Former Rensselaer men’s hockey player Milos Bubela ’16 has been named to the Slovakian national team for the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He is the fifth former Engineers player to compete in the Olympics, joining Joe Juneau (Canada), Marty Dallman (Austria), Mo Mosco (Italy), and Mathias Lange (Austria).
A forward from Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, Bubela played in 139 career games for the Engineers, scoring 33 goals and adding 30 assists for 63 points. He had a career-high 13 tallies to go along with six assists for 19 points during his senior year. As a junior, he posted eight goals and seven assists for 15 points.
Bubela recorded four goals and six assists for 10 points in 32 games as a sophomore in 2013-14. A former member of the Dubuque Fighting Saints, he had eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points as a freshman, appearing in all 37 games.
After graduating in May of 2016, Bubela joined the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League and picked up an assist in eight games. He then spent the 2016-17 season with the Orlando Solar Bears and Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, collecting nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 47 games.
Bubela is currently playing for his hometown Hockey Club ’05 Banska Bystrica in the Tipsport Liga (Slovakia). In 41 games, he has 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points and is a +29. The Barani (Rams) are 16-7-3-4 and in fourth place in the 11-team league.
A member of Slovakia’s U18 and U20 teams, Bubela has suited up with the senior squad seven times, collecting a goal and two assists for three points.
Slovakia will look to advance from Group B at Pyeongchang, which also includes Russia, the United States, and Slovenia. The team opens against the Russians on February 14 (7:10 a.m. ET), before taking on the United States on February 15 (10:10 a.m.). They conclude round robin play against Slovenia on February 17 (7:10 a.m.).
