Eurolanche

Interview with Hejda for Eurolanche (2.)

Three members of Eurolanche visited Denver in December 2011. One of the results of the fourth successful trip is the co-operation with Jan Hejda. We bring you the exclusive interview with Jan every month. The latest edition is about the finished season and its rating. We also asked Jan on questions which Eurolanche members sent.

March: Interview with Hejda for Eurolanche (1.)

How would you rate the finished season?

I feel disappointment at the first moment because we did not make the playoffs. But at the other hand we had the youngest team, the fewest experiences and the lowest payroll. When I am thinking about it with a time lag, I think we did not make the shame. I know many players have not contracts If the team will stay together and maybe some new players will come, it would be better. The season was good, young players got more experiences.

What is you prediction for the next season?

I think we will avoid things which lost our last season in the next year. There could be seen inexperience in some games. Experienced players know how to look at games. It is clear that some NHL teams are good and some worse. But this is the NHL and we could not think we will win the game against the worst team on 100%. We would loss it by ourselves. If we will avoid mistakes and have more experiences, I have no doubts about the playoffs.

What do you say on your first year as the Av?

The first half of the season was not according to my ideas. I moved and was arranging life at the new place. I injured at the camp and missed few practices. It was not about these practices. I came back too early. If the player is not ready for 100%, he could not be good. It was also about the mentality. The second half was good. We agreed on that with coaches.

The biggest surprise of the season?

Landeskog for everybody for sure. We saw he was not going to have problems to get to the roster at the camp. But nobody awaited he could score so many goals and that he would play with great overview of the play. If you look at him, you can say he has had experiences. He was on the right place in the right time. I hope he will stay here as long as possible.

The worst disappointment of the season?

Missed out the playoffs of course. We expected we would be there. We fought for that to the final moment. When we lost a game against better team, it is understandable. For me, the biggest disappointments were losses with teams like Edmonton or Columbus. For example, I wanted to beat my former team every time.

Why you failed to win in the key games (for example with Coyotes)?

Phoenix Coyotes are special team. They are not dangerous, but won all the time. I would say we failed due lack of experiences. We had good time (east coast trip) and were in euphoria. We were thinking we are already in the playoffs. Then we played with San Jose, Phoenix and they beat us. We found out it is going to be so simple. I think if we would beat Sharks, we would be in the playoffs now..

How it looks like with Milan Hejduk?

I think he has taste for the playing. According to what I have heard, it depends now on the team if they will make offer for him. We will see if the coach will want. It would be shame to have not had him there. He has many experiences. It does not mean he will not score 20 goals again, when he did not do it one time.

Martin Svoboda/Marian Nikl: Why you are not going to play on the world championships?

I just talked with the manager of the Czech team today. Unfortunately, I had to say him I am going to surgery of the wrist on Monday. I though it is possible to delay it after the tournament. But the team has said the clear no. The therapy could take 4-6 months. They had worries I would not catch the start of the new season. I thanked to manager of the national team for the interest. I was also in Columbus recently. I met with the doctor who treated me in the past. He also said me the surgery is necessary as soon as possible.

Andrej Foldi: Who are the biggest joker and the most serious player in the locker room?

O´Brien still creates some jokes and Erik Johnson too. The serious kinds of persons are Hejduk and Kobasew. Chuck is a clever player and knows what to say.

We will inform you about the upcoming interviews on our Facebook and Twitter accounts few hours before we made them. Sometimes you will get special alert directly to your inboxes. The next interview should be made before the start of the new season.

Meeting with Jan Hejda

I would like to inform you about the summer meeting with Jan Hejda. It should be organized at the end of July 2012 during the latest weekend in Prague, Czech Republic. All Eurolanche members are invited. Jan will answer on your questions, give you autographs and also you will able to make a photo with him. I will let you know more details later in June.