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I Am a Coupon · 07-11-2018, 08:19 AM

1017 words (x2 Media week)

Post Draft Catch-Up : Krištof Kovacs

Jonáš Seagull
C.H.E.W. (Czechoslovakian Hockey Entertainment Worldwide)

July 11th, 2018

This is part 2 of 4 featuring the Czechoslovakia Kovacs brothers. In this article I sat down with Krištof and got his thoughts, after being drafted to the Halifax Raiders.

Kristof Kovacs and his brother Oliver were recently pronounced prospects of the SMJHL draft this year. Budding young players from Czechoslovakia, who were drafted 7th and 8th to the Halifax Raiders.

I’ve had the privilege of watching the Kovacs playback when they were very young . But they had moved to Canada to be able to develop at a much higher rate. They both are very much complementary to each other’s skillset. Kristof has always had his brother on his wing and it’s no surprise that TDZ(Halifax’s GM) saw that as a valuable asset to have on a rebuilding Raiders team.

Q1: How do you feel about your new team and city?

It’s great ! Halifax is such a beautiful city, as soon and my brother and I got off the plane we went straight to the pier to see the ocean. Lucky for us there was this very big Busker Festival going on and we went to dinner the city just felt alive. The next day we arrived at the arena and got to meet the rest of the team. They seem like a very great group of guys. A lot are rookies like myself so a lot of us got to take it all in together.

Q2: What was your reaction when you and your brother were selected 7th and 8th overall?

We were ecstatic to say the least! We have always played together so we were really hoping to go to the same team no matter where in the draft we got picked. The fact that we were 7th and 8th is just magical. I still can’t shake the euphoria of that night , it will be something I always remember.

Q3 What about your father’s reaction? I’m sure he's happy to have both his sons drafted, let alone to the same organization.

I think he was more happy than we were. He’s been very active in our hockey careers and I’m sure that it’s an awesome experience for him seeing us drafted, especially together.

Q4: Did you have any worries about not being drafted together and going to separate teams for the first time?

Yeah of course, I feel blessed to be drafted to the same team as Oliver. But of course we knew going into this draft that the odds were low on us sticking together. I’m glad the Raiders saw that the two of us can make something work on their team and we are ready to give them results this season.

Q5: You said your father has been heavily involved in both yours and Oliver’s careers. Any big purchases you plan on getting him as a ‘thank you dad?”

We’ll we aren’t stinking rich yet, to buy him everything he deserves, but of course we want give back a small fraction of what's he’s given to us . Most of them are small things but the biggie will be getting him a new roof on the house. That way he doesn’t have to break his back doing it by himself.

Q6: What are you goals this year with the Halifax Raiders? What kind of roll do you hope to be playing your first season there?

This year ,I really want to put my nose to the grindstone and honestly work my ass off! Want to give our team the best chance at success. I really would like to work on my defensive game, since I know that I have a scoring touch but I need to be more accountable on both ends of the ice. I believe that I’ll be remaining on a line with my brother since we have good on ice synergy. Next to ourselves, we are each other’s hardest critics.

Q7: You spoke about your weakness on the ice; any others? Also, what would you say your strengths are?

Good question. As you can see i’m not the biggest guy so I won’t be laying anyone out. I feel like I need to spend this off season to add some mass. If size is not on my side, then I’ll need to be stronger on the puck. As for my strengths, I feel like I can hold my own in the faceoff dot and speed up the ice in a flash. I’ve been told that my shot is one of my stronger points too. This is a new league so my strengths could just be normal, this league is filled with amazing talent. We will see with the days to come, I’m excited to go up against the competition and show what I can do!

Q8: We always ask young players what music they’re currently listening to, can you give us a glimpse into the Spotify playlist of the Kovacs brothers?

Well our dad really loves hair metal when he was growing up so I feel like that has an effect on our tastes. There’s this band Greta Van Fleet , they sound like Guns and Roses but they’re just a group of guys our age living the dream! I’ve really gotten into Childish Gambino, his album Awaken My Love is on repeat. As for Oliver, this is where we differ, he’s more so into finding new bands and styles of music. You’d have to ask him, i’m sure he could give you some suggestions to keep current Jonáš .

Q7: I think we’re pretty much wrapped up here, is there anything you’d like to tell our readers back home ?

I couldn’t feel more honoured to be selected in the SMJHL and hopefully that one I day I will be able to represent our great nation on the ice! I would like to dedicate a lot of my success to my late mother. I know she watches over us, just as we try to make our father proud we do the same for her.

*JURT* · 07-11-2018, 08:43 AM

Copy-pasted from Word eh? That changes the automatic font for black font which is not good for us dark theme users :(

I Am a Coupon · 07-11-2018, 09:34 AM

07-11-2018, 08:43 AMlespoils Wrote: Copy-pasted from Word eh? That changes the automatic font for black font which is not good for us dark theme users :(

I didn't even realize, I think I corrected it. Please let me know!

*JURT* · 07-11-2018, 11:36 AM

Works great on both themes now, great write-up!

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