Eurolanche

Thank you, Hejda, for everything

The following article was originally written in Slovak by Eurolanche’s David Puchovsky.

In 2011, when Jan Hejda came to the Colorado Avalanche, I wrote him a welcome e-mail in the name of every member of Eurolanche. Sadly, I didn’t receive an answer. But I knew that I’d get to meet Hejda just a few months after his arrival as part of the Eurolanche Invasion IV. Until then, we were mostly used to meeting Peter Budaj, who left the exact same year. Budaj was very friendly to fan club members during our previous three invasions and met with us several times both in Denver, or elsewhere.  We endeared him to us mostly because we met before we went on our first trip to Denver. He even knew me before I found the Eurolanche fan club. I wasn’t expecting much from Hejda, because of the fact that we hadn’t had any previous relationships. I was wrong.

During the last four years, Hejda became the best player-friend the Eurolanche fan club’s ever had. After he personally met us in Denver, he didn’t shy away from anything, was always very open and always offered his help. Not once did he forget to stop by after a game, even if it wasn’t always a win. If there was a chance, he’d always take several of us directly into the Colorado locker room, a place fans normally don’t get a chance to visit. Every time the players practiced during an off-day, he’d swing by the training facility and have lunch. Countless autographs went without saying; not only on player headshots, but on hockey cards, jerseys, or hats and pucks as well. He never refused to sign something, even if he knew that we already had countless valuable souvenirs. He also met with us during summer, when he could’ve used the time off to spend more time with his family and relatives in the Czech Republic, whom he doesn’t get to see all year. He met with us twice in Prague, with Milan Hejduk also being there once. He always answered, always wrote back and always gave an interview. The interviews became very popular amongst the fans. The Americans like them too, because we always translated them. Recently, a fan like this wrote that he’ll really miss those kinds of interviews.

Sadly, it won’t just be the interviews that we’ll miss. The Colorado management chose to shake up the defense and thus didn’t offer Hejda a new contract. He’s now (as of Friday evening) looking for a new employer. We have one final interview ahead of us and that’ll be the end of it. Hejda became Eurolanche’s best friend and he’s always supported us. Also, we are very grateful to Peter Budaj, Marek Svatos, Milan Hejduk or David Koci, who were among the Czechs and Slovaks that expressed their sympathies towards the fan club, with some of them even helping us. Hejda, though, rose to No. 1 and stood out, which is something I’m not hesitant to mention.

Although we might not meet as often as we did in the past, we’ll always remember how friendly an athlete earning millions acted towards us. Arrogance, common amongst the new generation of athletes, wasn’t to be found in his case. The best one could describe him would be as a friendly, funny (many of us laughed countless times), honest and helpful person. Nobody ever told him to give the Eurolanche fan club any special treatment. He could’ve kept his distance and only do the necessary, in which case we wouldn’t, or couldn’t object. He did the exact opposite. Hejda crossed a line and invited us to spend a few days in his hockey world. In turn, we cheered even more, spread word about him and valued him the most out of any Avalanche player. Sure, he could’ve done just fine without it, but he didn’t think about it that way. Most of all, he thought of a crazed group of fans, who've traveled half the globe to get to meet him and the Avalanche.

Thanks to Hejda’s willingness and friendship, I developed a relationship, in which I couldn’t ever criticize him. Nor could I ever criticize his play. I’d like him to stay in Colorado for four more years and then settle down with his family in Denver. Because I’m a journalist in everyday life, I understand that not being able to criticize someone just because he’s your good friend isn’t right. But really, what’s right in this case? Who can really tell? We didn’t know any boundaries with Hejda. He didn’t ever shy away. He never kept his distance. He became our friend. It was such a special situation that it needed special reactions and treatment. I’d really like us to find a similar cornerstone in another Colorado player, but I have my doubts.

When you’ve gotten this far, it’s probably useless to explain in detail why the start page Eurolanche.com is dedicated to Jan Hejda and why we’ll be featured in our articles for the next three days (with the only exceptions being breaking news). It’s a form of honor, with which we’d like to say a big THANK YOU to a player with a capital “P”.

Jane, Honzo, we thank you for everything we could experience during the past four years thanks to you. For the meetings, the autographs, the arrangements, the interviews… It was an honor for us to have experienced it with you. You provided unforgettable experiences. It’s a shame it has to end. We wish you the best in your hockey future. We wish it the most we’ve ever wished to any other former Avalanche player.

We will miss you.

Thank you.