Do you feel great relief that Kladno remains extra-league?
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We knew it would be difficult and had no idea how to proceed with a 40-day break before the play. We trained well, but it was still a lot of luck. Until the fourth match of the draw, which was affected by the penalty for the goalkeeper Zhukov until the end of the match, all the others stretched to the third period.
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But you have mastered them except one, so you can celebrate.
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Hats off to our fans. In the barracks behind us to Chomutov, they rode in large numbers, we had every match sold out. They tried to ride the whole season, although one (70 kilometers long trip) takes an hour and a quarter. Going to Chomutov when you finish work at five in the afternoon? Thank you for that.
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The reward is that they will be able to enjoy the extra league next season at the reconstructed wintering ground in Kladno. Will you be on the ice with it?
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I will prepare (during the summer break) as if I had to board. If I don’t play, at least I’ll lose weight. I really don’t know, I have to think and see what kind of players we have and who is free. The barrage showed me something.
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That we have some great players. And the rest of the fighters who are sometimes confused by the puck. (laughs) I’m one of them. But seriously, a few players flew so hard up during the play. I believe that we will build a solid manchaft.
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You started composing it a few months ago, didn’t you?
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Clearly. I’ve been thinking about it all along, I’ve kind of put it together during this season. The advantage is that a lot of players from the current staff want to continue. And a hat down in front of those like Nicolas Hlava or Marek Baránek, whom we knew in advance that they had already signed elsewhere for next season. They played the playoffs to the maximum, excellent. I can’t say anything against them, even though we knew they were going somewhere else in a month.
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Canadian goalkeeper Landon Bow celebrates, Kladno has remained in the extra league.Photo: Slavomír Kubeš, CTK
So you want to continue?
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It’s hard to say that taste. I’m more tired of every match. On the other hand, when I’m part of training, I know when the team is tired. Whether to add in training or not. It’s just that when you’re on the ice, tactics are done much better or you can feel how we should play. It is sometimes difficult for a coach. Seeing something behind the switch or playing it is something else.
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You mentioned a 40-day break between the last match of the basic part of the extra league and the playoffs. Did you solve the big dilemma of how to approach training? Should I slow down or go the other way around?
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Well, I don’t think I had too many fans in the cabin … Mathematically, I thought that if we’re as tired as our opponent (after the Chance League playoffs), we’ll do them. I wanted us to train the way they do. We didn’t miss a single workout, sometimes we trained twice a day.
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Tomáš Plekanec from Kladno scores a goal for Jihlava goalkeeper Adam Wolf in the 4th duel of the draw.Photo: Libor Plíhal, CTK
In the end, it turned out to be the right way, didn’t it?
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I don’t know if it turned out to be the right way, but we stayed in the extra league. That’s important.
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Also thanks to the famous Tomáš Plekanc. He was your best player all season and with an average of two points per match he also shone in the playoffs …
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If he is not the best player in the league, then the most useful is definitely. Not only does he score goals and pass to them, but he is on the ice with every weakening, with every important bull. He played 25 minutes per match. I don’t think there will be a more useful player in the extraleague. And after the New Year, Adam Kubík grew from match to match.
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Kladno Knights hockey player Adam Kubík celebrates the opening goal of the hockey extra league against Jihlava.Photo: Slavomír Kubeš, CTK
With eight goals and four assists in five matches, he was the most productive player in the draw …
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Maybe he’s knocking on the national team’s door. They should try it.
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Kubík should continue in Kladno. Will this happen to Plekance, whose contract ends?
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Leave it to us. (smiles)
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