Very, very briefly:
1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James noted that Daniel Cleary, Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula are golfing with Erik Karlsson in Scotland, and you’ll find a picture of Niklas Kronwall in Karlsson’s Instagram feed as well:
2. The Red Wings are promoting their fantasy camp…
For the first time, #RedWings Fantasy Camp is coming to @LCArena_Detroit! Don’t miss your chance to skate with Hockeytown Legends! #LGRW
Participants must be 21 years of age or older to register. Presented by @budweiserusa.
Visit: https://t.co/vjO44v380x pic.twitter.com/agnAXSrmER
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 10, 2018
3. And this is a little late, but I could use a hand with a Filip Hronek interview given to Mountfield HK Hradek Kralove about a week ago. Hronek speaks at length about his pro career, but the Google translation thereof comes out as garble. Please let me know if you can lend a hand in translating the interview.
Translation:
He has a successful season. Hradecký odchovanec Filip Hronek in the past year took his good performances at the Detroit Red Wings farm and also deserved a nomination for the World Championship, where he was one of the most exalted defenders. Now he’s already enjoying hard dry summer preparations. What are the goals for the coming year and what does he say about the draft NHL?
Philippe, did you have a successful year as you did the first days after?
After the World Cup I had three weeks off, I did not do anything. Since last Wednesday I started to train, so already normal preparation for the new season.
How do you prepare for individual training?
Exactly. I train individually in Hradec with Jarda Svoboda.
Are the workouts challenging? Do you try to adapt them to your needs in any way?
Yes, Jarda is trying to make training so that it suits me and helps. And, of course, it’s hard to do, it’s about dry training. It’s nothing pleasant (smiles).
Have you made any holiday or are you planning any more?
No, nothing is waiting for me, I have a rest at home. I spent free days with friends and family, so I relaxed.
The goal is to fight for the Detroit base
What are the prospects for the coming days where you are returning to the United States?
I’ll be training myself for a while. Once here in Hradec the boys go to the ice, I will join them. I’m so glad they allowed me here. When I fly to America, I do not know yet.
Are there any camps waiting for you in the United States?
Waiting for me to the main camp, this year I do not have to be a newcomer camp, that’s great for me. The Novice Camp already started, there are Rybka (Patrik Rybár) and Záda (Filip Zadina).
How do you see your future by the sea, do you have any clues as to how it should look like?
I do not have any clues yet, but we will see. I’m doing everything to get it done.
The goal is to fight in the Detroit base and play NHL, is not it?
Surely, the target is probably the same, but on the other hand there is a lot of players and it will be very challenging to be successful.
English? No problem, it’s not often that I do not know
You spent the second year in the sea, how do you like it and live?
This was a bit different this year than last year, I was living alone, I was not living with my family. I had my own apartment, so more comfort, except for some things like cooking, washing … (smiling) The man was already tired in the second half of the season. But it is again the home comfort. When one comes home and nobody disturbs it, it’s nice.
How do you like English? Do you still have any gaps in it or are you already communicating without problems?
I may have a handicap in it when it comes to some heavy words, but it’s no problem. It does not happen very often that I do not know anything, I’m already handling all these things.
How satisfied with the past year?
Of course I am happy, the beginning was more demanding. But then I played more and more, my coach started to trust me so it was great.
The confidence of a coach is certainly very important, is not it?
Sure, this is the case every time the coach believes you and lets you play in important situations. Then you feel better and you believe in the puck, you are easier to play. And I felt the coach believed me more and more every game.
Representation? Probably the most you can do
Then came nominations for the world championship, was it a noble cherry on the cake?
Certainly, somebody does not have to do that, to get into a grownup. It’s probably the most you can do to represent your country in such a tournament. It was really cool!
Can you score at this event just how much you came from congratulations from Hradec?
Some news, of course, came, it was a couple of congratulations from my friends, I’m sure they were pleased.
Is the World Event Championship that can help you in the NHL? Or is not he looking much at the sea?
