SEWICKLEY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 19, 2026--
Esmark Sports Management and Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Esmark Inc., announced today it is the team sponsor and co-owner of a newly established professional hockey team in Košice, Slovakia. This partnership underscores Esmark’s commitment to supporting sports development and strengthening community connections through the unifying power of athletics.
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The Hockey Club Esmark Košice team began competing in the 2HL division of professional ice hockey in Slovakia in the 2025-2026 season. The roster features players from Košice who have been competing for clubs across Slovakia.
“The creation of this team is more than just hockey. It’s about pride, opportunity and giving the people of Košice a team of their own to cheer for,” said Richard E. Bouchard, President of Esmark Sports Management and Entertainment. “We’re proud to help bring talented athletes back home to represent their city, and to create a foundation that will inspire the next generation of players.”
Jergus Spodniak, the team’s founder, co-owner and goaltender envisioned building a team that unites local talent living in Košice but previously lacked the opportunity to represent their hometown on the professional stage. According to Spodniak, Esmark’s sponsorship ensures the financial stability and professional resources needed for the team to establish itself in Slovakia’s hockey landscape. Beyond the immediate financial support, the partnership reflects a long-term vision of building both a competitive team and a lasting community institution.
“The HK Esmark Košice team will not only provide athletes with the chance to wear their hometown colors but also give fans a team that authentically represents the pride and spirit of their community,” said Spodniak.
By joining the Hockey Club Esmark Košice team, Esmark is building on its established track record in sports development. Esmark became a majority owner of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) Johnstown Tomahawks in 2012 and played a key role in guiding the team’s growth and success. Under Bouchard and Esmark’s leadership, the Tomahawks not only thrived on the ice, but also became a cornerstone of community engagement and youth hockey development.
“Jim [James Bouchard] and Esmark demonstrated an exceptional ability to build a program that was competitive, sustainable and community-focused,” said Mark Frankenfeld, Commissioner of NAHL. “Their work with the Johnstown Tomahawks had a lasting impact on the league, community and growth of the sport, and I’m excited to see that same passion and commitment brought to The Hockey Club Esmark Košice.”
“Esmark and the Bouchard family have a proven track record of investing in sports and enhancing communities. From their work with FC Pittsburgh, to the Esmark Stars and more, they not only invest financially, but also with heart and commitment. It’s really something special to watch and be a part of,” said Mario Lemieux, National Hockey League (NHL) Hall of Fame, former owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and arguably one of the greatest hockey players of all time.
Since its founding in 2003, Esmark Inc. has a longstanding history of dedication to athletic advancement. Jim Bouchard formerly co-owned the Johnstown Tomahawks, and the company now representing over 2,000 student athletes, including those affiliated with Esmark Stars, Esmark All-Americans, Quaker Valley Hockey, FC Pittsburgh and Esmark Youth Development.
About Esmark, Inc.
Esmark, Inc. is a diversified, privately-held family company with a portfolio of industrial companies with strong roots in the steel industry. Over the years, Esmark has diversified its interests and operations into a number of businesses engaged in the industrial and commodity sectors. Esmark (a former publicly traded company on NASDAQ: ESMK) has focused on several key industries including steel services, oil and gas exploration, aviation, real estate, professional services, technology and youth sports development. The company is also an active corporate citizen in the communities it serves, having committed more than $10 million in philanthropic support of a wide range of humanitarian, education, family wellness and youth sports programs in Pennsylvania, Illinois and internationally. www.esmark.com
Esmark’s sponsorship of the Košice team ensures the financial stability and professional resources needed for the team to establish itself in Slovakia’s hockey landscape. Beyond the immediate financial support, the partnership reflects a long-term vision of building both a competitive team and a lasting community institution.
Esmark Sports Management and Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Esmark Inc., is the team sponsor and co-owner of a newly established professional hockey team in Košice, Slovakia.
U.S. President Donald Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway’s prime minister that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” in a text message released on Monday.
Trump's message to Jonas Gahr Støre appears to ratchet up a standoff between Washington and its closest allies over his threats to take over Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight nations that have rallied around Denmark and Greenland, including Norway.
Those countries issued a forceful rebuke. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to de-escalate tensions on Monday. While the White House has not ruled taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force, Starmer said he did not believe military action would occur.
"I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion,” he said.
Still, the American leader's message to Gahr Støre could further fracture a U.S.-European relationship already strained by differences over how to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, previous rounds of tariffs, military spending and migration policy.
In a sign of how tensions have increased in recent days, thousands of Greenlanders marched over the weekend in protest of any effort to take over their island. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post Monday that the tariff threats would not change the their stance.
“We will not be pressured,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business, minerals, energy, justice and equality, told The Associated Press that she was moved by the quick response of allies to the tariff threat and said it showed that countries realize “this is about more than Greenland.”
“I think a lot of countries are afraid that if they let Greenland go, what would be next?”
Trump's message to Gahr Støre, released by the Norwegian government, read in part: “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”
It concluded: “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
The Norwegian leader said Trump’s message was a reply to an earlier missive sent on behalf of himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in which they conveyed their opposition to the tariff announcement, pointed to a need to de-escalate, and proposed a telephone conversation among the three leaders.
“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter,” the Norwegian leader said in a statement. “As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to president Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”
He told TV2 Norway that he hadn't responded to the message, but "I still believe it’s wise to talk," and he hopes to talk with Trump in Davos this week.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is an independent body whose five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the president’s approach in Greenland during a brief Q&A with reporters in Davos, Switzerland, which is hosting the World Economic Forum meeting this week.
“I think it’s a complete canard that the president would be doing this because of the Nobel,” Bessent said, immediately after saying he did not “know anything about the president’s letter to Norway.”
Bessent insisted Trump “is looking at Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States,” adding that “we are not going to outsource our hemispheric security to anyone else.”
Trump has openly coveted the peace prize, which the committee awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado last year. Last week, Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump, who said he planned to keep it though the committee said the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.
In his latest threat of tariffs, Trump indicated they would be retaliation for last week’s deployment of symbolic numbers of troops from the European countries to Greenland — though he also suggested that he was using the tariffs as leverage to negotiate with Denmark.
European governments said that the troops traveled to the island to assess Arctic security, part of a response to Trump’s own concerns about interference from Russia and China.
Starmer on Monday called Trump’s threat of tariffs “completely wrong” and said that a trade war is in no one’s interest.
He added that “being pragmatic does not mean being passive and partnership does not mean abandoning principles.”
Six of the eight countries targeted are part of the 27-member European Union, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trade. European Council President Antonio Costa said Sunday that the bloc’s leaders expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion.” He announced a summit for Thursday evening.
Starmer indicated that Britain, which is not part of the EU, is not planning to consider retaliatory tariffs.
“My focus is on making sure we don’t get to that stage,” he said.
Denmark’s defense minister and Greenland’s foreign minister are expected to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Monday, a meeting that was planned before the latest escalation.
Associated Press writers Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida; Emma Burrows in Nuuk, Greenland; and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
The Danish navy's inspection ship HDMS Vaedderen sails off Nuuk, Greenland, on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Danish soldiers disembark at the harbor in Nuuk, Greenland, on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Danish soldiers disembark at the harbor in Nuuk, Greenland, on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
