BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Derek Stepan was born in Hastings, Minnesota, two days after Jaromir Jagr became the No. 5 pick in the 1990 National Hockey League entry draft in Vancouver.
When Stepan himself was drafted 18 years later by the New York Rangers, Jagr had just two months earlier said goodbye to the Blueshirts after four seasons on Broadway and 18 total in the NHL. So their paths have never crossed until now.
Stepan is 20 and a nifty Rangers' forward who is here with Team USA. Jagr is 39 and surprisingly fresh off three seasons with Avangard Omsk of Russia's Kontinental League and is leading the high-powered Czechs, if not quite in points, then certainly in star power. The teams and the players meet in a quarter-final match at the IIHF world hockey championship Wednesday at Orange Arena.
Jagr knows the United States is young. The young Americans generally only know of Jagr.
“This is my first time playing against him, which is kind of cool. I'm not going to lie,” said Stepan. “There's an (awe) level but you've got to make sure you keep yourself ready to play at the same time. It will be pretty cool and I'll get to say that I did it.
“I don't have any specific memories but obviously you know who he is. You grow up and he's one of your heroes. I shouldn't say heroes, but one of your idols you look up to and say ‘oh man, this guy can play.' You watch him. When you're playing road hockey, you're him or other guys are him.”
He can still play on the big ice and thinks he'd be fine in the NHL, too. And to hear Jagr tell it, he loves hockey more now than ever before - and there was much to love; two Stanley Cups, five Art Ross Trophies, one Hart Trophy and 1,599 points in 1,273 games. There is perspective that comes with age but there are questions that come with the end of every season, and on Tuesday he didn't have the answers.
Or at the very least, he wasn't willing to share them, beyond making it clear he wants to keep playing and would eventually wrap it up at home. He is mulling over a one-year offer from Omsk and only toying with the thought of a return to the NHL.
“Unless I stop liking the game, I want to play. I love the game. I like to play better and better every day. I think I enjoy the practices and games more than I ever did. I don't know. Don't ask me. That's the way it is.”
He played sparingly and not well in an exhibition game against Canada in Prague on April 27, but has dialed it up for the tournament. Only Patrik Elias, with seven, and Martin Havlat (six) have more than Jagr's five points on the veteran Czech team. He plays 15 minutes 54 seconds a game, is plus-six and has a team-leading 21 shots through six victories.
He has wowed the crowd and the local media and if he has given his critics pause, even better.
“It's a big motivation. If guys, not a lot of guys, but if people say he cannot play anymore that's extra motivation to just prove them wrong,” he said.
“My advantage is I don't think my game was about speed. When you're older, you're losing the speed. My game never was about speed. That's why Teemu Selanne surprise me because his game is about speed and he still has it and he's two years older than me and he was playing unbelievable.”
Selanne isn't here to help the Finns; the grind of an NHL season and seven-game playoff series kept him too long in North America. Jagr's season with Omsk was over and his motivation high to rejoin the national team.
He had scolded NHLers who refused to play last year in Germany. This time, there are plenty who came back to Europe and the chances of back-to-back championships seem quite good. If they beat the struggling U.S. team, the Czechs would meet the winner of Sweden/Germany in the semifinal.
“Last year we had only three guys from NHL coming to help us. I don't think it was enough,” he said. “But on the other side, those guys who never really had a chance to play for national team, they got the chance and they took advantage of that. The team was just great. There was a lot of workers. Not much talent, but a lot of workers and in those key situations we were pretty lucky and we became the champions.
“This year it's a different story. There's a lot more guys coming from NHL, very good players. You can see during the tournament we play a lot better hockey than we did last year but bottom line is, it's all going to be decided by one goal, one mistake. That's the way it is.”
Edmonton Journal
When Stepan himself was drafted 18 years later by the New York Rangers, Jagr had just two months earlier said goodbye to the Blueshirts after four seasons on Broadway and 18 total in the NHL. So their paths have never crossed until now.
Stepan is 20 and a nifty Rangers' forward who is here with Team USA. Jagr is 39 and surprisingly fresh off three seasons with Avangard Omsk of Russia's Kontinental League and is leading the high-powered Czechs, if not quite in points, then certainly in star power. The teams and the players meet in a quarter-final match at the IIHF world hockey championship Wednesday at Orange Arena.
Jagr knows the United States is young. The young Americans generally only know of Jagr.
“This is my first time playing against him, which is kind of cool. I'm not going to lie,” said Stepan. “There's an (awe) level but you've got to make sure you keep yourself ready to play at the same time. It will be pretty cool and I'll get to say that I did it.
“I don't have any specific memories but obviously you know who he is. You grow up and he's one of your heroes. I shouldn't say heroes, but one of your idols you look up to and say ‘oh man, this guy can play.' You watch him. When you're playing road hockey, you're him or other guys are him.”
He can still play on the big ice and thinks he'd be fine in the NHL, too. And to hear Jagr tell it, he loves hockey more now than ever before - and there was much to love; two Stanley Cups, five Art Ross Trophies, one Hart Trophy and 1,599 points in 1,273 games. There is perspective that comes with age but there are questions that come with the end of every season, and on Tuesday he didn't have the answers.
Or at the very least, he wasn't willing to share them, beyond making it clear he wants to keep playing and would eventually wrap it up at home. He is mulling over a one-year offer from Omsk and only toying with the thought of a return to the NHL.
“Unless I stop liking the game, I want to play. I love the game. I like to play better and better every day. I think I enjoy the practices and games more than I ever did. I don't know. Don't ask me. That's the way it is.”
He played sparingly and not well in an exhibition game against Canada in Prague on April 27, but has dialed it up for the tournament. Only Patrik Elias, with seven, and Martin Havlat (six) have more than Jagr's five points on the veteran Czech team. He plays 15 minutes 54 seconds a game, is plus-six and has a team-leading 21 shots through six victories.
He has wowed the crowd and the local media and if he has given his critics pause, even better.
“It's a big motivation. If guys, not a lot of guys, but if people say he cannot play anymore that's extra motivation to just prove them wrong,” he said.
“My advantage is I don't think my game was about speed. When you're older, you're losing the speed. My game never was about speed. That's why Teemu Selanne surprise me because his game is about speed and he still has it and he's two years older than me and he was playing unbelievable.”
Selanne isn't here to help the Finns; the grind of an NHL season and seven-game playoff series kept him too long in North America. Jagr's season with Omsk was over and his motivation high to rejoin the national team.
He had scolded NHLers who refused to play last year in Germany. This time, there are plenty who came back to Europe and the chances of back-to-back championships seem quite good. If they beat the struggling U.S. team, the Czechs would meet the winner of Sweden/Germany in the semifinal.
“Last year we had only three guys from NHL coming to help us. I don't think it was enough,” he said. “But on the other side, those guys who never really had a chance to play for national team, they got the chance and they took advantage of that. The team was just great. There was a lot of workers. Not much talent, but a lot of workers and in those key situations we were pretty lucky and we became the champions.
“This year it's a different story. There's a lot more guys coming from NHL, very good players. You can see during the tournament we play a lot better hockey than we did last year but bottom line is, it's all going to be decided by one goal, one mistake. That's the way it is.”
Edmonton Journal
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