Ondřej Bláha admits that his feelings are extraordinary. “I’m amazed at how difficult it is for boys and girls, what they have to coordinate in a wheelchair. You have to have strong abs, shoulders, hats for everyone,” he nodded in agreement.

Václav Veber, who currently plays primarily for Litoměřice in the Chance league, agreed with his friend about the complexities of controlling a wheelchair, but added that they both really enjoyed the new sport. “All credit to the people who played him, it’s very difficult to learn. On the other hand, I’m glad that such a sport can be found here, even for people with disabilities,” says Veber, and he and Blahou agree that sport is nothing new for them, they both watched the World Championships in Ostrava a while back and are fans Czech team weight.

And what do they find most difficult about the sled? Maybe shooting. “It’s tough, you have to take it with a lot of tug and wrist,” said Blaha, who only picked up two hockey sticks as a goalkeeper. “That one, because as a left-handed player I only shoot right.”

Veber has the opposite, but as a defender who can also throw gloves and fight on the ice, he’d rather not go into such discipline on a sled. “I can’t imagine that, I don’t even know if they are allowed to do this?” asked Veber. Sledge is not much different in this respect compared to hockey, players can also chase each other.

Even little boys take part in the training, for example the practical imon Král. He arrived in Kladno all the way from Brno, and had been playing competitive sled hockey for a year and a half in Zlín. “I saw this sport and I immediately loved it,” says the blond boy with practical hands, but with a flaw – higher bone fragility. Nevertheless, he loves to sit on the hockey cart and gets better and better. “In training, it’s not very demanding, but the matches. I was able to play for men only from the age of fifteen, but I’ve tried friendly matches,” boasts a talent who wants to enter the national team one day.

Jagr doesn’t plan to come back much

Jaromír Jágr isn’t just talking about sledding. He was currently training again with the Knights on the ice, but returning to the match wasn’t his first plan. He didn’t even want to reveal it because of the upcoming (?) Winter Hockey Games project, which would present the news at the JJ68 special press conference. “He doesn’t need to play yet and I’m not planning on that anytime soon. I don’t rule it out, but I have to train well, feel good and feel that I can somehow benefit the team, maybe third or fourth.

His knights are last in the table and Jágra is certainly angry about this, although he points out that trouble is inevitable even by better teams like Sparta, Liberec, eské Budějovice or Mladá Boleslav. “They also got into trouble, but the league is still balanced and we are eight points behind in fifth place. It’s about trying to get a string of wins,” the Knights owner hopes and admits that during the break he also thought about a change in the team, perhaps through substitutions. “Everyone is looking, but an exchange is something for something, or sometimes a team just wants to get rid of a player. We look around and if there is an opportunity to strengthen the team with players who will lift us up, we will go after it,” added Jaromír Jágr.