Hockey fans in Bratislava woke up to a shock this morning, as Slovan Bratislava announced on their website that the team and head coach Rostislav Čada had come to an agreement over the termination of the latter’s contract. For all intents and purposes it appears that Čada asked to be released from his contract rather than being fired by the club.
Photo from Rostislav Čada's last game in charge of Slovan
Photo: hcslovan.sk
Čada has had a mixed bag of success since joining Slovan Bratislava in 2012, upon their entry to the KHL. The Czech born coach had floundered with Avangard Omsk, but found his niche with a battling Slovan side, and whilst his brand of defensive hockey may have been dour at times, it did get results. Slovan’s first season in the KHL was an unmitigated success, as the team with one of the smallest budgets in the KHL made it to the Gagarin Cup Playoffs.
However, Jaroslav Janus and the rest of Slovan’s capitulation to Dinamo Moscow in the 2012/13 playoffs set the tone of things to come, and last season was one of frustration at the Slovnaft Arena. The sole Slovak team in the KHL toiled but could only finish 11th in the Western Conference, meaning it was the Nadezhda Cup rather than the Gagarin Cup they were playing for.
Despite this, Rostislav Čada’s time in Bratislava will be well remembered, as he managed to make what should’ve been a struggler, into a competitor. Slovan have consistently punched above their weight against the giants of Russian hockey, and Čada’s style of play has been an integral part of the club picking up historic victories over the likes of SKA St. Petersburg, Ak Bars Kazan and Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Over the past two seasons, Čada’s brand of counter-attacking hockey, relying on the speed of players like captain Milan Bartovič and Libor Hudáček has proven successful, especially when paired with the incredible performances of Jaroslav Janus, especially in 2012/13.
The announcement on Slovan Bratislava’s webpage is as follows: “HC Slovan Bratislava thanks Rostislav Čada for the honesty and responsibility he showed during his 29-month tenure in Bratislava for our cub. We wish him every success in his future work and private life."
Without wishing to enter the realm of counter-factual reporting, Slovan’s recent turn in results may have convinced Čada that he had achieved all that he could have with his limited resources. After three wins out of three to start the current campaign, Slovan’s luck has turned, and most recently a toothless 3-0 loss on home ice to strugglers Severstal Cherepovets may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Slovan's fans have supported the team in their droves, yet
budgets remain tight at the Slovnaft Arena
Photo: hcslovan.sk
To try and give some context to Slovan’s financial battle, GM Maroš Krajči announced last week that Slovan’s budget for the coming KHL season would be €13million. Using figures compiled by sports.ru, for the 2013/14 season, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Radulov make €8million and €5.8million respectively on their own. What’s more, no Slovan players featured in the top-90 paid KHL players according to the same website. According to official figures released by the KHL Slovan’s budget was the second lowest in the KHL last season, a startling seven times less than top spenders SKA St. Petersburg. Within this environment, it is a miracle that Čada was even able to get Slovan to the playoffs in the first place.
Vladimir Országh becomes Slovan's interim coach
along with Ján Lipianský
Photo: bystricoviny.sk/
Slovan announced that their interim coaches would be former NHLer Vladimir Országh and former Slovan fan favourite Ján Lipianský, who played for the club during their first KHL campaign before hanging up the skates. While this coaching pair will only have the job temporarily, it will be interesting to see how the team performs under the tutelage of the pair. Országh is being tipped as one of Slovakia’s best young coaches and will potentially be given the job when current national team coach Vladimir Vůjtek leaves the post. Országh had spent the last two seasons as head coach of Banska Bystrica in the Slovak Extraliga, and was named assistant coach of the Slovak national team in the summer of 2013 as a nod towards his potential. Still only 37 years of age, Országh has a lot to learn, but getting thrown in at the deep end may not be the worst thing for the former Nashville Predator.
It doesn’t get much tougher for Országh, Lipianský and Slovan as they look to break their three game losing streak against Alexander Radulov and his CSKA Moscow side at the Slovnaft Arena on Saturday. CSKA have won five games out of six so far this season, whilst a Slovan loss may see the team fall out of the playoff positions already.
I, for one, will miss Čada. I think he did a fantastic job with what he had before him, and has made Slovan into a competent and competitive KHL team. I’m going to miss seeing him on the bench at the Slovnaft Arena, where peculiarly he stood in front of his players, right at ice level. Who knows what is next for the Brno native, but Velvet Hockey wishes him all the best.
Welcome to the second edition of Around The Boards, Velvet
Hockey’s weekly digest giving the lowdown on all the biggest news from the Czech
and Slovak hockey worlds. Both the Czech and Slovak Extraligas got underway
over the weekend, and there are some unlikely faces at the top of both leagues.
