You have been operating overseas for six years, so what team is Canada?
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They have a good and experienced team here as usual. In it, a few individuals who play great in the NHL. That they turned in the quarterfinals against Sweden from 0: 3 speaks for itself. It is a demonstration that they do not give up and fight to the end. But so are we. We are really looking forward to it, it will be a great match and this is exactly what we have been waiting for throughout the tournament.
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Which players would you warn most about?
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I don’t want to pay special attention to anyone. We know the players they have on the team and I myself have played every match against them in the past. I often met, for example, Barzal of the Islanders. He skates well, he is good at the puck and he is one of the players we will want to make unpleasant. But Canada is not just about him, because one player never won the whole tournament. We know the style of Canada, we will prepare for it as a whole. But we will focus on ourselves. We want to enter the match well and it will be about us.
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Not only do you repeat in the tournament that you want to focus on your game. So what is its power?
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Team spirit, combativeness, sacrificing for each other. Jumping headlong into shots, just like we played against Germany. You all felt the lust we had as a team throughout the match. And he wins the tournaments. We have a lot of guys in the locker room who know what it takes to win something. Experience is on our side. In a way, the team prepares the whole basic group for the playoffs, and in it it is often about a single match, sometimes even about luck.
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In the duel at the mantinel Fin Mikael Granlund (left) and Czech quarterback Michal Kempný.Photo: Vesa Moilanen, CTK / AP
So will this be a careful defense on your part?
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We try to eliminate the chances from which the most goals are scored and they arise in the pre-goal area. We have to guard the hockey sticks, block the bullets and help Karl as much as possible (Vejmelkovi) at the gate. But we also want to play the puck as much as possible and create chances in the offensive zone.
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You mentioned yourself that you played regularly against many players in the past. In the last two seasons, however, you have played only 15 games in the NHL due to injury and form. Do you take the match against Canada in person?
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I don’t need to prove anything. I know I can defend their players. I’ve been in the NHL for the last six years and I definitely don’t need to prove anything if I can play against someone or not. I don’t want to sound conceited, but I focus on my own and my team’s game. Everyone on the team has a role, we know what to do and what to stick to. If we don’t all obey, it won’t work.
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A medal weekend always wakes up a hockey nation. Do you feel the response from the Czech Republic?
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We are seeing increased interest. Everyone at home is a fan, they keep their fingers crossed for us and we are happy for that. We know that people like hockey in the Czech Republic. We will do everything to be successful and wake up the hockey madhouse at home again. It is important for our children, for our Czech hockey.
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Will success bring kids to hockey?
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Yes. I started playing hockey because of Nagano. It is a normal process. Children who do sports are looking for their role models and the teams they support. And Czech hockey has been missing this in recent years. We want to change that so that children like hockey again and want to play it.
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