Roughly Translated: Filip Zadina discusses winning the ‘Battle of the Filips’

In the “Battle of the Filips,” Filip Zadina out-dueled Filip Hronek literally and figuratively, scoring the game-winning goal as the two players battled for the puck in HC Ocelari Trinec’s 2-1 victory over Hronek’s HK Mountfield:

After the game, Zadina’s post-game comments were noted by no less than six Czech websites, and I’m going to stick with attempting to translate the Q and A that Zadina gave to HC Ocelari Trinec’s David Jezek as it’s the most faithful to his commentary:

Two great teams met; what are your impressions of the game?

It was a very difficult game, both physically and mentally. It’s always difficult to play against Hradec. They have good power defenders, skillful and fast forwards. We are happy for the victory, these are valuable points for us.

In the end, your shot decided the game, where you directly scored on your teammate from Detroit, Filip Hronek.

I wouldn’t say I “got” Filip. “Fery” held the blue line well, put the puck in the middle of “Marc,” who sent it to me. I tried to shoot between my legs as fast as I could. Hronek went to the other side, so I tried a quick loop and fired. Fortunately, it went in. We led 2-0 and had the game under control.

In the end, you could’ve confirm the win with the second goal, what was missing there?

[Their goalie] played it very well. The ice wasn’t so good anymore, I tried to shoot it, unfortunately it didn’t work out. The puck jumped over my stick, I think I licked it lightly. I then prayed that they would not score a goal on the counterattack. I sprinted back, in the end it turned out well. It’s a bummer, but in the end the two goals were enough.

How do you personally feel playing in the Extraliga? How do you deal with frequent hard play?

It’s a little different than overseas. Players try to defend their opponent’s forwards from getting goals. Sometimes there is something, but it is part of hockey. It’s harder on my head, sometimes my nerves run out. It’s hockey, a hard sport. It is understandable.

You have an amazing season on your back thus far, thirteen games, you’ve scored a point every time. Does that mean anything to you?

I would say we go step by step. When we win, it’s a big plus for us. The whole team steps forward, the goaltenders play great. We must go on with humility and work at 120%. We’ll see how it develops further. We probably can’t win indefinitely, but we will try to stretch the streak as much as possible.

In the end, won’t you regret having to return overseas during the season?

There will be some emotions in [going back]; I like the guys from the team, the team is great. I don’t want it to sound rude, but my goal is to play in the NHL. I am glad that I can be in Třinec and play in a strong Extraliga. The teams are balanced, I believe I will be well prepared. For me, it’s a big step forward that I can play while the others are standing.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.

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