It certainly helped me play against the NHL players and try to find out what it is like against the Swedes, who probably had seventeen overseas players there.
What was it like to come to the team at the last minute and see the ace in the cabin like Tomas Plekanec?
It was so strange. I was flying the last one, the day before my training in Prague I still played the last play off game we lost. The next afternoon, I flew to Bohemia, I arrived and I went to training. So I was on the ice with my boys before I met them.
There were also some players that you basically knew by name?
No, probably not. I knew the boys either from the extraligy or the youth categories if they were younger. So there was no such problem.
It is nice to have a friend from the sea at sea
What do you think you have moved the most in the past year?
I think I have moved the most in defensive play, I improved again in the defensive zone, probably.
What do you want to improve the most?
I certainly have to pick up some muscle and I still have to work on my defensive play.
In the first year behind the sea you had two mentors – Martin Frk and Tomas Nosko. Are you ready for this role now perhaps you have to stand alone with Patrick Rybar or Filip Zadina?
Sure, both of them know quite well. Against Wrestling, we played quite a lot here in the youth categories, so we know each other. And of course I know Rybku for two years now, so we’ve solved it together now, when he was supposed to sign and call the coaches, so I helped him a bit when he needed something.
Do you feel positively that other players you know from here are moving to your team?
Of course, it is more pleasant to talk sometimes Czech and not just to Americans and Canadians. It’s good to have friends there from your own country.
For young Hradec boys, the route to the group is open
Did you watch the way of Hradec in the course of the season? Or how often was it all the time?
Sure, when I had time and taste, I watched the rest of the matches, I believed that the guys would reach as long as possible.
The goals were not fully filled, but the second time in the semifinals is probably not too bad, right?
Sure, to be twice in the semifinals, it will not do that anymore, it’s nice. Unfortunately, it was not a medal, but it was certainly a good result, maybe it was looking higher, but it’s a sport.
In the coming season, the young players should be given space. Do you perceive it as a Hradec Parent in a positive light?
Certainly. The guys will not be easy, but it’s open to them when the club goes out this way and gives a chance to young players. Before that, it was a bit complicated here, there were a lot of older experienced players, through which it was hard to get into the set. But on the other hand, these guys helped me a lot. Whether it was Jardu Bednáře, Jardu Kudrnu, Renda Vydareny, Friga (Peter Frühauf), Čapín (Zdeněk Čápa) … These guys helped me a lot, whether in hockey or in normal life, it was a big school for me.
What do you think of Kenny Holland letting Nosek go to Las Vegas for nothing?
Kenny is not so smart. He plays General Manager like a…how do you say? A Weather vane. Which every way Wind Blows He goes.
Thanks Mr. Damndog.
Weathervane should be pointing west at Seattle now…
I don’t understand how people are disappointed with KH letting a forth line guy go when other teams were taken to the cleaners by Vegas.
I don’t think the two really have to do with one another. One was an expansion draft and the second was a trade dead line acquisition.
And prior to the expansion and entry draft the Wings claimed they were short on Centerman, why not protect Nosek? I would rather have Nosek over Filppula who was supposedly in the running to sign as a free agent. Just my opinion.
But, it was more a joke than anything. Don’t be so serious and have some fun.
sigh.
KH may be a lot of things, but a ‘weather vane’? 🙂
I hope it’s obvious that everything except the weathervane is the real deal interview. Not sure my translator is any better than what George had, but you still get a sense of what the dialog is all about. .
JD,
I say weather vane, because KH seems IMHO to go from one idea to the next and back again. I.E. ‘Wings are rebuilding on the Fly.’ The Wings are not in full rebuild’ back to ‘trying to sneak into the playoffs and anything can happen. None of that is verbatim.
He appears similar to some management types I’ve worked with—seldom wanting to be pinned down, always wanting to leave most options on the table ’til decision time.
And, yes, I now get your message. 🙂
Gotta have a little fun with things.