"The contract? It will fix itself. Now I’m on the World Championship," says Danish prospect Mikkel Bødker.

What was the key to the match against Latvia?
The whole team came together as a group and were playing for 65 minutes. We didn’t get too high or too low when the score changed. Our goalie played amazing.

What’s the difference between today’s and previous matches?
We had the puck lot more than in previous matches. We’ve got to control the game and that help us gain momentum and confidence.

What do you expect from the next matches?
I don’t know who we are playing yet. Right know I don’t want to think about it – I just want to go to the dressing room and just sit down and rest.

What do you say about your last season? You played your third season for Phoenix Coyotes and were eliminated in the first play-off round by Detroit Red Wings in four matches for the second year in row.
Yeah, they are a really good hockey team. And so are we. But they out battled us in four games, those things just happen. We were mentally prepared, but they obviously worked a little harder and played a little better.

Which season would you say was your best? You used to spend more time on ice during your rookie season than you spent this year.
All three of them were good. The second one was a little hard [Mikkel spent most of it playing for Phoenix farm-team San Antonio Rampage], the first one was a lot of fun. The trainer had a lot of confidence in me, I played a lot of minutes each game. Over these three years I’ve picked up the tone of the game, learned a lot and became a better player. I can’t really pick up one season.



Your rookie contract with Coyotes ends after the play-offs. Would you like to stay or try to change location?
No, no, no. I’m happy just where I am right now. I am mentally here at the World Champs and try not to worry about contract. It will fix itself. But I would like to stay in Phoenix.

Do you like it in Arizona? It is somehow a little different from Denmark.
Yes it is. It’s very hot. And I like it, so we hopefully won’t go to Winnipeg.

Why are you here at the championship the only Danish player from the NHL? You’ve got another solid players like Peter Regin or Frans Nielsen.
They are all injured. But we’ve got other guys that stepped up and we played really strong team game.

Do you have a good time in Bratislava?
Yeah I’ve enjoyed it so far. It’s a nice city, a little quiet. You’ve got a lot of places to go. Obviously it’s nice when you have a day off and you go to the old town sit down or hang out and watch some hockey.

 

Advanced player search

Tweets by @eurohockey