Last night around this time, I posted a translation of an article in which new Red Wings forward Dominik Kubalik spoke with NHL.cz after a charity hockey game in Prague, and there’s a similar article out there in which Kubalik speaks with the CTK News Agency. The article has many similar themes to the NHL.cz article, but this one offers some new quips and quotes as well, so, here we go:
Kubalik: Detroit means new blood in my veins; I believe it will work
Prague: Hockey forward Dominik Kubalik has had his first jersey change in the NHL. His tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks ended with a not-so-successful season, both personally and as a team. Thanks to signing a 2-year, $5 million contract, a new stage of his overseas career awaits him in Detroit. Today, the just-turned-27-year-old Kubalik believes that his move to the Red Wings will be an impetus for his star to rise again.
With the new contract, which he signed on July 13th, the first day of the opening of the free agent market, the Pilsen native was relieved. “A person in a similar position always has the urge to question whether it will work out, where things will go, what position he will have and the like. But after the talks with Detroit, it poured new blood into my veins, and I believe it will work,” Kubalik says in an interview with journalists.
He has very good feeling about his contact with Detroit, which is managed by former outstanding forward Steve Yzerman, who is the team’s general manager.
“They told me how they see me as a player, and what they expect, which is nice when the GM tells you that he’s taking you onto the team as a goal-scorer. I’m not saying that I’m a goal-scorer who will score 50 goals in a season. I wish it were so…But I’m definitely a finisher in the end rather than some great creator. And that’s why they have me there–to shoot. They also want to use me on power plays, which is always nice for a forward when he hears this,” said Kubalik.
“I’m also looking forward to it because it’s another ‘Original Six’ team, which has always been talked about, and is being talked about the most. Even when I was little, I felt a lot about [the Red Wings], and I think that Detroit is a team with a big name and reputation,” he added.
With Detroit, he should meet familiar faces–compatriots Filip Hronek, Filip Zadina and Jakub Vrana. “The Czech colony will be quite a change for me. I was already alone in Chicago. Now there will be four of us. We know each other, and I believe that we can help each other to play as well as possible,” he noted.
That’s why he’s looking forward to his new place of work. “New momentum is always good. The guys are talking great things about Detroit, so I can’t wait for it all to start. Of course, in the beginning it will be a little hectic before I settle in and look around, but I’ve never had a big problem with it, so I believe that it will be a matter of a few days, and I will be fine,” Kubalik said.
He knows very well that he needs to show his best again. Goals and points on his account decreased, even though he played in the most games [of his career] during the last season. “From the first season, I had a bit of a downward trend. I think the second one was very good, but the third one, it just didn’t work out,” he doesn’t hide.
“I think almost all of us struggled, which was visible in results. I scored few goals. It took a toll on me. Goals are expected of me, I take that responsibility, and I tried to fight with it. Then it, it kind of broke in the last 15 games, which were already pretty good, but it came [too] late.”
For a short time, he even found himself out of the lineup, and remained in the stands instead. “You kind of turn your mind off, just like the whole sport. When you have a clear head, it’s fun, and you enjoy it, but when it’s the other way around, you certainly don’t enjoy it as much any more. And that’s how it went in my case,” stated Kubalik.
He took everything as a valuable experience. “Each season has been completely different. The first was interrupted [by the pandemic], the second was shortened from the beginning, and the third was completely new for me, in that it was played the way it really should be. Now I dare to say that there’s nothing to surprise me any more. I hope to get back to where I was. Not only do I believe that I can play in the NHL, but I also know that I can score goals there. It’s just a matter of showing that again, and being good. When I play well, I believe that after that I’ll really score goals,” said Kubalik.
The Red Wings are completing a rebuild of the team, and want to return to the elite of the NHL. “I think that the signings alone show that Detroit wants to go upward, which of course is also nice when you go to a team where there’s ambition. I’m glad they chose me, they trust me, and I’ll be a part of it. I hope they know that I will repay that trust.”
He wants to prepare as best as possible for the upcoming season. “I wasn’t at the World Championship, so I had a month of more time, and thus a longer rest and summer preparation, which is exactly what I needed. And I believe that it will show in the season,” Kubalik said.
“I’ve been training on the ice for two or three weeks now, three times a week. I’ve been training with Pilsen since Monday, so I’m already in my normal state. Hopefully the season will be at least like the first one in Chicago. That would be great,” he added.