However, the weekend was a tragic one with Slovak hockey.
Slovakia still coming to terms with tragedy
Miroslav Hlinka
Photo: img.cas.sk
It is with great sadness that despite the great action on
the ice this weekend, I begin this week’s Around The Boards dealing with events
that have taken place away from hockey. The Slovak hockey world is without
three major figures this week, as two former players and the long-serving
Slovak national team doctor Vladimir Luptak passed away. Velvet Hockey
discussed this in depth on Monday, following the details of the suicide of
former Nitra player Miroslav Kováčík, two days after Miroslav Hlinka also took
his own life. Hlinka, a World Champion with Slovakia in 2002, was due to take up
the assistant coach’s role at Banska Bystrica.
The news has resulted in a large amount of soul-searching in
both countries, as fans and officials alike attempt to come to terms and
ascertain the reasons behind the tragedy. No news has been forthcoming since Velvet Hockey posted its reaction to the deaths on Monday.
Slovan quickly unravelling
Slovan Bratislava got off to a fantastic start to their
third KHL campaign. Velvet Hockey waxed lyrically about the KHL’s sole Slovak
participant, after the won their first three games of the season. However, the
wheels have come off somewhat this week, as losses to Ak Bars Kazan, Torpedo
Nizhny Novgorod and Severstal Cherepovets, the latter of which was a dire 3-0
defeat on home ice.
Ladislav Nagy continues to lead the line, having scored five
times in six games, but the likes of Michal Vondrka, Rok Tičar and Tomáš Surový
have flattered to deceive in front of goal. Jaroslav Janus got his first action
of the season in Slovan’s shootout loss to Torpedo, and acquitted himself well,
but looked average in their capitulation to Severstal, which leads me to
believe that Johan Backlund will start for Slovan’s next game against CSKA
Moscow, which comes after a brief four game break. Slovan will be boosted by
the return from injury of new defenceman Kurtis Foster, who played for
Medveščak Zagreb last season.
Cancelled games cause problems in CZ and SK
Banska Bystrica got the game postponed, but Zvolen were awarded the three points Photo: TASR
The first weekend in the Czech and Slovak Extraligas brought
some peculiarities, including two games that were postponed whilst in play. In
Slovakia, Zvolen hosted Banska Bystrica on the first gameday of the season, but
the game was postponed with only ninety seconds to go due to flares let off by
the Banska Bystrica fans as Zvolen led 4-3. It was a miraculous comeback by
Zvolen, who had been 3-0 down in the third period, and as tensions ran high in
the Banska Bystrica fan section. The smoke from the flares which were set off
covered the ice in smoke, and despite the officials giving an hour’s grace, the
smoke would not dissipate. Vladimír Baluška, one of the referees, said in an
interview, “We saw how the smoke spread and the situation is unusual and
dangerous meaning we had to interrupt the game as we have to protect the player’s
health. This is the first time we have encountered such a situation.” The SZLH
ruled later that the result would stand, handing Zvolen the 3 points. (source)
Unplayable conditions at the Kajot Arena Photo: Ivo Dostal
Lack of visibility was also the culprit at the Kajot Arena
in Brno, as Kometa’s game against PSG Zlin, which was being broadcast live on
the major sport channel in the Czech Republic (ČT Sport) was brought to a halt
after just 13 minutes. A warm September in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia
has made mist a problem in many arenas. The fog was especially bad at the end
where Kometa were attacking, and Zlin’s goaltender Libor Kašík was notably
animated. There was no score in the game before it was postponed.
Zlín still without a win
Libor Kašík hits the deck in Zlín's season opener
Photo: Jiří Zaňát hokej.zlin.cz
The cancelled game at the Kajot Arena has left Zlín in a
rather sorry state, as the defending Extraliga champions currently sit in 13th
place after three gamedays. The Moravian side started the season in perhaps the
worst possible way, looking average as Extraliga new boys Mladá Boleslav
humiliated them 5-2 at the Zimni stadion Luďka Čajky. It didn’t get much better
on Tuesday, as other Extraliga newcomers HC Olomouc, defeated their Moravian
rivals to claim their first Extraliga win under their belt. Zlín went 2-0 up in
the first period through goals from Bedřich Köhler and new signing Roman Vlach,
but Olomouc rallied back in the third second period to take an unassailable 3-2
lead. Defensively, Zlín look fragile, and that’s not something that you would
have thought after they retained all of their defensive unit bar Petr Zamorský.
