Dominika Lásková: Oh, vraiment? It’s great!
Tereza Vanišová: They deserve it… after they beat you Canadians! [laughs]
TV: Additionally, the Czech U18 team won an exhibition game against the Americans yesterday. This is the first time this has happened.
DL: Most of the boys now go to play in North America at the junior or college level. At home, the girls play with the boys, then head to the Swedish Premier League. It helps them, since they play against players from senior teams. There are others who come to college here, and I think it’s good for the young Czech players.
TV: We don’t have a professional league at home. So you have to leave the country to go play internationally. Or play with the boys…
TV: I quit at 19! Both of them, in fact. It’s a long shot, right?
DL: But it’s changing more and more. Girls leave Czechia for the United States, Sweden or Finland around 16, 17 years old now.
TV and DL: Wow!
DL: Honestly, it’s really good.
DL: Even back home, people follow us. Personally, I am interested in how it is perceived in Czechia, because I am trying to help hockey grow there. It’s good to know that people support us. We also talk about it here, not just in North America.
Tereza Vanišová, a forward, and Dominika Lásková, a defender, are both 27 years old. They have played together in the Czech national team since they were teenagers. In Montreal, this is the second time they have been paired among the pros. Last year, they won the Premier Hockey Federation championship with the Toronto Six.
TV: We played on the same line for a good part of last season. We see each other well on the ice.
DL: I played as a center and we were paired together. Since we’ve known each other for several years, she knows what to expect from me, and vice versa. Now that I’m on defense and she’s a winger, it’s different, but I still know what she’s going to do on the ice.
TV: We’ve been watching each other play for far too long…
DL: It was at first, but it’s not the first time I’ve done it. I grew up as a defender, then I was a forward in college [Merrimack]. I find that it’s easier to go from attacker to defender than the other way around, because the attackers have to skate a little more. […]
Complicit glances and hilarity ensue.
DL: What do you think, T?
Tereza bursts out laughing.
TV: She’s something!
DL: Yes, I am the goofy one. It’s important to bring this positive energy into the locker room. I think it’s more necessary than people might think.
TV: Sometimes when Dominika isn’t there, I feel like it’s quiet… Then she comes, and the room lights up!
TV: No, not at all. We started camp together and we still are today. We’ll see how it goes… It’s been okay so far.
[Laughs]
TV: Just kidding! She is an extraordinary hockey player.
DL: That’s great! We live 10 minutes from here, just a short walk. Wellington Street is very beautiful. We have a small apartment, two bedrooms.
The two players are roommates.
TV: I have a feeling we won’t have much time to explore the city, though.
DL: We got to see her a little more when we were in a hotel downtown.
DL: Not really [laughs]. We practice, but it’s difficult [to learn French].
TV: It’s more me practicing.
DL: T practices and I listen.
TV: She doesn’t want to practice her French with me.
DL: We know two phrases.
JFT: I’d like to hear them, please.
Tereza launches into a very honorable “Hello, how are you? I’m doing well. »
DL: It was summer, I had to make a decision. I knew the draft here was in September and the schedule was going to start in January. So I wanted to be ready in the event that I was drafted. In my contract with Luleå, it was indicated that I could leave to come here. […] It was a great experience. I was sad because I don’t like leaving in the middle of the season. But I had to do it to continue my career. It was obvious that I had to come here. I played 14 games there, which is better than nothing. I was able to get into a good rhythm.
DL: I won’t lie, the salaries are better here than they are in Sweden, even if the conditions are good there. But if you’re asked if you want to play with the best player in the world or stay in Sweden, you’re going to choose what you prefer, right? I think I can speak for Tereza: it’s a dream come true to play with and against the best players in the world. On a daily basis, not just once or twice during international tournaments. We can compare ourselves every day. It will help us when we return to the national team.
DL: I was even happier than you!
TV: We didn’t expect it. It was not planned.
DL: We were lucky, because we said we wanted to be on the same team.
TV: And we wanted to stay in Canada! I don’t know why, but I prefer Canada to the United States.
TV: I think they want to come. It’s a better quality league, the hockey is different from Europe. […]
DL: Players from Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic have asked me how things are going so far. I hope there will be more Europeans, because we can bring a lot to this style of hockey. We want to show that it’s no longer just a question of Canada or the United States [laughs].
TV: It will improve the national teams and the world championships. The tournaments will be more balanced, the gap will be smaller. It will help everyone, especially the development of women’s hockey.
