What reasons ultimately decided for Chomutov?
There are several of them and it is difficult to choose the most important one. We are in a situation where no one knows if spectators will be admitted to the winter stadiums in two months at all. The distance was also decisive, but the most important criterion was that the stadium met the conditions of the extra league. This means a capacity of five thousand seats, of which 3.5 thousand for seating.
So the selection narrowed to Prague’s Holešovice and Chomutov …
Exactly. In Holešovice, we would have much more difficult conditions for negotiating advertisements. You have to return something to the signed partners, Sparta has its partners, we have ours, and we would run into each other. There was no problem with that in Chomutov, because they only play a regional competition there and they will meet our needs.
Jagr has already found asylum for the extra league! Prague fell, where will Kladno play home matches?
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In Kladno you were used to playing on narrow ice, how will it be in Chomutov?
There is a width of 28 meters, so such a middle road. No airport like in Holešovice. Together with the Spartan O2 arena, we have the only narrow ice rink in Kladno similar to the one in the NHL. And the fans were able to see for themselves at our national team at this year’s World Cup what a difference it is to play training on narrow ice and then on a wide tournament. It’s a diametric difference. I admit that we have also brought six overseas reinforcements for the narrower rink, which are used to it.
New reinforcement of Kladno Jake Dotchin
Knights of Kladno
Namely goalkeeper Bow, defender Dotchin, who played over 100 NHL games, Donaghey, Wood and strikers Ciampini with Christ. Isn’t that a little too much and a risk?
I knew that we would not have the best Czech players who had already been dismantled a long time ago during our promotion to the extra league. That’s why we reached for foreigners who, from our point of view, can be better than boys who left after the season. I believe that all foreign players will be of good quality, except for one, they are all over 190 centimeters, which I like especially with defenders when they are respected. The attackers Ciampini and Crist again proved that they can score goals and I count on them in the first line with Pleky (Tomáš Plekance) in the center.
How difficult was it to convince overseas players of a contract with Kladno?
I always tell players or their agents in advance that we are not a club that can pay players. But I believe that money is not everything. That opportunity is also important. There are a lot of people, not only in hockey, who didn’t get it to make it through. We will give them the opportunity to show all the other teams that they are better than they thought. And then they can go elsewhere in a year and earn money. Show yourself, give me your maximum and next time go and earn somewhere else. That is my philosophy.
New Kladno coach Jeff Paul
Knights of Kladno
In addition, Paul, a Canadian who worked in the Canadian Junior OHL, comes as an assistant coach. How did you find him?
Pleky has the greatest credit for that. Already during the last season, we thought that it would be necessary to bring a Canadian to the coaching staff. They can get the most out of the players, and mainly focus on the details that decide in the extraleague. I believe that it will move us in the right direction.
Will Paul also function as such a link between coaches and foreign players?
I would say that this is how it worked when choosing six overseas reinforcements. Such a number of foreign players is quite a big bite.
What are Kladno’s ambitions for the season?
By not playing at home, they have changed a bit. I believed that we would be able to put together a team that would compete with all rivals. We will not make up our minds, the goal is clear – to stay in the extra league, from which two teams can descend. The absence of a home environment is very unpleasant, but I also take it as a challenge!
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Jaromír Jágr with his Kladno jersey for the new season.
Michal Krumphanzl, ČTK
How?
If I cried over spilled milk, I wouldn’t help myself. I always said when someone complained or whined that what else is getting to our knees is taking us to heaven. And we have to keep going.
How are you looking forward to the season? In seven months you will celebrate fifty …
I no longer consider myself to be the player who will decide the matches, but rather the one who will play in the fourth line and sometimes in the power play. I’m just changing from a player to the role of a manager. I’m not saying I play because I have to, but it’s better for our team financially. But I know that I am no longer such a benefit to be able to play at the top level. I’m a realist and I know what a hockey player I was and what I am now. But I still believe that my presence in the booth among the players will be a certain benefit.
At the same time, you certainly don’t want your fans to laugh at you for their performances on the ice …
You have to weigh against each other – on the one hand, what will help the team, and on the other; how to call it; embarrassment and ridicule. I don’t think I have to prove anything to anyone in my career. I take it that even if I feel embarrassed, I will do it for the team if it helps.
Jagr broke free! Kladno has a Canadian coach and six reinforcements, some with NHL experience
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Do you still enjoy hockey?
Of course, I wouldn’t play it otherwise. But if you ask me this question on different days, the answer will be different too. When you’re doing well, you enjoy it more. That’s the way it is in every job. When you fail, something hurts or you are injured, you ask yourself: Do you need it? Is it worth it to you? But we’re only once in this life, and as long as I can, I’ll help.
Would you like to be in the Kladno team from the first round, or do you plan to jump in later?
If I feel like I can fit in the lineup, I would play from the beginning. But I think we will have a pretty busy team. If I’m not able to get to the four lines, I won’t push anywhere and I’ll wait until I get in shape.
When you were preparing for the season last year, you complained that you weighed almost 120 kilograms. How is it this year, do you look thinner?
It’s a little better than last year, but it’s not just about weight. It is mainly about combining managerial work with sports. Mentally and physically, it is very demanding. It’s hard for anyone to empathize with my role.
Did you manage to relax on holiday during the summer?
I was in Spain for nine days, but all the restrictions, checks and tests because of the covid made me so disgusted that I thought I wouldn’t go anywhere again for a long time. Fourteen days later I couldn’t blow my nose …
Jardo, you’re acting like an idiot! The mayor of Reporyja went to Jagr for vaccination
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During the summer, you rejected Prime Minister Babiš’s offer to become the face of a vaccination campaign against the covid. What do you think about vaccination?
I’ll keep it to myself. I’ve always been of the opinion that I don’t want to tell or advise anyone what to do. Everyone should decide according to what they consider best for themselves. Why should an athlete tell someone if he should be vaccinated or not? We have a million experts here to comment on this. I waited for the doctoral elite to sit down and say the pros and cons to the vaccination. It’s nonsense for a hockey player to chase a puck all his life.
I understand …
But that doesn’t mean I’m for or against vaccination. I just don’t want to share my opinion so as not to influence anyone. And I’m not just talking about vaccinations. I learned my lesson, because when I said my opinion publicly, it usually turned against me. That’s why I try to take care of my things.
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