Certainly more will be expected from last season’s top Extraliga goalie Libor
Kašík, who has conceded eight goals in two games and a save percentage well
below 90%
Litvinov and Mladá Boleslav impress, while Sparta
splutter
The first three gamedays have left my Extraliga preview
looking rather silly, as two of the teams that I had pencilled in to finish in
the bottom four, are in first and third place respectively. Whilst Zlín’s
goaltending has been a problem, current league leaders Litvinov have arguably
the best goaltender in the Czech Republic. Pavel Francouz, who was Litvinov’s
one shining light in a dreadful season last year, has continued his fine form,
picking up three wins out of three. The 24-year old shutout bottom of the table
Karlovy Vary in the first game, before shutting up shop in the shootout as the
side from North Bohemia defeated both Plzeň and Třinec. Both victories are
massive scalps for a side desperate to get back into the playoffs.
Mladá Boleslav yet to lose in the Extraliga this year
Photo: Jan Pavlíček, bkboleslav.cz
Despite all of their summer signings, it is the old boys at
Mladá Boleslav who are leading the charge. The 1.liga champions have taken to
the Extraliga like a duck to water, and have won two games out of three in what
was an incredibly tricky start to their return to the Czech top flight. Their
aforementioned win against Zlín was followed by a loss in Pardubice, but on
Monday the side got their first win against Sparta at the Tipsport Arena in
their history. Former Sparta captain Michal Broš had a goal and an assist and Tomáš
Klimenta bagged a brace as Mladá Boleslav battled to a 4-3 victory. Tomáš Hyka
and Dominik Pacovský have struggled to adapt to their new surroundings though,
as Mladá Boleslav’s two major summer acquisitions only have one point between
them so far.
Sparta’s loss to Mladá Boleslav sums up what has been a
so-so start to the season. Despite sitting top of an extremely tight Group G in
the Champions Hockey League, Sparta have already lost two games this season,
with Mountfield Hradec Kralove picking up a solid 3-1 victory on home ice
against last season’s regular season champions. The pieces are there but it
doesn’t seem that Josef Jandáč has
worked out how best to use his abundance of talent. As defenceman Michal
Barinka said following the loss to Mladá Boleslav, “We have to start
from zero. The results will come.” Sparta will be hoping that the results will come, especially with the first Prague derby of the season being on Sunday.source)
Zvolen leading the way
In Slovakia, the surprise
league leaders after four games is Zvolen, who are the only team in both
countries to still have a 100% record. In front of goal, Zvolen have been
imperious, netting 13 times in the three games. Most remarkably, the team
already has twelve different goal scorers to its name, as Andrej Podkonický is
the only player to have found the back of the net twice. Despite their loss to
Zvolen, Poprad are currently in second place, a remarkable achievement for a
club dogged by financial uncertainty. The side from the Tatras has gone through
a number of difficult years especially following the failed Lev Poprad project,
are at least doing the business on the ice. Tomáš Sýkora already has three
goals to his name. Defending champions Košice sit in third place after three
games where they have only conceded eight goals.
Player of the week:
Michal Hlinka
Photo: sportky.sk/SITA
Michal Hlinka (HK Dukla Trenčín)
Any other week would’ve been Litvinov’s goaltender Pavel
Francouz, but special mention must go to Michal Hlinka, the son of Miroslav
Hlinka. The 21-year old forward has dealt with the death of his father like a
man far beyond his years, and continues to train and even featured for the club
in Tuesday’s victory against Skalica. Richard Lintner, who plays for Dukla and
was a national team teammate with Michal’s father for a number of years said, “We,
Dukla, are Michal’s second family and we stand by him and will try to create
the conditions to help him as a young male support his family.” All games in
Slovakia were marked by a moment of silence before faceoff on Tuesday. (source)
Play of the week:Ladislav Nagy (Slovan Bratislava)
This week, we turn to the KHL and Ladislav Nagy’s beautiful coast-to-coast goal
against Ak Bars Kazan. Sadly, Slovan couldn’t pick up the win, losing 4-3 in a
close fought game, but this goal by Nagy will live long in the memory.
This week’s pick of the action:
Friday: Mladá Boleslav vs Litvínov (16:30 GMT)
Saturday: Slovan Bratislava vs CSKA Moscow (16:30 GMT)
Welcome to Around The Boards, Velvet Hockey’s new weekly
digest out every Wednesday giving the lowdown on all the biggest news from the
Czech Republic and Slovakia. With the hockey season in its embryonic stages,
today’s ATB takes a look at Slovan’s scintillating start, Kladno’s new life in
the 1.liga and a brief Slovak Extraliga season.
