today 16:55
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Pavel Regonda’s parents have no experience in hockey or sports. Therefore it cannot be said that the children have inherited the goals from their father or mother. First was born Radoslav, who is nine years older than Pavol. It was with him that his father began to go to hockey stadiums.
The successful future rep first got on skates when he was not even two years old
When Pavol was born, they started carrying a small pendant with them. “You just said he just wanted to go too. As soon as he started talking more, he immediately ordered that he wanted to go on the ice. There was no other way out. He was on the ice for the first time when he didn’t have not even two years “, Martin Regonda surprised us.
Rado was engaged in hockey until he went to high school. Then he had health problems, after which he broke off his relationship with hockey and never resumed it. However, he stayed with the sport and studied physical education. He is a fitness instructor and is also dedicated to a healthy diet. “They both consult about diet and things like that“ continued the father.
At first Pavol only got to know the ice behind the strip that separated two thirds of the rink from the third where the beginners took their first steps. However, it didn’t take him long and he was already confused with the nonsense of training. “Essentially, since the age of two or three, he’s been on the ice in one piece.”
The future representative played hockey very well from an early age. He regularly played with the elderly. The coaches saw that he was smart, so they cheered him up. It was probably the main indication that something might happen to the boy. If he constantly measures his strength against the older ones and is among the youngest in individual teams, this is a factor that does not go unnoticed by experts and managers.
“Paľo was about 14 years old, he went to the gym, when we were approached by the Swiss agent Louis Liesch, who represents Christián Jaroš and Peť Cehlárik. Christián’s father contacted us and we met with him in Košice. Even then they wanted to transfer him. abroad We were worried, so we decided to let him stay in Slovakia.
He played for Spišská Nová Ves in the first half of high school and Michalovce withdrew him for the second half because the boys were looking to get into the extra league. At the beginning of the following school year, a joint representative event was held for pupils in the 17th and 18th grades. A player got injured and then they brought Paľ into project 18. he played there for two seasons and in 2017 made his debut in the under 18 championship in Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves “.
The Slovaks then lost to the Russians in a memorable quarter-final drama after losing 2: 3 in extra time. After the tournament, the 17-year-old went to try his luck in Sweden. The first in Linköping and the second in Växjö. He has both played in the U20 category. No wonder he was not absent even at the toilets of this age group.
Martin Regenda with his wife Dana and three children: 29-year-old Andrea, 31-year-old Radoslav and 22-year-old Pavlo
Source: MR archive
“After the championship at 18, we already agreed that, if he wants to progress, he has to go beyond the borders. There was also a project for the 20s, but practically only for half of the season after the World Cup at the beginning of the year. That’s why we decided on Northern Europe. Two years in Sweden and one at Jokerit in Finland “.
Martin Regonda does not hide the fact that as parents he didn’t care about everything when they had to send their son to Sweden. However, Pavol was independent and could take care of himself. Whether it was during the six months mentioned in Spišská Nová Ves, or later in the eighteen-year project in Liptovský Mikuláš and Bratislava. A big plus was that he was learning English at the same time as hockey. At first he only understood, but he didn’t speak it.
“That’s why he started going to a woman just to talk to him and became more confident in communication. Later, he learned the language completely abroad. Now we consider it a huge advantage, because he removed a possible handicap after arriving. abroad”.
Of course, his stay in Scandinavia benefited him not only in the language, but above all in hockey. “Pało himself told me that when he got there, he saw that the boys were in a completely different place. The juniors were already at such a level that everyone knew exactly what to do. Finished hockey players.”
He returned home in the summer of 2020. The coronavirus pandemic raged around the world. Everything was closing up, there was nowhere to travel and no one knew what was going to happen. Even the clubs themselves didn’t know what they were doing. Signing players, not signing players? “There were so many offers, so he decided to try it at home. He started training with the team, they took him for a test and eventually passed it. They agreed, and then it quickly went downhill.” , smiled the father of the skilled hockey player.
And the decline was brutally fast. Michaloviec’s coach Tomek Valtonen kept the talented young man, who played two seasons for the “foxes”, started at the Olympic Games, where he won bronze, and at the World Championships, where he scored five goals. Another shock came in the summer: a call from the NHL.
“When the first articles about the NHL’s possible interest in Regenda were published, I asked myself: gosh, aren’t the reporters exaggerating a bit? I was afraid he would become a big halo and then nothing. We learned of the signing of the contract on the eve of its official publication on the Anaheim website. Paľo called us saying he has a contract with Anaheim on the table. I know there were more NHL clubs in the game. It was up to Paľ and his current agent, Marcelo Sakáč, who they would prefer. So far it seems that they have made the right decision “, Dodal Martin Regenda
