Vokoun eager to guard Czech goal

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2004

By Lucas Aykroyd

One thing you can say about Tomas Vokoun is that he isn’t afraid to speak his mind. During the first round of the NHL playoffs, the 27-year-old netminder of the Nashville Predators described the Detroit Red Wings as “arrogant” and “whiners.” Some in the media and the Detroit dressing room claimed that those comments gave the Wings the motivation to rally for a 4-2 series victory. But without the brilliant performance of the 6-0, 195-pound native of Karlovy Vary, the Predators wouldn’t have pushed the Wings as far as they did, or even have made the NHL-post season for the first time. Vokoun’s numbers tell most of the story: 73 games played, 34 wins, a 2.53 GAA, and a .909 save percentage. IHWC.NET’s Lucas Aykroyd caught up with him for the rest of the tale, as Vokoun prepares to vie with Roman Cechmanek for the starting job in Prague.

IHWC.NET: How do you feel about the workload you’ve had to shoulder in goal with Nashville since Mike Dunham was traded to the Rangers?

Tomas Vokoun: Obviously it’s not easy, but as a player you want to play, and you want to be in the games. I’m really happy about getting a chance to play a lot. You know, as a player, you work out in the summer and you run and you do all those things to prepare for the season so you can play. The last year and a half have gone pretty good for me. It’s been lots of fun.

IHWC.NET: You were selected to play in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game. How did you improve your game to get that kind of recognition?

Vokoun: It’s an individual achievement, but it’s also a team achievement. Our team’s been better. We’ve been winning more games. So it’s all tied together. I think that was taken into consideration when I was nominated. I was on top of the league in wins at that time, but nobody can do it by himself. It’s a reward for the whole team.

IHWC.NET: This season, you were one of four original Predators on the roster. How much progress has this organization made since 1998?

Vokoun: It’s been a long road. We made some good draft picks, and we’ve gotten deeper as a team. In the past we had trouble with injuries, and we didn’t have any second or third-line players who could step up. If our key players got hurt, we weren’t able to score or do other things. This year, the difference was that our team was deeper and we could deal better with things like injuries or guys going into slumps.

IHWC.NET: What was your reaction to Jan Lasak’s moving on to play in Russia?

Vokoun: It’s hard. He played for a couple of years in the minors. If you don’t have the coach’s trust, and I don’t think he had that, well, that’s why they went and brought in Chris Mason. I think for Jan, it’s actually better that he should play in Russia than in the minors. He’s still a young guy and he still has a chance to come back to the NHL. You know, it’s always a bumpy road. My own road was long and bumpy. He’ll just have to work hard and hopefully things will turn around.

IHWC.NET: With him being Slovak and you two facing each other in the bronze medal game at last year’s Worlds, did you have a personal rivalry?

Vokoun: Obviously yes. Whenever I play, no matter who I play against, I have a rivalry with the other guy. I want to beat him. I want to win the hockey game. But we were on the same team here with Nashville. So yes, you end up competing with the other guy, but there is no reason why you should dislike him. It’s just business. Usually if the guy plays well, it makes you play better as well. You’ve got to approach it that way.

IHWC.NET: What did you think about your performance in Finland?

Vokoun: I had a pretty good tournament. I didn’t have my best game against Canada, but it was a great experience. Like I said, sometimes in hockey things can seem like they’re going to be so easy but then end up going totally the opposite way. Usually you learn the most, not necessarily from the bad experiences, but from the tough ones. We wanted to win and get a medal, but we were unable to do that. Still, I have a lot of memories, and I had a lot of fun over there.

IHWC.NET: What were your impressions of Roman Malek, your backup in Finland?

Vokoun: He’s a really nice guy. He really had an unbelievable season last year in the Czech League. I don’t remember how many shutouts he had, but I guess it was a lot. His team won the league. He’s a good goaltender. Unfortunately for him, he’s a small guy and I think that’s probably why he’s stayed home rather than coming to the NHL. It’s tough. I’m not the tallest guy either. It’s not easy to play in the NHL when they put guys who are 6-3 or 6-4 screening in front of you.

IHWC.NET: He really seems to have great flexibility.

Vokoun: Oh, he’s unbelievable! Actually, I’ve never seen anybody as flexible as he is.

IHWC.NET: In that specific area, would you compare him to Dominik Hasek or Mike Richter in their prime?

Vokoun: I wouldn’t even say that. I think he’s a lot more flexible than Hasek is. Malek can do unbelievable things without any warmup. It’s as if he’s made of rubber.

IHWC.NET: From 1998 to 2001, everything went the Czech Republic’s way in hockey. What’s changed the last few years?

Vokoun: See, it’s hockey. You’re not going to be winning all the time. People sometimes, especially at home, don’t realize how it is. We’re playing against the best players from Finland, Russia, Canada, Sweden, Slovakia and so on. There are a lot of good teams, and the difference is so little between the top countries. Nowadays, I don’t think it’s as simple as just being “the best team.” The best team doesn’t always win. For a while things went our way. Now, we finished fourth last year at the Worlds. Still, being fourth in the world is not such a bad finish. The fans sometimes get a little carried away because we won three times in a row, and they think we’re going to win all the time. But anyone who knows hockey realizes it’s not going to happen.

IHWC.NET: This year, the World Championships are being held in the Czech Republic. How do you think your national team will handle the pressure of playing at home?

Vokoun: It’s not going to be easy. You look at the way the Finns finished last year. Or then in 2000, the Russians had an all-star team in St. Petersburg and they didn’t even make the quarter-finals. It’s a lot of pressure to play at home. But I think everyone in Czech is looking forward to it. No matter how things work out, you’ve got to love those games. These are games you’re going to remember, and you’ll be giving so much of yourself in front of your friends and family and countrymen. I’m not worried about how we will handle the pressure.

IHWC.NET: What do you think about the fact they’ve built the new Sazka Arena with an NHL-type capacity of 16,300 in Prague?

Vokoun: It’s going to be a nice rink. We need it. We’re one of the top countries in hockey, and we didn’t have any decent buildings. It was about time to make a change. Obviously you don’t want to play for the World Championships at home in front of 5,000 fans. For this, they could probably have constructed a building to hold 30,000 and it would have been full.