Slovan Bratislava flying high on the road
Three games, three wins. Slovan have started in top gear
Photo: metallurg.ru
It is fair to say that last season was somewhat of a
disappointment for Slovan Bratislava. The team impressed in their debut season
in the KHL, before crashing to eventual Gagarin Cup champions Dinamo Moscow,
but last year Slovan struggled to gain any sort of momentum and missed out on
the postseason. The team has strengthened, especially defensively, during the
offseason, and it looks like a new lease of life has been given to Rostislav
Čada’s team, as they currently sit third in the Western Conference with a 100%
start.
Two of the keys to Slovan’s hot start have been new signings
Ladislav Nagy and Johan Backlund. Nagy, who split last season with HC Košice and Jokerit in the
Finnish Liiga, signed for the club after making his return to the Slovak
national team after a three year absence. Somewhat of a journeyman since his
return from the NHL, Nagy appears to be enjoying an Indian summer as the 35
year old has found the back of the net four times in three days. He had the
best debut possible for his new team, scoring a hattrick at the Slovnaft Arena
as Slovan defeated Medveščak 5-2 in their opening game.
Nagy would also score the game winner for Slovan against
reigning Gagarin Cup champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk, an incredible result on
the road for the Slovak side. Most recently, they scraped a 3-1 victory over
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
Key to all three of these victories has been the performance
of new Swedish goaltender, Johan Backlund. After two seasons, Slovan finally
realised that they had to spend some money in order to get a quality backup for
Jaroslav Janus, who has been prone to suffer from burnout due to his heavy
workload during the regular season. Backlund was given the start against Medveščak
and has kept his place in Slovan’s other two games so far. Whilst not the most
convincing goaltender, and prone to conceding a soft goal such as Metallurg’s
opener on Sunday, Backlund has been on the whole stellar, and a 93.2% save
percentage is nothing to sniff at. I will admit that when his signing was
announced, I was rather wary following his disappointing numbers for Vityaz
Podolsk last season, but the 33 year old Swede is proving both me and other
doubters wrong with his play so far.
Slovan will be looking to keep up their good form today as
they face Ak Bars Kazan in the final game of their opening three game Russian
road trip. The side from Bratislava should enter the game with little fear
though, as they have a good record over their Tatar opposition, however, one
should bank on the game going to overtime, as all of the games over the last
two years between the two teams have ended equal after 60 minutes.
Drop that puck
HK Poprad kicked off the SK Extraliga
season with a 4-2 win over HK Orange 20
Photo: hokejportal.net
League action is finally underway in both the Czech Republic
and Slovakia. The Slovak Extraliga kicked off with a game between HK Orange 20
and Poprad, who just about managed to gain entry back into the league after
another summer of financial problems. They were given an extension to apply for
their Extraliga licence, and fortunately the club from the Tatras managed to
complete all their obligations in time. Poprad ran out 4-2 winners with Tomáš Sýkora bagging a hattrick.
Marquee summer signing Luboš
Bartečko, Lev Poprad’s captain back in 2011/12, added two assists on his return
to the Slovak Extraliga.
It has been
somewhat a stranger summer in the Slovak Extraliga, and a number of veterans
have returned to their native land. Dukla Trenčín, rebuilding after a
disasterous year where they finished ninth last season, picked up former Slovak
national team regular Branko Radivojevic, as well as signing former Extraliga
winning goaltender, Branislav Konrád, looking to get his career back on track
after Slovan had to leave him behind in their jump to the KHL. Richard Lintner
also returns after splitting last season with Dukla and Dinamo Minsk.
Other big
signings in the Slovak Extraliga this summer include Milan Kytnar moving to
Banska Bystrica, Radoslav Illo returning from seven years in North America to
sign for Martín and Žilina’s signing of Jaroslav Kristek.
Košice look
favourites to win the Extraliga, although one would be remiss to ignore Nitra. Jozef Stümpel was in fantastic form
last season, scoring 67 points and leading Nitra to the Extraliga finals, where
they eventually lost in seven games to Košice. Now 42 years of age, Stümpel signed on late in the summer for
another season with his hometown club, with the hope of delivering Nitra its
first Extraliga title.
Kladno start off
life in the 1.liga with a win
Jaromir Jágr behind the bench at Most
Photo: Tomáš Kostečka, hc-kladno.cz
There has been a
lot of soul searching at Kladno over the summer, as the Knights (Rytiři) have
been licking their wounds following their relegation from the Extraliga in rather
calamitous circumstances. Team owner Jaromir Jágr was on the bench as
Kladno began their promotion campaign in Northern Bohemia, where they took on
Most. A third period brace from Jan Eberle helped Kladno secure a 5-1 victory
on the road.
