All eyes may be on Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but an interesting ice hockey alliance has formed in recent weeks between Sewickley and Slovakia.
These worlds collided when Jim Bouchard, founder and chairman of Esmark Inc., took a call last year from his family’s former nanny, Miriam Marhevska.
As a former executive vice president for U.S. Steel, Bouchard had the opportunity to spend three years living and working in Košice, Slovakia. His young children went to the local school, learned to speak Slovak and watched hockey games at the Košice ice rink with Marhevska.
When the Bouchard family moved back home to Sewickley, Marhevska came with them and became an integral part of the family for many years before eventually returning to her hometown of Košice.
While it was a job offer that initially took Bouchard to Slovakia, it was an opportunity to give back that sparked his interest in making a return trip. When Marhevska called to let him know about a friend and professional hockey player who was looking for someone to sponsor a new team in Košice, Bouchard knew it was the right thing to do.
“Miriam reached out to let me know that they have a new big rink now in Košice called the Steel Arena,” Bouchard said. “It seats 15,000 people, and it’s a big deal locally. She told me that this guy wants to start up a hockey team, but he needs a big sponsor.”
As a lifelong fan of hockey, Bouchard didn’t hesitate to make the trip back to Košice to learn more about the new venture. Marhevska introduced him to the team’s goaltender, Jerguš Spodniak. The two agreed to a 50-50 split ownership of the newly formed Hockey Klub Esmark Košice team, a men’s professional ice hockey team in the Slovakia3 league. Spodniak operates the team and Esmark sponsors.
“Around 95% of our players live or come from Košice,” Spodniak said. “That was our goal. The home players were scattered across the league and had no home. With the HK Esmark Košice team, they now have a home and are doing a phenomenal job. As of right now, we are fighting for the first place in the east division.”
Košice isn’t the only community that has benefited from
Esmark’s support of hockey. Over the years, the Bouchard family has invested in multiple sports
programs, including the Johnstown Tomahawks, Esmark Stars, Esmark All-Americans, Quaker Valley Hockey, FC Pittsburgh and Esmark Youth Development.
For Bouchard, hockey is in his blood.
“I played hockey as a kid,” Bouchard said. “My neighbor had a rink in his backyard. His dad put up lights. We would play hockey every night until midnight when my mom called us home.”
Those fond childhood memories motivated Bouchard to consider how he could help the next generation of young people discover a passion for the sport. When he learned years ago that the Quaker Valley High School hockey program was in danger of closing, Bouchard made a significant investment to revitalize the team and restore financial sustainability.
“Hockey is an extremely expensive sport,” Bouchard said. “Equipment, travel, hotel stays every weekend. It’s exhausting. You’re on the road literally every weekend, and you stay in a hotel for two nights. You’ve got to supplement the cost.”
Esmark’s interventions paid off for Quaker Valley. Bouchard’s landmark gift enabled head coach Kevin Quinn to implement a top-ranked developmental hockey program that ultimately led to multiple state championships.
“When the rinks raised the rates to almost $400 an hour, you just start going through the challenges that (make) hockey a difficult sport to afford,” Quinn said. “You need to have support. Jim was really the first person to recognize that if we don’t do something, we won’t have the same numbers. Esmark became a sponsor and helped us reduce costs.
“It was a watershed moment for us, because we were able to basically provide what we felt we needed to help the players afford hockey, to play hockey without restrictions and to excel. That came to fruition in 2012 with the state championship.”
Quinn was quick to point out that Esmark’s generous support of youth sports extends far beyond just hockey. Over the years, Esmark has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into soccer, baseball and lacrosse programs for children and youth in the Pittsburgh region.
“Jim has a passion for youth sports,” Quinn said. “When I went into the Quaker Valley Hall of Fame in 2015 for coaching, Jim went in with me as a contributor.”
Spodniak experienced a watershed moment of his own when Bouchard agreed to sponsor HK Esmark Košice.
“There would be no team without Esmark. I want everybody to know that,” Spodniak said. “Esmark plays a major role in providing players with everything they need — from sticks, equipment and food to team apparel, hockey practices, wellness, massages and games. I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Spodniak’s goal is that the newly formed team will work its way up from the third-tier league to the second-tier league and eventually the top league in Slovakia.
Bouchard’s goal is even more ambitious.
“The plan is to take kids from 8 years of age through developmental hockey through juniors to pros,” Bouchard said. “If they’re really good on a Slovak professional league, then they’ll make the NHL.”
Judging from his previous track records of revitalizing hockey teams, Bouchard’s goals are admirable.
“He’s done an incredible amount of work for youth sports, following a tradition in his family, and has been there for us,” Quinn said. “I see no reason why the same won’t happen for this Slovakia team. There’s no doubt that no stone will be left unturned to push that program and that team into bigger heights.”
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