The main thing is to start changes, says Jaromír Jágr, the next CEO of HC Kladno

Don’t worry. As Jágr told in the interview for MF Dnes, it definitely doesn’t mean the end of his active career, he will be still playing on the professional level, but it is too early to talk about where it will be: "It could be Kladno as well as Omsk or another club. Also comeback to NHL is possible. It depends also on the situation in HC Kladno after this season,” Jágr said with link on the current unpleasant results of HC Kladno in this Extraliga season.

Kladno is penult in the league standing and it will have to fight for keeping its Extraliga place in the play-down. HC Kladno also could be relegated and for a player of Jágr’s caliber it is really impossible to play the second level competition. Especially now, when Jágr is the leader of Omsk in KHL – Jágr is figuring on the ninth spot of current points table and his teammate from the Omsk first line – another Czech Roman Červenka, is the current best goal-scorer and third in points. "I will definitely play in Kladno, but not necessary in the next season, maybe in a few years, but once, I definitely will,” Jágr claimed.

It means plausibility of the remote control of the club. "It is one of the eventualities. With a help of people what will fulfill my imagines and orders it is possible. But the main thing is to start changes,” told the gold-medalist from the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.

"There are lots of troubles now in HC Kladno. Finances, image of the club, aging arena, results of the Extraliga team, attendance… People are working in 25km far Prague, they cannot catch the Kladno Extraliga games, that often are unwatchable, it’s a vicious circle,” Jágr told.

The fivefold holder of Art Ross Trophy for the NHL player who scored the most points during the regular season (1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001) claimed that he will start with reformation of the youth teams. "Earlier, Kladno always had five players in every national team category at least. I would like assure conditions for growth of great players again.”

As MF Dnes appointed, it could be a good start for the all Czech hockey, what is in the big inhibition. Youth national teams are far behind the national teams like Canada, Sweden or Russia. You can see it every year on the U20 World Championships, but not only there: last weekend in Finland also faced the bad work with Czech young players during the 4-nations tournament. Czechs lost all three games with Russia, Sweden and Finland with the score 4:15(!).

Naturally, the next question on Jágr was how he would like to manage the restart of good players growing? "I need goad coaches, eligible Kladno natives what are scattered in the all Czech Republic. I would like to face them my visions, encourage them.”

But why he wants to start before the next season? Why right now?  A current CEO of the Club, Jágr eponymous father Jaromír sr., is tired from this work. "He is leading the club for seventeen years. In the age of 70 he doesn’t stand in need of these worries. The club needs strong partners, but there aren’t any in Kladno. I hope that I with a help of my friends can fetch up any. My father also suppose that my position in negotiations with the city hall will be better than his,” Jágr jr. said, "I know that people, perhaps  they’ll apprehend that for children of Kladno is conducive to play sports.”

 

Advanced player search

Tweets by @eurohockey