How the two-time Cup and Hart Trophy winner enraptured the Czech youth, inspiring moves like the one we saw Sunday: the reverse, double-pad stack stylings that not only defy logic, but take your breath away in the process.
"It all happened so fast," Vladar said of his no-look larceny off Oilers forward Ryan McLeod at Scotiabank Saddledome. "I fell over on my stomach, which you're not supposed to do in the first place. But once I saw the guy out of the corner of my eye get the puck and have that open net to shoot for, I knew I had to do something - anything - to get a piece of it.
"Leg. Arm. Whatever.
"Just keep it out."
All these years later, the legend of Dominik Hasek lives on with a modern-day twist.
In the moment, there was no time to pause, to reflect, no guidebook to refer to. Instinctually, though, he knew exactly what to do.
Growing up in Prague - about a 90-minute drive west of Hasek's home base of Pardubice - it was impossible not to take lessons from the iconic goalkeeper.
"He's one of the reasons why I'm playing hockey today," Vladar said. "I remember when I was about seven or eight years old. I wasn't even huge into hockey at that point, but everybody knew about Hasek.
"You know what it's like. When you're young, you don't really watch hockey unless you go to the game - especially with the NHL being so far away. So, I never really dreamt about it. But once you get a little bit older, your dream changes, right?"
Before long, Vladar was on his way to becoming one of the country's next top goaltenders.
And, like so many of us who grew up playing mini sticks in hotel hallway, Vladar learned to play - and to love - the game in the very same manner.
"We didn't have a backyard rink or anything like that," Vladar laughed. "But we made the most of it. We usually played street hockey, or, more (often), in my room with my buddies. I was a terrible skater, so I wanted to be the goalie. We would play on the floor, on our knees, with the table legs being the net.
"I would even use a baseball cap as a glove.
"You do what you can.
"We didn't have those mini sticks that you can buy today, so we would always keep an eye out when the pro teams would come through. We'd get their old, broken sticks and cut them down so we could use them inside on the floor.
"It was awesome."
