Tralmak can no longer be called a young hockey player – at the age of 26, the striker is at the height of his career, and it’s time to show everything he can. Tralmak has rarely been seen in the adult national team, as he has been building his career on the other side of the ocean since his junior years – various US junior leagues were followed by four years in the powerful US college championship NCAA, playing at the University of Maine. After that, Tralmak tried to make his way to the National Hockey League (NHL) by playing for the Boston Bruins farm club in the American Hockey League (AHL), but it didn’t work out.
Tralmak is now back in Europe playing in the Czech top flight and has had a more than good start for Kladno, with 13 (9+4) points in 16 games, making him the team’s top scorer and second top scorer.
If the name of the Kladno team seems familiar to someone, it could be for one good reason – the Czech and world hockey legend Jaromírs Jagr is the owner of this team. Tralmaks pointed out that Jagr, at the age of 51, is still actively involved in the club’s work on the field as well.
“He goes to every practice from day one in full shape and does the same drills that we do. He’s not one to just put on the gloves and come skate, he’s more like a playing coach who can figure out at any time that he’s ready play. It cannot be ruled out that it will be this season,” Tralmaks described Jagr’s work ethic. “Even after practice you can stay with him, work on shooting or, for example, stopping the puck. I’d say the best puck stopper in the world with the height that has ever existed. Both from him and other veterans, I would try to take something for myself, because it will only make me better.”
There is really no shortage of top-class masters in the Kladno club –
one of the assistant coaches is Jakub Voracek. This 34-year-old Czech was a teammate of Elvya Merzlikin in the Columbus Blue Jackets at the beginning of last season, but injuries forced him to prematurely end a career that was more than successful – 1056 games in the NHL and 806 points. Also, Tomas Plekanec, who has more than 1000 games in the NHL, started the season in the team, however, due to injuries, he announced a couple of weeks ago that he had to hang up his skates. Michael Frolik, Jakub Klepiš and other skillful players are also in the same dressing room.
“You can learn how to stop the puck from Jagr, how to understand the game and the skills of the majority from Voracek. Plekanec and I played together all the time, but unfortunately he has given up on hockey. Now I play with Klepiš and we get along,” Tralmaks shared his experience . “I like that they play hockey with experience, smarter hockey. You don’t need to run with your head, your neck, but you need to think along with what is happening. We also have Frolik, a former NHL player, now he is in the middle of the majority for us. They are also very cool people and you can always ask what they think about a moment in the game. I consider them good friends that I can call and ask how it would be better. It’s a dream I never dreamed of. It’s like playing a video game with a team of legends and they throw you in the middle. You don’t feel it on the field, but when you sit at home, think about where you are, it’s a bit of a shock.”
With nine goals, Tralmak is Kladno’s best sniper, no one else has more than four goals.
Eduards Tralmaks (right) during training of the Latvian national team
Photo: Guntis Lazdāns/LHF
“We don’t have that many shooters in the team, so someone has to take on the sniper’s role. We would like to collect more passes, because it is usually said that it is easier to collect passes than goals,” said Tralmaks. “I’m the final shooter in the majority and those goals are coming little by little, I also have to accumulate assists, because I’ve gained the attention of the opponents both in the majority and in the same formations. Now it’s more difficult, because a player is placed on me or at least looks after me more. Hopefully, the goals will continue to fall, but it can also break.”
At the age of 26, Tralmak has not yet played in any world championships for the senior national team.
The last time he started in an official tournament with the national team was in 2016/2017. participating in the U-20 World Championship. The hockey player says that everything starts from scratch in the national team and you have to prove yourself. He does not deny that he also feels some pressure.
“One thing that is in the national team – here everything starts from scratch, here I have not shown anything and I have not scored nine goals. There is both a drive and also some pressure, but at the same time the main thing is to show how I can play, show my best hockey. After that, the coaches will be able to assess whether it is a game that the national team needs. I travel with the idea of playing the kind of hockey I played in the Czech Republic, because I have done the best there in recent years. I think that if I show a game like in the Czech Republic, then the coaches will will notice and see me further,” the player said about the upcoming matches.
A conversation with Eduards Tralmak in the “Sports studies” podcast
Sports studio. Behind the scenes58min
Latvia – France test matches in hockey will take place in “Daugavas” ice hall in Riga. Both games will start at 19.
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2023-11-09 08:48:11
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