Were you looking forward to it?
Yes, Czech is spoken in the cabin, so I enjoy it. I’m still adapting, I arrived a few days ago, so I have to get it going. The championship at home is motivation and I had it circled on the calendar a long time ago. I missed last time, the match with Philadelphia in Prague didn’t work out for me either, so I will finally be able to play at home. The championship in Prague simply has an extra spark.
What is the main attraction?
I was looking forward to seeing the guys I played with because in the NHL we only see each other one night per season. It’s one of the biggest draws to play with them again. And to play in front of Czech fans and fight for some valuable metal.
In the NHL you are known as the king of hits, but in the national team you have a different role.
I’m also really looking forward to shooting some pucks. In addition, there is a wider field, so you definitely have to wait for physical hockey on it. You can’t collide as much in the defensive zone as in the NHL. It also depends on the system being played. But I’ll be working on it for the next week and a half. I have to get used to a different pitch. How? Doing exercises, going around corners. Today’s training was already a great step in the right direction.
Again, a wider squad of the hockey team. The team will be assisted by coach Pavel Gross, and it will be revealed which of the finalists of the extra league will complete the teamVideo: Sport.cz
But to hit a teammate in training…
… not quite the real deal, especially a week before the championship. That’s why we have the last matches, so that you can get used to it, find out what you can afford and how fast the opponents are.
There are already 37 players in training. That’s a big portion, isn’t it?
It is necessary for the team to be good, for the coaches to know who they want, who will sit with whom. So it is an advantage to have a wide squad and fight for places. The only good thing is that there is a fight for stains here. And already today’s training was very intense.
You have four children, a large family. How many tickets to Prague will you need?
Enough. I will always be on Hnild (Milan Hnilička) to get me some extra tickets. This will be our most frequent conversation.
Was participation in jeopardy after the injury?
No, but in Anaheim they wanted me to be 100 percent before I got back into the lineup, so that’s why it took longer than it had to. They wanted to make sure everything was fine.
How was the club season from your point of view?
It didn’t turn out the way I imagined. I thought we would be much higher in the table after the first fifteen games. But we had a young team, so there will be mistakes here and there. And you get punished in the NHL. Personally, I think I had a good season and that we laid the foundation stones to build on in Anaheim. And that the boys understood what the games in the NHL are about, because many young people did not have the experience of a whole season. It was a year of learning.
You were also considered a certain mentor, right?
However, I probably did not play in defense with a player who was not in the first season. I enjoy their questions, sometimes they are funny, sometimes downright novice. But I’m glad that I can help them, and when I see that they solve the situation differently and 100%, it’s a satisfaction that my opinion still makes sense.
What question made you laugh the most?
I can’t remember exactly now, but my partner, when asked what he says most often, answered: I am sorry. But what those guys are capable of doing individually at the age of eighteen or nineteen is unbelievable. The future there is more than bright. It’s just about the overall team playing, we played better defense, and if we improve special teams, we’ll have a chance to move up in the standings next season.
