And it is Hertl who is the biggest draw for Czech fans.
After all, it was also known on Thursday. Several thousand spectators, mainly hockey fans from different parts of the country, arrived at the arena for the training sessions of both teams, which was also appreciated by Jágr, who watched the action on the ice and in the stands from skyboxes. “Guys can see what training is like, how intense it is. They look up to most of the players and for the future you can’t get anything better than watching people you admire.”
Photo: Sport.cz
Tomáš Hertl and Jaromír Jágr in the O2 ArenaPhoto: Sport.cz
And their admiration was also evident in the stands. During both training sessions, they chanted, rejoiced at the goals, but above all, they rioted when Hertl or his Czech partner Radim Šimek performed a successful feat. A number of Czech coaches (Jandač, Hořava, Patera, etc.) sat next to them in the arena, watching the training set and taking notes. “I’ve never experienced training in front of so many people. It was great, there was cheering and I can’t wait for tomorrow,” said Hertl.
And when the hour-long preparation was over, he took his almost two-year-old son Tobias onto the ice.
An exceptional moment for both and the whole family.
However, coach David Quinn also admitted: “It was touching and beautiful.”
After nine seasons in San Jose, Hertl turned into a club legend, and in March he signed a new eight-year contract that will secure him for life. That’s also why, when he was asked by Sport.cz after training whether it would be so easy to fulfill the words he said to Jágr, he answered broadly. “Personal stats are nice, but I’m mainly going for the win because the last three years haven’t been easy for the Sharks. I want to get us back to the playoffs. So I’ll be much happier if we fly home with three or four points than if I score four goals. “
It’s hard to predict how it will turn out on Friday and Saturday night (both games start at 20:00). The starts of the season are very unpredictable and as a spectator you can see fumbling on the ice. And it’s hard to even guess what the atmosphere will be like. While the training was praised by both camps, the composition of the audience will be different for the matches. The price of tickets went into the thousands, the cheapest ones cost two, the most expensive four times as much. “But I believe that people will have fun,” wishes defender Radim Šimek.
Nashville hockey players training in Prague. The fans had funVideo: Sport.cz
His teammates already had fun. On Wednesday, after arriving from Berlin, they went for a walk around Prague, they said they really liked the grilled sausage on Wenceslas Square, and in the evening they learned how to tap beer again.
Only one thing is still taboo. The NHL strictly avoids the topic of Russian hockey players, against whose participation goaltender Dominik Hašek so much protested and even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not want them in Prague. They will play, which Jaromír Jágr commented: “The NHL is here. I heard something about Dominik, but I don’t know…”
And so, while Jágr is supposed to throw in ceremonial bulls on Saturday, Hašek intends to avoid the holiday in the O2 arena this time around.
