Kelly Klíma, who also played in Hradec together with his twin brother Kevin, was unable to follow up on the performances from the previous season, with just one goal and an assist in 22 games, he remained far below expectations in the current one.
“Kelly and his agent repeatedly came up with a demand for a trade, as Kelly was not satisfied with his mining in their opinion. We tried to avoid this trade, but at this point we want to give Kelly some reboot space. From the two options that appeared this week, we chose the trade for Jan Eberle,” said Mountfield hockey general manager Aleš Kmoníček.
Unsatisfactory game results force the club’s sports management to once again reach out to the players. This time, Bruslař agreed with Hradec Králové to exchange two attackers – Jan Eberle from Mladá Boleslav for Kelly KLÍMA from Hradec Králové.
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— BK Mladá Boleslav (@bkboleslav) January 4, 2023
Klíma found out about the exchange on Tuesday evening after he played for Hradec against Třinec. The next morning, he already reported to Mladá Boleslav and completed the first training session with the new team.
“I was really looking forward to the new opportunity. I’m not going to lie, my 1+1 balance is definitely not what I imagined. I hope that moving to Boleslav will help me too,” admits Klíma, who originally thought he would meet coach Čihák in Boleslav, whom he knows from his work in Hradec last season. However, on Wednesday morning, the management of the Central Bohemian club dismissed the coach.
“I admit that I was surprised. But it is what it is. Boleslav has a good team that should play on completely different levels,” the son of the Stanley Cup winner from 1990, Petr Klíma, points out the fact that the Skating Club is only in twelfth place with only a two-point cushion over the last Kladno.
“Unfortunately, we’re still not doing well, so Kelly is another way to try to revive and kick-start the team,” said Boleslav sports director Martin Ševc. ” he adds.
On the other hand, 33-year-old Eberle is traveling to Hradec, who will play for the sixth team in the extra league. Like Kelly Klíma, who is eight years younger, Eberle is also struggling (2+1 in 24 duels). “Honz’s contract ends in April and we have not negotiated another one,” explains Ševc.
“Honza is an experienced, proven player who we don’t have any good memories of from last year’s play-off,” Hradec head coach Tomáš Martinec returns to the quarter-finals, in which Eberle Mountfield scored three goals in five games.
“He is a durable striker who has excellent movement and is strong in one-on-one battles. We believe that he will help us with his skills and bring the necessary emphasis to the game,” added Martinec.
