How's the season going so far?
"The season's going perfectly for me, I think. At the beginning, it was tougher but now I feel better than at the beginning but it's nice."
Your team hasn't been winning as much as you'd maybe like but you're leading the club in scoring as a rookie. What's that been like?
"I try to play for the team. I want to score goals and want to help the team be successful. To do that, I have to play hard. Not only play to score but also play defence ."
Has that been a mandate for you this season, playing well defensively?
"In Edmonton, they told me to work on my weaknesses. So, I worked on my defence and also my weaknesses. Play without the puck, play defence more and work with my stick more."
Who are you playing with on a line?
"I play with Joe Veleno ( centre ) and they change our left winger every time. I'm playing right wing every game, Joe plays centre and then we change our left winger every game."
You've officially made the move to Canada, coming over from the Czech Republic. What's it been like living here?
"It's a different life, for sure. The first month was weird for me. Without family, things are a little different but right now I feel good. It's been three months already. For the first month, I was in Edmonton and right now I'm in Saint John. It's a really nice place to be living. I'm happy to be here."
Your English has come a long way since being in Jasper over the summer. How have you developed the language in such a short amount of time?
"We have practice every day and before practice, me and another Czech guy (Radim Salda), we have classes. One or two-hour lessons. So, we speak there and have conversations to improve our English."
You mentioned Radim. Is it nice having a fellow compatriot on the team?
"It's nice to have a friend here. We've known each other for five years. It's pretty nice to play with since he showed up this season. He's a good defenceman and he's been invited with me to Czech Republic's World Juniors preliminary roster."
So, the Czech Republic team has invited you to their World Juniors camp. How are you approaching the possibility of playing in the tournament?
"It would be really exciting to play World Juniors. It's a really good opportunity to play at such a good level. Radim and I are flying to camp together. We have Camp on the 13th of December. There will be 27 players there and we'll play exhibition games against Canada and Finland. After two games, it's the final roster and we'll go down to 23 players."
What are your personal goals for the rest of the season?
"I want to play here, in Saint John, good and to play well at the World Juniors if I make the team. That's my goal right now. After the season, we'll see. Last season wasn't good for me so I want to improve and play good every game this season."
Photo credit to Dan Culberson/Saint John Sea Dogs
