HELSINKI – When you watch Miroslav Satan skate, see the pleasure and energy he gets out of playing hockey, it’s difficult to believe that his first major tournament was the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer some 18 years ago. “Is it 18 years!?” he reacted. “Impossible! I was 19 years old at the time. It was my first big tournament and probably the one I remember the most. I was just a kid, and Peter Stastny, father of Paul, was on the team. He was 38, my age now. I was half his age playing with the big boys.” And now the reverse is happening. Paul Stastny is here is Helsinki playing against Satan, the man who idolized his father lo those many years ago. In 1994, Satan had nine goals in eight games, but the Slovaks lost in the quarter-finals on an Alexander Vinogradov goal in overtime. It rankles Satan to this day. “It was a hard loss in the quarter-finals to Russia,” he said, shaking his head. “We lost in overtime. It was the first Olympics for Slovakia after we split and made a new nation. It was heart-breaking for us because we hoped to make it to the top four. It was a heart-breaking loss – that’s what I remember.” Incredibly, Satan also played at the U20 that year in C Pool, as the newly-formed nation was forced to start at the bottom and work its way up, which it did, of course. In 1995, Slovakia’s senior team won the B Pool, with Stastny leading the way and Satan averaging nearly two points a game. Satan had been drafted by Edmonton 111th overall in 1993, and a year after the Olympics he made the transition to the NHL. He scored 18 goals as a rookie and when the Oilers missed the playoffs he was able to play for Slovakia again, this time in A Pool, the historic climb into the top level now complete. Satan was traded to Buffalo during the 1996-97 season, one in which he had 25 goals and established himself as one of the most skilled young players in the league. He played with the Sabres for seven and a half years, scoring at least 22 goals every season and reaching his peak in 1998-99 when he had 40. But as much as he was a star in the NHL, he was a hero back home and a proud Slovakian who represented his country every opportunity he got. In 2000, the team went to the gold-medal game of the World Championship, losing to arch-rivals Czech Republic, 5-3, and settling for a still very important silver medal. Because of the Olympic schedule and the conflict with NHL schedules in 2002, Satan was able to play only two games at Salt Lake and the team finished a dismal 13th, but everyone in Slovakia knew this was a team with far more talent than what that placing told. At the World Championship several weeks later, history was made, and Satan was front and centre. Captaining a team that included Peter Bondra, Ziggy Palffy, Michal Handzus, Jozef Stümpel, and many of the greatest players in the nation’s history, Slovakia won the gold medal on a Bondra goal with 100 seconds left in the third period to give his team a 4-3 win over Russia. As Paul Henderson is to Canada or Mike Eruzione is to the United States, so Bondra now is to Slovakia. Satan is the last active player from that 2002 team which also won bronze in 2003. But, Slovakia hasn’t come particularly close to a medal since. The players from those teams were at the height of their careers or nearing the end, and the country has had a tough time developing that next generation of talent to replace the Satans and Bondras of the game. Satan, now 38 and still a leader here in Helsinki, is hoping that will change soon. “I think we have a good mix here today,” he said of the 2012 World Championship team. “I can’t really compare it to the team ten years ago. It was a different team. We had so many big players, maybe six or seven, who were leading their teams in scoring in the NHL, so it’s different in that way. Now we have some young guys who are getting their first experience, and we have some older guys who are providing some leadership, so it’s a good mix. We’re playing the hard way, and trying to win games. Hopefully we can play more games like tonight [a 4-2 win over the U.S.].” Chara wears the “C” here, but it is clear Satan could wear a second “C” if rules permitted. “They still expect from Zdeno and me and Michal Handzus some leadership and to show the way for the younger players. They’re hopefully going to be by themselves in the next year or two, so they’re going to have to carry the national team. We’re just trying to pass on some experience and help them at the same time.” Satan’s words are curiously ominous. Looking fit and playing well, one would hope he has Sochi on his mind, but that is not automatically so. “I don’t know,” he admits. “I just make plans year by year. This could be my last, or maybe one more. Who knows? I cannot say. I just want to help the team now as much as I can and then decide in the summer what will happen.” When he does retire, Satan will be a guaranteed member of the IIHF’s Hall of Fame. Consider the simple facts: ten top level World Championships (gold, silver, bronze), four Olympics, two World Cups, more than 1,000 NHL games, and a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009. As for career highlights, there’s no surprise. “Obviously winning the Stanley Cup and winning the World Championship in 2002. Those two are on the top.” ANDREW PODNIEKS