It has been a summer of change for Kladno, not least as
captain of seven seasons, Pavel Patera, left the club to keep his Extraliga
career alive with new boys HC Olomouc. Tomáš Kaberle’s return to the NHL also
leaves a massive void in the defensive unit, as does Třinec’s signing of the
Doudera brothers.
News in Brief:
In some of the least surprising news ever, Slavia today
announced that top scorer and all round good guy Jaroslav Bednář will be the
team’s captain for the coming Extraliga season after Petr Kadlec left for Plzeň.
The 37 year old forward, who angered the Sešívani whilst still a youngster
after making the cross city switch to Sparta, will start his ninth season with
Slavia with the C on his jersey after being an alternate captain last season. (source)
ŠHK 37 Piešťany president Jaroslav Lušňák announced this
week that the EBEL was now a “closed door” for the club. Piešťany are the
Slovak Extraliga’s newest club, having joined the Slovak top tier two seasons
ago and have taken like a duck to water, reaching the playoff semi-finals twice
in two years. Whilst still plugging away in the 1.liga ŠHK 37 attempted for
three seasons to gain entry to the EBEL, only to be denied permission by the
Slovak Federation. “It certainly would not have been a bad thing that we would
have represented the whole of Slovakia, but what happened, happened, and we are
happy we can play in the Extraliga”, added Lušňák. Piešťany also felt the
financial pinch over the offseason, and budgets look to be lower there for the
coming season. (source)
HC Olomouc have strengthened once more following my preview three weeks ago that pencilled them in to finish bottom of the Extraliga table. Petr Fiala's team have just announced they have penned a deal with Slovak forward Martin Cíbak, who split last season with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and Vityaz Podolsk of the KHL, scoring 15 points in 54 games. Cibak has represented Slovakia at two World Championsips and was a member of the 2010 Olympic roster. (source)
Finally, all signs are pointing towards Martin Ručinský signing on for one more season with Litvinov. A number of Czech journalists on Twitter today have confirmed Ručinský's signing. The 43 year old played 45 times for Litvinov last season, scoring 27 points. He looks set to join Jiří Šlegr on the North Bohemian team's roster. (source)
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This week's pick of the action
Wednesday: Ak Bars Kazan vs Slovan Bratislava (16:30 GMT)
Friday: Třinec vs
Pardubice (17:20 GMT)
Sunday: Nitra vs Piešťany (16:00 GMT)
Tuesday: Slovan Bratislava vs Severstal Cherepovets (18:00
GMT)
(First, perhaps an apology to regular readers. A curse of writers block they call it. I was miffed that I went four months without posting on this blog. I guess with the rigours of every day life, plus my continued work with HC SLOVAN Bratislava taking up any time that I wanted to give to myself to doing hockey writing saw me neglect this labour of love in favour of my 'work'. However, I'm hoping this will be the recommencement of regular postings on this blog. I've spent too long working on it before to let it die out now).
Recent news reports coming out of the Slovak capital hint
at a possible NHL return for HC SLOVAN Bratislava and Team Slovakia netminder
Jaroslav Janus. The 23 year old Prešov native shone in his first year in the
KHL, leading his club, predicted to prop up the Western Conference, to a 6th
place finish in the West, and a playoff spot in the club’s first season at this
level. The playoff match-up against defending champions Dinamo Moscow may not
have gone to plan, with Janus being replaced by Branislav Konrád after
conceding five goals in Game 1, and returning in Game 4 but being unable to
stop the big blue machine, who won the final game in the series 3:2 and
completing the sweep of Slovan.
Jaroslav Janus shone for HC SLOVAN Bratislava in 2012/13
Photo: hcmetallurg.ru.
However, to focus on Janus’ disappointing playoff
performance would be a misnomer, as behind what can only be described as some
frantic defending, especially following the loss of lockout additions Ľubomír
Višňovský and Andrej Sekera in January, Janus consistently played lights out. A
.928 save percentage put him among the top ten in terms of starting netminders
in the KHL, while his five shutouts were good enough for joint-third out of KHL
netminders. One could also attribute the downturn in performance to burnout.
Janus, who went without a pre-season due to being a last minute addition by
Slovan, ended up starting 47 out of Slovan’s 52 regular season games, which was
the most out of any netminder in the KHL, with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod’s Vitali
Koval the only one coming close, having played one game less.
