It is probably too early to draw conclusions, because the Finnish Liiga has not even completed nine rounds yet, but it is clear that this is not how the 33-year-old native of Zlín imagined the start of his new season.
When the seasoned back with experience in the NHL and KHL moved to the north of Europe from Rapperswil in Switzerland in the summer, he did not hide the fact that he was looking forward to the new club. Lahti gave preference, even though, according to him, he had financially much more attractive offers on the table. But in his new place of work, so far, he has made a mainly negative impression.
For example, in the evaluation of the beginning of the season, the journalists of the Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat agree that the engagement of the Czech defender was a mistake.
“Michal Jordan had a stormy start to the league, but not in a good way. For the second time during the season, he received a penalty until the end of the game when he hit a Sport player (Johan Sundströma) in the head in revenge. The result was a three-match gap,” wrote Sasha Huttunen from Ilta Sanomat about the Czech representative.
“Jordan raised doubts already in the summer when he came to the Pelicans. And his start to the league has been really spectacular so far: 7 games, 0+0 points, -2 ice time and 50 penalty minutes. He is probably the most insidious player in the league so far,” he added.
His colleague Teemu Suvinen also agrees with Huttunen. “Michal Jordán was taken as a safe bet for the Pelicans, a proven defensive personality and an exemplary leader. So far, however, the Czech player appears to be exactly the opposite. Twice he has already been scolded for being stupid by leaving the showers early, and even otherwise his performances are below expectations. Jordan is still presenting itself as a big fiasco,” writes Suvinen.
By the way, in his evaluation of the start of the league, he praised another Czech for a change, namely Ilves striker Petr Kodýtek, who scored seven goals and added two assists in nine league matches.
“The new Ilves star Petr Kodýtek shows that you don’t need to be a tall giant even in front of the goal, you just need to be smart enough. The 168 cm tall terrier scored almost all of his seven goals this season from the area in front of the goal, where the defenders were not surprised. The Czech winger is hungry for goals and finishes with great audacity and determination,” extols the Expl forward Suvinen.
