Lenc: Nagano was unique. It would be nice if we could create such a euphoria for the nation again

Of course, I am surprised and happy at the same time. On the other hand; younger boys went to Karjala and I was originally supposed to go to Moscow in December. However, the connection from Khabarovsk was not ideal and the club management also wished I did not go to the national team. Which the national team met, he didn’t want to pull us across half the world for one match.

Did you believe that you would receive invitations for Beijing?

You can’t say I have it in my head. The Olympics are a dream anyway, and when the NHL players were denied, I thought I might have a chance. But we have a lot of quality hockey players, so I was not 100% convinced of myself. In the corner of my soul, I was hoping a little.

Did you watch the nomination press on the Internet last Thursday?

I looked at her, overall I wondered who was going. As well as other circumstances. Because of the covid, the current season is on its head, so I wanted to find out what we will have to go through because of the Olympics.

What comes to mind first when you say the Winter Olympics?

Nagano, of course, that was unique. And the games are also a great glory of the sport, the best athletes in the world will arrive. Therefore, even in hockey, this does not apply due to the ban on NHL players

You were six years old at the 1998 Olympics. Do you have any specific memories of Nagano?

I have, but they’re duller. At the age of six, I didn’t enjoy watching matches on TV because I didn’t enjoy it. But the subsequent euphoria of the whole nation then affected me, a little boy. It would be nice if we re-created such a euphoria for our nation.

Do you admit that the rapidly spreading omicron can strike at any time, so no one in the current cadre has a certain participation in the games yet?

It’s a very nervous time. We can be negative all the time, feel healthy, and in the end, for example, when the positive test comes out at the airport and it’s after the Olympics.

The management of the national team prepared training sessions at the O2 arena for 12 nominated players from the KHL, which was interrupted last week. But so far you are only five on the ice. Is it a big habit?

Of course, these are not completely standard trainings, on the other hand we shoot a lot and practice a lot of pre-goal situations. It’s more skill training and I enjoy it. In addition, I welcomed the fact that the KHL had been interrupted and I could have left for the Czech Republic a week earlier, because I had been in Khabarovsk without my wife and son since mid-December.

So you didn’t think to move to Beijing directly from Khabarovsk, from where the flight takes only about three hours?

The coach asked me if it was worth going to Prague and preparing for it. But I was glad that I could go home and have Czech food.

From next week, you will close yourself in a bubble in Prague, which is also waiting for you in Beijing, where the first part of the team will move on January 27. Are you sorry that you don’t look at many places in the Chinese capital?

We experienced something similar last year at the World Cup in Riga and I expect it to be similar now. But it’s sad. I don’t know exactly how we will be able to move in Beijing, but if there was a chance, I would like to go and see other sports in my free time.

I would be tempted to ski, but we certainly won’t get there, because the slopes will be far from the hockey halls. I have no idea what we could see, but in the final I won’t care. I would like to go see any sport with a Czech representative.

Before the season, you went to your first foreign team at the age of 30. How do you do it in Khabarovsk in the Far East?

It’s a really huge distance from home, but I wouldn’t see a fundamental difference. The KHL is completely different from the extra league – faster, better. The mentality of the Russians is different, and it is all the more difficult to adapt and find a way to work.

What exactly stopped you in this regard?

That’s for a longer talk. But in general, I think there are things that should be addressed and they are not being addressed. And instead, the ones that should be automatic are addressed and we should not talk about them.

And on the hockey side? In the Eastern Conference, Amur is on the verge of advancing to the playoffs …

The preparation went beyond our expectations and that is why it arose; I dare say; exaggerated expectations from management that did not match the quality of the team. We did not start the season the best, which was the place of coach Vorobjov, who was replaced by Mikhail Kravjec. It wasn’t perfect under him at first, we weren’t in our shoes. But after Christmas, it broke down and I personally began to prosper. It relaxed a bit and I feel much better. It takes someone less time to get used to the new team, it took me more time. But now my game is approaching the standard I would like to show.

Did the presence of compatriots Bartošák, Jordán and Tomášek in the team help you get used to Khabarovsk?

Certainly. Michal Jordán is five years old in Amur and he knows the people in the club and the city. He helps us a lot with his recommendations, we are not alone. When we have time off, we all go to dinner with our families, for example, and talk about things other than hockey.

How are you doing after six months with Russian?

I didn’t have it at school, and when I don’t count learning a few basic words after signing the contract, I didn’t have my first contact with Russian until I arrived in Khabarovsk. But now I have no problem not agreeing. I understand a lot of things, even if my answers are austere and basic. I’m not talking fluently, but I’ll take care of what I need.

She doesn’t bother me, I read everything basic in it.

How did you cope with long flights over several time zones during trips?

It usually flies around eight to ten hours and it is much easier to cope with the shift when traveling west, when we fly over time. But on my way back east, it takes me three or four days to settle. The first two nights are worse, the number of times I wake up at four in the morning and no longer fall asleep. You can get used to it, but in my case, I wouldn’t be completely inclined to work on the Far Advantage for ten years.