Tampere (from our reporter) – Even in such a short period of time, it was possible to see how Rulík’s assistant, who is in charge of the defensive game at the national team, makes a living from coaching.
When Radim Rulík offered you to go with him from the twenties to the national team in June, did you immediately know that you would not refuse him?
I took a few days to think.
What convinced you to nod?
Our collective, it really worked for us in our twenties. We haven’t had a single hint of a submarine in two World Cups. It worked great between us, we got along. This played an important role.
Photo: Jan Beneš/Czech hockey
Marek Židlický (left) with Radim Rulík.
And so you transferred the system with which you celebrated success in the 20s to the A. Was it more difficult to teach him already adults and finished players?
I don’t see a significant difference, the guys reacted well to it in the twenties here as well. It’s all new for the boys in A, they have a lot of matches in the current season. It’s about how they react to us. They played very well against Sweden from the first substitution. The night after the match, I played everything again on the computer. I liked how all the defensive pairings worked, how they performed.
Do you always do that, that you play it again on the day of the match and look for mistakes and positives?
Not again. I wanted to go over some things that were on my mind at the moment so that I could then say something to the players.
Editing of the match of the Karjala tournament Sweden-Czech RepublicVideo: Czech hockey
Do you have to adapt your active play system somehow to your opponent?
No. We stare at ourselves. To give 100% performance, it all starts with this. When you play against a top team and you don’t give them a chance to get going, they don’t stand a chance against this system. It is (physically) very demanding for the boys, that’s true, but they managed it.
Are you hooked on training? Does it fulfill you?
If I didn’t feel like it, I wouldn’t be here… Of course it will take time, but it’s not about him. Mr. Hadamczik gave me the chance to go to the 18th grade, and even then it was written how Czech hockey today lacks defenders. It’s hard for me to read or listen to it. I’m sorry, I messed something up here and I’m really sorry. I would like to give back by passing on the experience that I have to the boys.
Do you think we have enough quality defenders?
I wouldn’t talk about it like that. Take the guys we have in the national team now. There is no gap, they showed it against Sweden. We still have the players, I wouldn’t see it so pessimistically that we have problems. We have experienced guys here who know how to prepare for a match, and youngsters who want to prove themselves again.
However, the decreasing number of Czech players in the NHL is not very encouraging…
I know, but the boys are here. We don’t even have that many forwards in the NHL. Time is what it is. We can say that there are not as many of our players in the NHL as there were before. It is true. But we still have quality hockey players.
2023-11-11 12:23:34
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