A letter, an article and an honest one-way talk with Ondřej Vencko

[Mutti 196]

Hello, it is Ondřej Vencko writing you from a cozy homeplace, located somewhere in the Czech Republic (due to stalkers wanting me to sign their beer bottles I have to be careful about my privacy).

 

As new year came around, I thought it would only be fitting to give you an insight at how I spent the Christmas Eve, following holiday and the New Year's Eve the good old Czech way!

 

There aren't many people who still embrace our Christmas traditions, even though there are many of these.

And I.. Wasn't an exception to that.

I thought: 'Hey, let's make the first month of the miserable season winter is as the month of hockey sessions. More like watching hockey, anyway.

 

And watch hockey I did!

There was the expected World Junior's tournament I was excited about but before that, I watched many and many hours of hockey highlights. It is an inspirational experience, watching legends of hockey, especially goaltenders perform in a stellar way when they were in their prime. 

Of course, it was even more inspirational given that I drank like 10 beers per watch. One day, I got so wasted that I put up the memorial Phantoms jersey from my rookie season and ran outside, where some kinds were playing hockey at the moment. I didn't hesitate and immediately joined them.

 

Needless to say, I absolutely dominated. 4 games, all shutouts. What a bunch of noobs.

 

Anyway, New Year's Eve came and I was nervous, as we were supposed to host a massive party, which always make me lose my chilled out attitude.

But luckily, I have a girlfriend that I have, so we plotted a plan to stay at home, relax and celebrate the completion of Earth's orbit around the Sun in peace.

 

.. Which, in turn, led to a massive hangover on January 1.

Turns out you cannot 'relax' that much. Especially if you have tons of beer in your cellar.

Also, don't try to lift yourself on a goalie stick, kids. It won't hold your weight.

I tried it and almost angered my neighbours. 

 

So, there's that, folks. My holidays, as usual, comprised of heavy drinking, watching hockey (congrats on the bronze medal, boys), movies (Die Hard still slaps) and mentally preparing myself for the ongoing season.

 

And what to say about that, now that I've touched this topic?

 

There's a lot of work in front of the whole team but I believe we can manage to show some progress.

 

The morale in our team is stronger than ever, especially now after number of wins, including shutouts.

Boys are fighting like lions, their performance is incredible and I would love to see it pay off.. In play-offs. 

However, keeping in touch with reality, we are facing the crucial leap forwards in the rebuild. 

We need to work on our depth and try to tighten our game. And also, we shouldn't allow opponents to have that many power plays. 

 

But I still feel like the future is really bright. I am rather optimistic and to our fans:

 

We will fight till the end!

 

 

Thank you for your time.

 

Ondřej

 

523 words capped for week ending 01/19/2025