Czech left winger Vojtěch Čihař, who
turned 18 in March, was drafted in the second round, 59th overall, by
the Los Angeles Kings at this
year’s NHL Entry Draft, which happened to be in Los Angeles.
With
the obvious long-term goal of making the NHL, Čihař is currently
contemplating where to play in order to give him the best shot of
fulfilling his dream. He has already played 57 regular-season and
playoff games with Energie Karlovy Vary in the Czech Extraliga, where
he has recorded only 10 points in a rather limited role. Should he
stay there and try to earn more ice time in the pros, or should he go
overseas to play for the WHL’s
Lethbridge Hurricanes, who selected him in last year’s CHL Import
Draft?
Čihař
was a member of the Czech team that won a
bronze medal at last year’s IIHF World Junior Championship and he
recently attended a summer training camp for the national junior team
for the upcoming season. There, he spoke at length with Czech media
about the Draft and all the considerations that are going into his
decision.
The following excerpts come from Martin
Voltr’s article at Hokej.cz:
First, can you explain
what kind of experience it was to attend the Draft
in Los Angeles?
“Well, I
have to say that the Draft is unpredictable
and everyone has to wait until the moment their name is called.
Speaking for myself, as soon as I heard (my
name) called by Los Angeles, I was
really excited and even a little emotional.
I had my family and girlfriend there, which was
wonderful too. For
me, the main thing was to have the people closest
to me there.”
If you had
to wait too
long, it would probably turn into a bit of an unpleasant
situation.
“Yeah,
exactly. The whole time, my agent and parents talked about not
making any predictions and just waiting for
the moment. It was better than thinking about whether I should be
taken somewhere higher. At the end of the first round, then
at the beginning of the second … I
thought to myself that it should go
in the second. I was happy that it turned out that way –
59th is decent,
in my opinion.”
The decentralized Draft
seemed a bit bizarre. Did the fact that you were selected by the
host
team
bring you any special
attention?
“I
guess so. As soon as I put on that jersey and went to do the
various things
that come next, I walked through the
theater and the
workers turned around, congratulated me and welcomed me to the City
of Angels. Then I went somewhere to get a bag with things from the
team and former
Kings players who
still work in their organization gave it to me. They also greeted me,
people at the hotel recognized me … It was nice.”
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You said you treated the trip to Los Angeles as one big
holiday.
“Absolutely!
I really went there to enjoy it, thinking that if I was drafted, that
would make it even better. We were in Hollywood and also quite
close to the sign where we took the picture. We went to Beverly Hills
to see the villas there, then we were on the beach in Santa Monica. I
quite like the game GTA 5, which takes place in LA,
and we
also went to the observatory from that game. And then to Malibu
Beach. We tried to travel there and of course we couldn’t miss the
shops.”
Do you like hot weather and the beach?
“Oh
yeah. I don’t really like the crazy heat,
but the weather in Los Angeles is just right. The temperature
there suits me quite well.”
So maybe one day you’ll enjoy it as an NHL player. How
far off would you estimate that
is?
“You know
… Unfortunately, I don’t
really have an
answer for
that, because it’s just so hard to say.
Of course, I’d be happy if it were as soon as possible, but right
now I mainly want to move on to the next step.
Another year, two … I think that’s how
we’ve set it up with the people in LA, so now we’re deciding
whether I’ll stay in Karlovy Vary or
maybe move somewhere overseas.”
Did they tell you that they would
prefer you over there?
“They
did say that
because they haven’t seen me there yet. They don’t even know that
some teams here in the Czech Extraliga
have smaller rinks, so they meant it from the perspective of me
adapting better there. Now it depends on when and how the
Kings and Karlovy Vary reach an agreement.
LA has the rights to me there, Vary here. I have to wait, but then
the final decision
will be up to me.”
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Do you have a personal preference?
“I’m
always talking with the Karlovy Vary management about where I would
fit in. Of course, I know that if I went to the Canadian
juniors, I would get more ice time there.
To have that in the Extraliga, I would have
to play on the first line, but
the competition is extremely demanding for a young player to get
those minutes. It depends on what their thoughts are about
me. I’ll decide whether to stay or go based on that. It depends on
where I would develop more.”
If you weigh your options between
the tough competition in the Extraliga
and playing among top juniors, where you would be more successful, which do you think would win?
“I think that in terms
of offensive development,
overseas it would be … I don’t want to say easier, but I would
have more opportunities to get chances and develop
my offensive abilities. At the same time, I
know how it works in the Extraliga,
so if I stayed here, it would be almost on the same level as playing
in the AHL, for example. If I were
given more ice time,
which I would
have to earn, it
would still be a good move to stay here. But if not and LA had other
plans for me, then unfortunately there is also the possibility that I
would leave.”
Why do you say “unfortunately?”
Would it
be a bad
thing?
“I still haven’t
planned to leave the Czech Republic anytime soon, but as far as my
development is concerned, I’ll just do what’s best for me. On one
hand, I’d be sad to leave, but on the other hand, I’d be
excited to
move on to
somewhere else.”
Photo by Martin Voltr.
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