The Cold Lake Wings are gearing up for the start of their season, attracting international hockey players to the city.
Czech Republic-born Pavel Simak is not only new to the Wings, but also to the country. He already can't wait to hit the ice and show what he has to offer.
"I'm really excited to play. I like everybody here, and it's an honour to be here... I'm very happy to be here," Simak said during a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 11.
Being part of a strong organization was what drew Simak to the Wings to begin with, along with the opportunity to advance his hockey career in another country.
While his team played an exhibition game against the Meadow Lake Mustangs earlier this month, Simak's plane was touching down in Edmonton. During his short-time here, he's been adjusting to the changes on and off the ice.
"Here, everything's smaller. The players are very fast and very smart," Simak detailed.
As the first European import player on Cold Lake's Jr. A team, he feels like all eyes will be on him to see how he measures up in the rink and the community.
"I want to be a better person, and be a better hockey player," Simak said.
Simak spent two seasons playing for the Czech U18 hockey league, where he scored 97 points in 88 games.
Wings head coach and GM Johnathan Aitken described Simak as a "physical presence in the defensive zone," and a good addition to the roster.
"We want a certain type of player that we're looking for. It's all about the piece of the puzzle that we're looking for. We want good quality people, hard working players, and ones that are going to be stand up kids that are willing to put the time and effort into development," he detailed, adding the team currently has 18 players.
"We still have work to be done on the management side of things to locate quality players who play a great game. We're being more patient than we should be with the type of players we want to find. We can go down to different leagues and start recruiting players, but we want a certain type of player."
Bonnyville-native Anson Smith said the team is slowly coming together, with players like Simak joining the line-up as the season ramps up. He thinks the slow build has allowed the team to come together in a unique way.
"We had guys that just showed up for our first couple of games the day of the game. We're starting to get a little bit more official now, and we've got a bunch of guys that are really coming together, and it's really going good. I'm feeling really confident about it," he expressed.
With their first regular games of the season on the road, Smith is looking forward to hitting home ice for the first time on Friday, Oct. 19. The puck drops at the Imperial Oil Place arena at 7:30 p.m.
"I'm just happy to have a bunch of fans, and hopefully, a lot of support. I think it will be a big night for us because of the crowd and everything that's happening, it will give everyone a extra jump. I expect a big game out of us that day," said Smith.