However, while I could write a whole post raving about
Janus’ performances this year, as having seen first-hand some of his
desperation saves in games against SKA St. Petersburg and Ak Bars Kazan, it
could be the last that Slovan fans see of Janus, who came through the club’s
junior system. The source of this news comes from a brief posting on the news
tab on www.hokej.cz, which featured a quote
from Janus’ agent, Robert Spálenka. This has been cited by both SME in their
article (link) and the news was also made public by HC SLOVAN Bratislava themselves on the
club’s website (link). Spálenka is quoted as saying “Tampa is
interested in Janus; the matter is under discussion”. That one line quote could
be make or break for Slovan’s offseason plans.
Janus, who was drafted in the 6th round by the
Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009, is perhaps most famous in North America for his
incredible performances in goal for Team Slovakia at the World Junior Championships
of that same year. Janus backstopped Slovakia to an incredible 5:3 victory over
the United States in the quarter finals, despite being outshot 49:17. Although
Slovakia would go on to lose their semi-final game to Sweden, and eventually
the bronze medal game too, that one game, along with his performances in the round robin stage got Janus’ name known, as before that his OHL record with the
Erie Otters was hardly exceptional.
Just one of Janus' many saves against the United States in 2009
The Lightning had a prospect netminding logjam at this
point, with Riku Helenius and Dustin Tokarski and Janus competing for the two
goalie spots with the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, with
Janus being sent down to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL during the
2010-2011 season. Janus was a part of the Admirals’ plans during the 2011-2012
season, starting 34 games and playing the 1b role behind Tokarski as the
unstoppable Admirals led the march to the Calder Cup. Last season, which Janus
played in the KHL, was technically the final year of his three year entry level
deal signed on the 1st January 2010, which means that Janus is now a
restricted free agent, with Tampa Bay holding his NHL rights. There is also
further complication in the KHL, as upon signing the contract with Slovan in
September, Janus’ services were looked into by another party. Lokomotiv
Yaroslavl, who then owned Janus’ KHL rights originally wanted to sign Janus due
to an injury to starting netminder Curtis Sanford. News of the deal that took
place between the two clubs was hushed up and eventually Janus ended up with
Slovan.
Janus in goal for the Lightning during 2011/12 pre-season
Photo: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America
With a transfer agreement between the KHL and NHL looking
to be somewhat in place following the Ľubomír Višňovský fiasco in late January,
Janus may certainly have room to manoeuvre his way back to Tampa Bay, who have
had netminding woes this season with Anders Lindback, Mathieu Garon and Cedrick
Desjardins all flattering to deceive. However, to add yet more confusion to the
situation, Janus was quoted by the HC SLOVAN website at the start of the month
with saying ‘Srdce mám belasé’, which translates as saying ‘I have a sky-blue
heart’; sky-blue being the traditional colours of Slovan (link).
Also, as stressed in both of the Slovak media releases, Janus is supposed to
have a contract in place with Janus for next season in accordance with the ‘gentlemen’s
agreement’ with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Yeah, more plot twists than a M. Night
Shyamalan flick.
Currently it remains whether or not to be seen where Janus
will end up next season. Slovan have already said that they do not expect this
matter to be resolved until after the Easter weekend, while Janus’
participation with the Slovakia squad at the World Championships may protract
the saga further. Is Janus ready for the NHL? At 23 years of age he is still
young for a netminder, and I think it would be rash to throw him in at the deep
end and expect him to be a solid NHL starter right off the bat. He’s an
exceptionally agile netminder, which allows him to compensate for his sometimes
poor positional play. Perhaps it came as a result of the scrambling Slovan
defence in front of him, but many a Slovan fan would often see Janus on his
front, diving across his crease to make yet another save. There’s no doubt that
his season with Slovan will have prepared him for the rigours of an NHL
schedule. For Janus, it will surely be the NHL or KHL next season.
However, I don’t have a crystal ball, and my predictions
are usually terrible so who knows what will happen. If he doesn’t make his way
back to the Slovnaft Arena though, Slovan are in a world of trouble.
As the long summer days slowly start to wind down, and players and coaches alike return to the rinks, it's time to start looking back on the summer that was, which in turn was one of conflict and strife in many corners of Slovakia's domestic hockey market. A number of teams have changed divisions, while money problems created by the Eurozone crisis really bit hard on a number of the smaller market teams. However, even some of the big names in the Extraliga were touched by financial woes, with the Poprad side still not out of the water as of yet.
