0 1 119 2 1 1.01 .957 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Lincoln Stars USHL 22 3 18 1 1178 90 0 4.58 .862 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Sherbrooke Phoenix QMJHL 39 33 3 2 2295 86 3 2.25 .915 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Sherbrooke Phoenix QMJHL 20 7 11 2 1175 62 1 3.17 .895 3 0 3 176 15 0 5.10 .857 2021–22 HC Slovan Bratislava Slovak 9 5 3 1 476 19 2 2.39 .908 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 HC Modré Krídla Slovan Slovak.1 15 6 7 2 913 49 2 3.22 .909 8 3 5 476 21 0 2.65 .920 2022–23 HC Slovan Bratislava Slovak 18 9 6 3 1060 45 1 2.55 .916 1 0 1 58 3 0 3.10 .900 2022–23 HC Modré Krídla Slovan Slovak.1 6 4 1 1 370 20 1 3.25 .913 1 1 0 61 3 0 2.96 .923 2023–24 HC Plzeň ELH 28 8 20 0 1511 78 0 3.10 .903 2 0 2 118 8 0 4.07 .877 2024–25 Iowa Wild AHL 36 14 14 3 1958 93 1 2.85 .904 — — — — — — — — 2024–25 Iowa Heartlanders ECHL 5 2 2 1 297 15 0 3.02 .885 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 Iowa Wild AHL 22 7 11 4 1316 72 2 3.28 .887 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 Iowa Heartlanders ECHL 1 0 1 0 58 4 0 4.14 .886 — — — — — — — — ELH totals 28 8 20 0 1,511 78 0 3.10 .903 2 0 2 118 8 0 4.07 .877

International Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2018 Slovakia U18 7th 1 0 1 0 58 4 0 4.11 .889 2019 Slovakia WJC 8th 4 1 2 0 188 12 0 3.83 .872 2019 Slovakia U18 10th 4 0 4 0 201 15 0 4.49 .894 2020 Slovakia WJC 8th 5 1 3 0 201 18 0 5.37 .851 2021 Slovakia WJC 8th 2 0 2 0 119 8 0 4.03 .889 2023 Slovakia WC 9th 3 0 3 0 189 7 0 2.22 .932 2024 Slovakia WC 7th 5 3 2 0 307 13 1 2.54 .925 2024 Slovakia OGQ Q 3 3 0 0 180 5 0 1.67 .929 2025 Slovakia WC 11th 5 2 2 1 302 10 0 1.99 .912 2026 Slovakia OG 4th 5 2 3 0 270 16 0 3.56 .908 2026 Slovakia WC 9th 5 2 3 0 296 13 0 2.63 .873 Junior totals 16 2 12 0 767 57 0 4.46 .886 Senior totals 26 12 13 1 1544 64 1 2.49 .913

References

External links

Samuel Hlavaj at Milano Cortina 2026