“I think that for all the girls, it’s an experience of a lifetime when such a legend comes to support you. We didn’t know that at all and I saw how pleased the girls were,” described national team coach Lukáš Procházka.
His charges showed the famous hockey player the best of their art. The Swiss scored seven goals, Jágr clapped appreciatively in the audience alongside his girlfriend Dominika and head of Czech floorball marketing Roman Urbář, and even shyly joined the Mexican wave.
After the match, he presented Anna Brucháčková with the award for the best Czech player of the match, and posed with the team for a traditional victory selfie.
“I was very surprised by the atmosphere,” Jágr did not hide after the match. “The hall was sold out and they were cheering the whole time. There is usually a great atmosphere at hockey, but not like this,” praised the Kladno Knights striker to the 2,800 fans in the auditorium.
And he also had words of respect for the Czech players who are still going through the tournament without hesitation. “It must be challenging. The pitch is 40×20 meters, the game was reduced from three lines to two and the first line was still playing. They also scored six goals out of seven, hats off to them,” he praised the formation with captain Michaela Kubečková and hat-trick author Šárka Staňková.
He will no longer look for inspiration for his hockey in the sport with a perforated ball. “I’m old and I won’t change,” smiled the 53-year-old Jágr. “But a lot of things are similar to hockey. A lot of one-on-ones, covering the ball with my body. That’s the style I’ve played all my life. If I wasn’t so heavy and could run, I’d be pretty good at floorball too,” he believed.
After the match, he went back home, but he will continue to follow the performances of the Czech players. “I will be cheering. I have to say that I liked it, beautiful goals are scored,” he said goodbye.
