Samuel Hlavaj News: Headed for Worlds

Hlavaj will join Slovakia for the 2025 IIHF World Championship.

Hlavaj outplayed Jesper Wallstedt at the AHL level and is expected to battle Wallstedt for the backup role behind Filip Gustavsson with the Wild in 2025-26 as Marc-Andre Fleury has retired. Hlavaj went 14-14-3 with a 2.85 GAA and a .904 save percentage across 36 regular-season appearances at AHL Iowa in 2024-25 and will gain extra experience with Slovakia and is expected to be their No. 1 goaltender as he will vie with Adam Huska and Patrik Rybar for the top job.