In the Champions League, progress among the four best teams in Europe, in the Czech Extraliga the harsh reality in the lowest levels of the table. Sports director and at the same time coach of HC VÍTKOVICE RIDERS Roman Šimíček summarized the success in the CHL, but also looked back at the past first half of the basic part of the Tipsport Extraliga.
Vítkovice reached a historic goal, advancing to the semi-finals for the first time in the Champions League. What do you say to being among the top four clubs in Europe?
We are very happy about it. We are pleased that we are in the top 4 and that we can fight for participation in the final. This success belongs to all our fans and also to the partners of the club. We said in May, after the draw for the Champions League, that we wanted to play a dignified role in it and that we primarily wanted to entertain the spectators and our fans. And I think we are succeeding in achieving this goal. Our progress to the semi-finals is not only our club’s success, which we value immensely, but it is also a great result for the entire city of Ostrava and our region and, of course, Czech hockey. We are really happy about it.
The opponent for the semi-finals will be a heavyweight, Sweden’s Skelleftea.
We are among the top 4 of the CHL, no one will encounter a weak opponent there. We have a series with Skelleftea and I can only promise all our fans and supporters that we will fight for it and our goal will be to succeed.
However, it is still not the same in the Czech Extraliga. Programmatically, you have already entered the second half of the regular season, although you still have matches to go. How do you perceive the first half of the competition?
It is clear that by this time we all wanted to have many more wins and many more points. Unfortunately, sports are unpredictable. But I believe that we have literally eaten up all the problems and setbacks in the first half and that it is behind us. I believe we’ll get away with it. The results of the last matches show that the team is rising and has the ability to play better and play mainly somewhere else in the table.
It was a very demanding first half, in all respects, wasn’t it?
Of course it is. All this is multiplied by the fact that we also played in the Champions League. At a time when other teams have the opportunity to rest or regenerate, we played a match and traveled and one with the other. Of course, we do not make excuses for this, but this is also one of the reasons why it was and is more challenging for us. Anyway, we’re still happy to be where we are in the CHL and to have made it this far. As I said before, I believe that we have already eaten the worst part of the season and now it will only get better.
What do you think is the difference that you are so high in the CHL and you have struggled so far in the Extraliga?
For me, it is clearly a question of the fact that in the CHL our heads will be relaxed and mentally we are completely different than in the Extraliga. No one is burdened with the thought in their head that if they lose, it will be a huge bummer. Of course, we all always go into a match wanting to win it, but this is also reality. In the Extraliza, we know what position we are in and every setback, every defeat, every loss can make us very sad in the final sum and everyone has it in them. That’s why I would really like for us to get away from the bottom of the table as soon as possible, for us to be in calmer waters, for us to relax our heads and for the boys to show that we can play hockey and that we haven’t forgotten it.
We are pleased that we are in the top 4 and that we can fight for participation in the final. This success belongs to all our fans and also to the partners of the club.
What do you think is the reason that Vítkovice did not do well in the first half of the regular season of the Extraliga?
It is for a deeper analysis later. We have to deal with what is now and how to raise it. Changes were made, coaches changed, new coaches arrived with a new concept of the game. They want to play more aggressively and it also takes some time before the team adapts to it and it starts to work. The change in the training cycles also had a lot to do with it, when the training sessions were more demanding and, in combination with the matches, it was a little harder for some to get out of it. Illnesses and injuries also crippled us. An awful lot came together at once and everyone saw the result. I repeat again that I already believe that it is all behind us and we will go up.
Changes took place not only in the positions of coaches, but you also made a significant impact in the playing staff. The most obvious was the departure of Peter Mueller. How do you look back on it?
I don’t want to mess around with it. It was important for all of us that Peter didn’t want to play here, he didn’t want to be in Ostrava, he didn’t like it here. I’m speaking for myself now, but I think it’s the opinion of everyone at the club that we don’t want players here who don’t want to play here. If there is someone here who doesn’t want to be here, doesn’t want to fight for Vítky, has the idea that it will be much better elsewhere, then let him go, we won’t prevent him from being happy. We said goodbye to Peter, I think in the spirit of fair play, and we just wish him well in his new place of work.
Was it difficult to end cooperation with a player who arrived as the biggest star a year ago and was also the driving force of the team last season?
A player who doesn’t want to play here has no business here. And it doesn’t really matter if he’s a player in the fourth five or if he’s a top player in the first line and in the position of the first power forward. Such a player should not be here and has no place in Vítkovice. And I think not in any club, because then it only makes mischief in the team.
There is probably no stronger proof of your statement than the fact that after his departure the team’s progress is evident, do you agree?
It is also due to the fact that the boys in the cabin are more relaxed. He tries to work harder. It could also be that others expected that it would be Mueller who would score the important goals and he didn’t score them, or he couldn’t do it… But I really don’t want to bother with this topic any more. It’s gone.
A player who doesn’t want to play here has no business here. And it doesn’t really matter if he’s a player in the fourth five or if he’s a top player in the first line and in the position of the first power forward. Such a player should not be here and has no place in Vítkovice.
On the other hand, young players such as Marcel Barinka and Jonáš Peterek have arrived, and perhaps Barinka is proving to be a hit, don’t you think? Yohann Auvitu can also be seen…
With Yohann, we expected that he could be a pillar of the back rows. Unfortunately, he unfortunately got injured in the very first training, and that stopped him for a long time. And we had to be patient until he was fit again and game by game he was getting into it. He hasn’t played for almost seven months and it’s not easy to get back into it. We are glad that he has already gotten into some of the comfort of the game, he is an honest boy who always does his best in training, in matches and off the ice. He is a 100% professional. As for the younger guys, we’re glad it worked out. We are glad that Bari sat with the guys in the second line with Frigo and Zdrahoš and it is great that it is working out for them and they are scoring points. It could be good for the future. Jonáš Peterek may not have as much space as Bari, but he is also a hockey player who has a future and has fit in very well with the team. I think the modern hockey that is being implemented now will specifically suit them and I think we will all see that, that more and more young guys will be playing it, who will fly and skate and be full of energy and full of juice. On the other hand, you can’t just play on these young guys, you always have to have experienced older fighters in the team who can calm things down and the team follows them. We are certainly also happy for Tomáš Vondráček, whom Pardubice released to us on loan until the end of January. Tomáš is an experienced player and showed his qualities both against Hradec and in the quarter-finals with Rapperswil.
