What is the relationship between you and hockey today?

We are not in any relationship at the moment. I’ve been completely calm since hockey and I’ve been completely pain free for over half a year. I played tennis and golf during the summer. I often go to the gym, I ride a bicycle. After all these years, I can do anything, which is a big plus for me.

So, the career break you took at the end of last year was right?

Definitely. How many times have I been in a state where I can’t even go uphill. I especially wanted to be an active dad, and I usually love sports. I’m afraid I can work normally.

However, didn’t you look forward to jumping into the hockey carousel again last year?

I look forward to it, sometimes I’m sorry. I miss hockey so much, it’s not there. But most of all, I think about my health and my family. I don’t regret it.

Haven’t you tried to start training on the ice in the summer?

No, I don’t want to rush. How many times have I felt good and then something happened. Something else is playing tennis or riding a bicycle where your feet are in a normal position, and something else is hockey. In the gates they are just a crack, a crack. We’ll see how it goes, but I definitely want to try again.

Rest definitely helps you mentally, right? You’ve been bothered by how everyone is dealing with whether you’ll still be pursuing and how your career will turn out.

Yes. Before, everyone just wanted to play hockey with me, and it wasn’t fun for me to discuss something I didn’t do well. Leaving Sparta was a huge disappointment for me, but I had to make a decision. Now I’m glad I can go for a walk or bike and the next day I don’t think that I can’t get out of bed.

Due to the workload of Karolína’s wife, sister of hockey player Radek Gudas, you also enjoy a lot of time with your children, understand?

I support my wife as best I can. I invested money in his children’s projects, I helped him with it. Of course, parenting is more up to me now and I really enjoy it. We have a good relationship with the kids and I hope to grow up a bit and be able to start playing sports with them.

Do you watch hockey on TV?

Of course, I’m in the extra league and the NHL, I’m still interested in hockey. I was invited on television to comment on the NHL game. They are slowly starting to get coaching licenses, I want to stick with hockey. It would be much better at the gate, but I’d like to be prepared for a variant that won’t work. I want to share what I have learned in America for thirteen years. I went through the good and the bad.

Are you still in touch with Sparta? In the previous two seasons, you were on his list, although you waited in vain to start an additional league due to health issues.

Yes, I’m in touch with goalkeeping coach Petr Přikryl. He will help me with a coaching license, I need to immediately get involved in working with the goalkeeper at Sparta.

So, even in the role of coach, will you test your performance in goal?

Appropriate. I will not be afraid to catch. I believe that if I feel healthy, I can jump into the extra league and chase it. But the important thing is that I can do it every day.

Do you think it’s possible for you to take on an extra league game for Sparta this season?

I don’t know, it’s hard to say. I don’t think about it now. I want to keep it like Christmas until now, and I will leave it open at the start of the new year. Somehow that will change.

What do you think about how Sparta has almost always lost the lead in the last four games at the end, twice two goals and at Olomouc even three goals? Instead of twelve points, he got three.

It shouldn’t have happened to a team like that four times. It could happen once or twice, but that too will be a consideration. Four times is really too much. However, I’m sure Sparta has a team that is experienced and will bounce back. Every best team goes through a crisis, and Sparta has the power to turn it on and make a winning streak.

Twelve Czech goalkeepers are fighting for a place in the NHL. What keeps Czech hockey having no problems with this post, when the world leader as a whole is running away from it?

Very interesting, we always do well with the goalkeepers. There is huge competition between goalkeepers in the Czech Republic, you really have to add extra. Every year, several quality goalkeepers are led and they move forward with each other. At the same time, we have a good goalkeeper.

On the other hand, no Czech has a number one position in the NHL.

We haven’t seen anyone like that in a long time. For the last time, perhaps Tomáš Vokoun has an unshakable position, then Pávec (Ondřej Pavelec, editor’s note) for several years. But hard to follow, every organization in the NHL has some quality goalkeepers.

Which of the Czech goalkeepers attracted you at the start of the NHL season?

I really wish Vlady success (To Daniel Vlada), who has a great figure and has the ability to establish a stable position in the NHL. Then I really like Lukáš Dostál, his catching style and how calm he is in goal. For me, that is the biggest hope for me in Czech hockey.

Somewhat surprising, Karel Vejmelka caught five games for Arizona, who should have been fighting on the farm.

He did it, I see. Hat down, this is never easy. Although you feel better when you have nothing to lose, Karel should come to training camp in top shape. He won the place and it’s up to him how he will work. He is in a weaker team, every game will be in a big team, which could help him look around in his first season in the NHL.