Go back to NHL!
BY MATTHEW REYNOLDS
November 25, 2004
Slovak fans, players not enamored with return of native sons
TRENCIN, SLOVAKIA - NHLers spending the lockout in the Slovak Extraleague have had a chillier homecoming than expected.
Ticket sales are not, as predicted, much higher than last year. Some teams report lower attendance.
Extraleague regulars grumble about losing jobs and ice time and preferential treatment for NHLers. Teams with no NHLers might be at a disadvantage skill-wise, but some observers believe the style of play is better without them.
We never get a chance to see them in person, so its nice to watch what they can do, said fan Jozef Letko. But as a whole, its prettier when theyre on the bench. Its more of a team attack, with better cutting and passing. When theyre on the ice, everything revolves around them.
Letko follows Trencin, where Marian Gaborik (Minnesota) and Pavol Demitra (St. Louis) are playing. Demitra, he complained, floats by the red line and loafs on defense.
Last year, Trencin won the league without any stars, Letko said. In a way, that was nicer, because there was such a great atmosphere. They had a nice style of team play. Everyone was so unselfish.
Slovak hockey is less physical and the ice is wider than in the NHL. Fans are more impressed by a nifty pass than by a hard check, which may be why the returned NHLers arent drawing huge crowds.
Across the 10-team Extraleague, where 12 NHLers are playing, attendance is flat or only slightly up. Marian Hossa (Ottawa) recently left Trencin for Mora in Sweden. He was reportedly disappointed he and other NHLers hadnt excited local fans. But he may be back for the Extraleague playoffs.
Its also a problem that NHLers are spread unevenly throughout the league. One team has three, another team has none, said one club executive. Does that sound fair to you?
The people who are most unhappy with the NHLers may be local players who have never played abroad. Each season, they compete for jobs in the Extraleague, where they typically earn $1,000 to $5,000 a month.
To make room for NHLers, some of the local players were cut or demoted. Others saw their ice time decreased. Star players last season have been dropped to the second or third lines. Young players have fewer opportunities to show what they can do.
Room has been made for the NHLers, said the executive. And the young players, especially, have suffered.
Many players are unhappy. Veteran Slovak hockey reporter Iveta Weiszova said the buzz in Slovak dressing rooms is, If theres going to be an NHL lockout, let them actually stay locked out, not come here and take our jobs.
There is resentment that NHLers get special treatment, such as hitting the showers after the second period of blowouts and choosing when and if they want to practice.
NHL star forward Ziggy Palffy skated in his hometown of Skalica for six weeks before signing with Slavia Prague.
Unfortunately, Palffy did little to endear himself in Skalica by staying for only 10 minutes when he came to practice, according to Weiszova.
The rest of the players watched him leave and said, Why should we have to practice if Ziggy doesnt? Weiszova said. Its very hard for the coach to have to explain, Because you are no Palffy.
