PHOTO: Zdeno Chara carries Slovakian flag at Opening Ceremony

Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara missed two regular season games for this honor: to be the flag bearer for Slovakia at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. 

The imposing and well-respected defenseman carried the Slovakian flag roughly six inches higher than any Slovakian flag bearer has since the landlocked Eastern European nation first participated in the Olympics independently back in 1994...

Here's a selection of photos featuring Chara carrying the Slovakian flag at the Opening Ceremonies:

Chara joins Zigmund Palffy, Peter Stastny and Robet Petrovicky as men's ice hockey players who have acted as standard bearers for Slovakia at the Winter Olympic Games.