So let us start with the Extraliga, which saw arguably it's biggest club depart the league in search of bigger and better things. HC Slovan Bratislava, after winning their first championship for four years decided that the Extraliga was no longer for them, and managed to make the jump to the KHL. There had been rumblings for a while that the club from the capital was looking to expand outwards from the Extraliga, and with the success that they had not only on the ice, but off the ice after the reconstruction of the Ondrej Nepala stadium turned out to be a smart move. With increased capacity of over 10,000, and spirits high after the Slovak Extraliga championship, as well as the silver medal achieved by the national team, Slovan are in a good place at the moment in Slovakian terms, although their tight budget constrictions could hinder their KHL form.
Who knows what the future holds for Košice Photo: Ziakoo.sk/hokejportal.sk
HC Košice, who have been the most successful club in Slovakia over the past five years will be smarting after their run of three straight championships game to an end in 2012. Košice, who have apparently been looking into "two central European alternatives" this off-season look like they are set to try and reclaim their Slovak Extraliga crown, but the future after that is far less clear. At the start of the summer, before Slovan made the jump to the KHL, a proposal was made to allow Slovan and Košice into the Czech Extraliga, creating a "Czechoslovak Extraliga". However, this proposal was rejected by 13 of the 14 teams, citing extra travel costs as a key concern (link). A couple of years ago, the prospect of a Slovak team joining the EBEL would have been laughable, but with a weaker Extraliga after the departure of Slovan, it may just be that Košice could end up in the Central European EBEL after all. Featuring teams from Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia, the EBEL has spawned into a mid-tier league which is starting to grow in terms of the calibre of players joining the league, which may just make it more appealing for the side from Eastern Slovakia. It certainly seems that the KHL is out of reach. At least for now.
For Dukla Trenčín, most of their concerns have been around having a rink to play in. A huge ammonia leak in the main arena has rendered the rink unsafe for now, but there were major issues over whether or not the local government will have the funds available to embark on the repair work, which was estimated to be at €55,000. However, the city of Trenčín have seemed to have taken control of the Pavol Demitra Arena as of late, after the team had been forced to practice on the rink owned by Marian Gaborik, as well as the local rink in nearby Dubnica. Mayor Richard Rybníček has offered to lease the arena to the Dukla club for just one euro for training sessions and matches, as well as putting up the money for the repair costs, in order to secure Extraliga hockey in Trenčín for the coming season. The city claims that the arena will be repaired by late August (link).
Poprad went from KHL & Slovak hockey to almost no hockey this offseason Photo: easternconferences.wordpress.com
However, other clubs have not been so lucky. Poprad, who have been reeling following the move of the HC Lev franchise to Prague after just one year in the Slovak mountain city have had huge financial problems in the run up to the coming season. After their Extraliga season, all contracts with players to the club expired, leaving the club without any players, as executive director Tibor Turan claimed, "I will not sign any players, if I do not have the money" (link). A lack of sponsorship, especially within Poprad has left the team strapped for cash, as Turan claimed that last season, 65% of the teams sponsorship money came from outside Poprad, and this summer seems to have changed little. However, the latest news coming out of Poprad is that they will be able to field a team for next season, as they have already scheduled pre-season games, as well as being included on the fixture lists for the coming season.
Another with money problems going into the season was MHC Martín. One of the smallest clubs in the Extraliga, Martín, who have missed the playoffs for the last two seasons have struggled to keep a hold of a number of their players, but finally this week started to begin pre-season preparations with a new head coach Róbert Pukalovič, featuring a team mainly made up of junior and local players. Despite this, it does seem that Martín have managed to gather enough money together for the coming season, although their prospects are quite bleak. It is also worth mentioning HK Skalica, who have entered an agreement with Slovan which will allow a number of players to be loaned down to the Extraliga club who don't make Slovan's KHL roster. At present, Andrej Kudrna, Adam Trenčan and Peter Trška have been sent down to Skalica.
New beginnings for Piešťany in the Extraliga Photo: Laco Duračka/shk37piestany.sk
However, there are more teams than Slovan embarking on new adventures next season. After initially toying with the prospect of playing in the EBEL, former 1.liga side ŠHK 37 Piešťany have moved up to the Extraliga, replacing the Bratislava side's spot in the Slovakian top tier. Piešťany, who won the 1.liga in 2009 and 2010 will face a tough task in next years Extraliga, but they have picked up a couple of good players with Extraliga experience. Another team moving onto pastures new are HK Nove Zamky, who have entered the MOL Liga, which features Hungarian and Romanian clubs. Interesting, one of the main reasons that Marián Lukáčik claims moved Nove Zamky to the MOL Liga was due to the new junior rules in the Extraliga, which forbids overagers from playing in the junior leagues. He hopes that by having Nove Zamky in the MOL Liga, it will allow these 21 and 22 year olds will develop better than being dropped in at the deep end in the Slovakian professional leagues, while also the cost of playing in the league is much lower (link). Another looking to enter the MOL Liga were Slovak talent factory HK 38 Dubnica. The club from Pavol Demitra's home town have consistently struggled with securing top level senior hockey in the town, whilst losing many of their best players to the nearby Dukla Trenčín side. However, the SZLH refused to grant permission for Dubnica to join the MOL Liga, while allowing Nove Zamky to enter the international competition. The reasons why Dubnica were not allowed to join the league are rumoured to be due to being unable to secure the merger between the 'new' HK 38 side and the old MHK Dubnica. The outfit look set to take part in the 2.liga next season.
