When Jan Výtisk reached the goal of a thousand matches in the Czech top flight less than five years ago as the seventeenth player in history, his former teammate and friend Lukáš Derner dedicated a goal to him from a distance, which coincidentally he scored on the same day as a holiday scorer. On Tuesday evening, on the contrary, he himself will accept congratulations from his former partner.
“I will definitely call him specifically about it. It’s a beautiful number. However, there are not many players who manage to play over a thousand matches in the extra league. This is an amazing number for me. And especially with Derny, because he was in Pilsen for a while, but otherwise he played everything for Liberec. He is a legend who played almost a thousand matches in one club, which is not common these days,” says Jan Výtisk.
1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣. matches in singles @telhcz! So far, only 19 hockey players have conquered this milestone. The 20th name will be added on Tuesday! Lukáš Derner will conquer this goal symbolically against @HC_Plzen, for which he played in 60 games, the remaining 939 he played in the Tigers’ jersey. Be there, celebrate the big jubilee with… pic.twitter.com/bHMG8ODSON
— White Tigers Liberec (@hcbilitygri) January 22, 2024
The North Bohemian club will honor the exceptional milestone of its icon with a ceremonial ceremony before the opening ball, and a special set of t-shirts or pucks with the number 1000 will be on sale. Derner made his debut in the highest competition in September 2005 in the White Tigers jersey on the ice of Třinec. The Liberec native played a total of 939 duels for the White Beasts, 60 of which he scored while on loan in Pilsen.
“And I think he will add many more matches. I watch him play and he’s always up to it. Physically, he is in excellent shape, so I think he can play in peace for the next two or three seasons,” predicts Výtisk to the 40-year-old Liberec protege, who extended his contract by one year before the season.
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ADJUSTMENT: HC Kometa Brno vs. White Tigers Liberec 4:1, Derner’s match no. 999Video: Tipsport Extraliga / BPA
What is Vótisk’s recipe for reaching a four-figure portion of the match? “Above all, your health must last, which is the most important thing. One would like to play all the time, but as one gets older, injuries increase, so luck also depends on it,” says Výtisk, who finally stopped at number 1057 in the number of starts among the elite.
“Personally, I am proud to have played so many matches. It pleased me and I’m glad for it. And I think Derny will too. Only now, maybe there will be a little hype around it, so he will rather have it already played and can add more matches,” smiles Vótisk, who knows Derner well. They started together under Ještěd for six and a half seasons and in 2016 they celebrated a historic championship title for Liberec.
Players with 1000 games in the top flight
FRANTIŠEK PTAČEK 1210 (0)
ONDREJ KRATENA 1163 (0)
LUKÁŠ KRENŽELOK 1092 (0)
MICHAL TRAVNÍČEK 1063 (0)
MAREK MELENOVSKY 1043 (0)
JIRÍ HANZLÍK 1036 (30)
JOSEF REZNÍČEK 1035 (322)
RADIM TESAŘÍK 1022 (31)
VÁCLAV SKUHRAVÝ 1001 (0)
*number of matches in Czechoslovak league in parentheses
“We call each other slowly every day and talk to each other. I wish I could score a goal so that I could also dedicate it to him, it’s not very easy with those goals,” says the defender of the first league Frýdek-Místek at the moment.
Tomorrow is a big day for Lukas Derner. 1000 matches is an incredible number! One day it will be very strange, and this fighter will not be in it @hcbilitygri . Big congratulations on a career that is far from over 😉🎂
PS: in 20 seasons, an incredible collection of team tracksuits— Michal Birner (@michalbirner) January 22, 2024
Viktor Hübl holds the Czech record for the number of matches in the extra league with 1,276 starts. In addition to Derner, Michal Gulaši can also attack this goal this season, who is 15 notches short of the hockey all-time club.
2024-01-22 16:22:01
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