BRATISLAVA. He is used to getting up early. He drinks his morning coffee, gets into his car and heads to the Sršňov Arena at the KVP estate in Košice to meet his young students, fifth and sixth graders. Recently, one of them greeted him at training with the sentence: “Coach, I saw you on TV. That is, your name. It was written there that you were the best hockey player in Slovakia.”
In the private hall of fame, he has one federal and two Slovak titles with Košice, as well as a bronze medal from the Winter Olympics in Albertville 1992, where he was part of the Czechoslovak team. He played for the Slovak national team in 56 matches, caught at the World Championships, the Winter Olympics and the World Cup.
“I like to remember the good moments, and I forgot the others,” says the cheerful goalkeeper Jaromír Dragan, who recently turned 60.
He has respect for water
He was born and grew up in Liptovský Mikuláš, where sporty children often chose between two states of water.
“I also tried for water slalom. I was on the channel twice, but it didn’t catch me. I have respect for water,” he explains. With his peers, he liked to chase a ball with hockey sticks on the street, so he once agreed with a friend that they would sign up for hockey.
“I came to the winter stadium with old skates, which I had for three generations. The coach looked at me and said that when I learn to skate, let me come. So I got my brother new skates at home, I put on three socks because they were big and I started skating right away.”
In the military in the VTJ Topoľčany team, in the I. SNHL. (Author: JD ARCHIVE)
At the beginning of the 1980s, a generation of smart young people was formed on the Mikuláš ice. Several later applied themselves in the highest competition, a few of them (Božík, Bača, Veselovský, Dragan) also played in the federal national team.
“In 1983, we won the title of champions of Slovakia for older teenagers, then we played in the federal final against Pardubice,” adds Dragan, who moved from Liptov to Bratislava at the age of eighteen.
“I was approached by Slovan and Košice. Jožo Pethő, with whom I grew up, called me to Bratislava. I started going to college, I was doing a triple in Slovan, they were catching Beňo and Norovský. But at least I got a sniff of the Federal League. In Trenčín, they put me in goal for one third, I scored three goals and that was it.”
He completed his military training in Topoľčany and from there headed to Košice, where he spent most of his career.
Three titles with Košice
“Officially, every hockey player had a job at Východoslovak železirňe, but we didn’t go to work. We were professionals. I was assigned to the blast furnace as a second engineer. At the time, I didn’t even think that I would actually work there one day. We only went to the factory to get paid. Sometimes people there stared at us. They worked there, toiled. But some were happy to talk.”
He won one federal and two Slovak titles with Košice. (Author: JD ARCHIVE)
In the 1987/88 season, he was part of Košice’s second federal title. The Východnárs were mainly driven by the experienced Igor Liba and Ján Vodila, but also the youngster Peter Bondra, who turned twenty.
Pavol Švárny was the goalkeeper unit. Dragan caught 14 games and also jumped into the third final against Sparta, when Švarny retired from the game after being hit in the mask.
“I have fond memories of the title, but the entire federal league was at a high level. It was played in full stadiums, Košice was also attractive outside,” adds Dragan, who won two more titles with Košice in 1995 and 1996 – already Slovak and in the position of the goalkeeper unit.
Performances in the federal extra league in the early 1990s earned him an invitation to the Czechoslovak national team. He was nominated for the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville.
In the federal league in the match VSŽ Košice – Škoda Plzeň. (Author: JD ARCHIVE)
“After 1989, several players left for America. Hockey players from the domestic league and from European competitions played at the Olympics. They caught Bříza and Svoboda, they dragged me to them. I was lucky. Coach Hlinka put together a good team, we were a great team.”
As a reward for winning the Olympic bronze, the new Škoda car was a favorite for the hockey players, a novelty at the time. However, Dragan did not enjoy it for long.
2023-09-14 05:01:12
#kicked #puck #hall #America #fell #silent #favorite #Olympics #stolen #front #stadium