So, another summer of turmoil in Slovakian hockey, which sadly seems to be nothing new. Who knows what the next year will have in store, and although I always try to put a positive spin on things, I am struggling to find anything 'good' about the situation that Slovak hockey finds itself in at this current stage. Maybe things will change, but sadly it seems that the success of the national team at the World Championships may be a failed success if nothing is done by the government or the SZLH.
Fresh of winning gold with Slovakia-18, Martin Reway will move to Gatineau for the 2012/13 season
Photo: qmjhl.ca
Highly skilled forward Martin Reway looks set to follow in the footsteps of many Slovak prospects before him and try his luck in the QMJHL next season. The Gatineau Olympiques will be Reway's team next season, as the Prague born forward leaves HC Sparta Praha and aims to increase his draft stock by playing in the top junior league in Quebec. Reway's path is the one heavily trodden by young Slovak players, who see their best chance of getting drafted to the NHL by playing at least one season in the Canadian Hockey League system. 15 Slovaks (both drafted and undrafted) played in the CHL last year, including 2011 second round pick to the Detroit Red Wings Tomáš Jurčo, who won the QMJHL championship for the second season in succession with the Saint John Sea Dogs. Also present in the QMJHL was undrafted forward Marek Hrivík, who earned an entry level contract with the New York Rangers following a very impressive season with the Moncton Wildcats.
Reway will likely succeed in the QMJHL, a big reason being that it is significantly less physical than the other two Canadian junior leagues. The Prague native is still on the small side, weighing in at only 78kg, so will be introduced slowly onto the smaller ice surfaces and the North American style of play. Reway will likely be the first Slovak taken in the 2013, as the small, speedy forward boasts an array of offensive talent. His point totals at the recent IIHF Division 1 Under-18 World Championships were no doubt inflated by his incredible performance in the game against Norway, where he scored twice and had five assists in the 9:2 victory. While this championship was meant to be Reway's coming out party, it was in fact his team mate, and fellow 2013 prospect Marko Daňo who stole the headlines.
Marko Daňo looks set to shine for Slovan and Slovakia
Photo: hcslovan.sk
Daňo, the son of former Slovakia national team player Jozef Daňo is slowly rising through the ranks and is now a highly touted prospect for the future. He was, like Reway, drafted by HC Slovan Bratislava in the 2012 KHL Draft (Daňo went in the first round, Reway in the second), but instead of moving across the Atlantic, Daňo looks set to be staying in Slovakia, after penning a multi-year deal with the Bratislava based club. However, it is unlikely that the 17 year old forward will play for Slovan next year, with rumours suggesting he will be loaned back to his hometown Extraliga club HK Dukla Trenčín.
Standing at 181cm and weighing in 83kg, Daňo is likely the most "NHL ready" out of recent Slovak prospects, and shone at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Alberta, where he played after just turning seventeen years old, even scoring a goal against Finland. Playing at the lower U-18 level, Daňo racked up the points, scoring 13 points (10+3) in the five games at the Division 1 World Championships.
In an interview with on his new club's website (link),Daňo said: "I had the chance to play overseas, in the WHL [he was taken 60th in the CHL Import Draft by the Prince George Cougars], but when the offer came in from the KHL I cancelled that and came here. The senior league is definitely better for me".
Reway arguably has the higher potential upside, and will probably be taken in the top two rounds, it is fair to say that Daňo doesn't trail far behind. Reway mixes above average skating with soft hands, which make him a netminder's nightmare. Daňo may not have the footspeed of Reway, but he has already shown that he is not one to shy away from contact, and can put the puck in the net with alarming regularity.
Slovakia may not have produced a prospect to rival the likes of Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborík and the late Pavol Demitra in recent years, but in these two, along with the likes of Jurčo, 2010 NHL 2nd round pick Richard Paník as well as the likes of Hrivík and Marek Tvrdoň, there is some optimism in Slovak quarters that the well hasn't completely dried up just yet.
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