In 2006, Anže Kopitar became the first Slovenian-born player in the National Hockey League. Soon after joining the Los Angeles Kings, he became a hockey star and eventually brought the Stanley Cup to Slovenia for the first time. Another player, Jan Muršak, followed in Kopitar’s footsteps and played for the Detroit Red Wings. He wasn’t quite able to duplicate Kopitar’s NHL success, however, and is now playing for CSKA Moscow in the prestigious KHL.

Kopitar, however, was not the first ethnic Slovenian to play in the NHL. That honor belongs to Frank Brimsek, a goalie for the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks. Nicknamed “Mr. Zero” for not allowing any puck to pass into his net, the Minnesota-born Slovenian-American was a true hockey star of the 1930s and ‘40s; he was the winner of two Stanley Cups. In 1966, Brimsek became one of the first Americans to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and is still considered one of the best goalies of all time.

After World War II, Stan Smrke became the first Yugoslav-born player in the NHL. Raised in Belgrade by a Slovenian father and a Serbian mother, his family later immigrated to Canada, and he joined the Montreal Canadiens in 1956. In an era before any other Slovenian hockey players found their success abroad, Smrke’s performance in the NHL inspired many young hockey players across Slovenia, where his on-the-ice exploits were always followed with great interest. His NHL career did not last long, however; Smrke only played in the NHL until 1958, when he moved to the Canadian minor leagues.

Smrke’s son John, on the other hand, had a considerably longer NHL career. Born in the year when his father joined the NHL, John Smrke ultimately played 103 games for the St. Louis Blues and the Quebec Nordiques in the 1970s and ‘80s.

The early Slovenian NHL players are hardly household names these days, but their successes managed to draw attention to a sport just becoming popular in Slovenia. With their commitment and determination, they blazed the trail for the likes of Anže Kopitar, but they also promoted the sport of hockey, which ultimately grew from a local pastime of the country’s Alpine valleys into a sport that has given the Slovenian national team a chance to shine on the Olympic ice.