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Day 6: November 18, Trnava, Slovakia
On Day Six of the NHLPA Goals & Dreams “10 countries in 10 days” tour, Zdeno Ciger, and Joseph Budaj - Peter’s brother - joined the G & D crew.
Day Six – Tour going strong as the team visits Trnava, Slovakia…
Day 6 in Trnava, Slovakia is close to being wrapped up. We just finished two games against some of the local kids whom we are donating the equipment to. I don't want to toot my own horn, but after finishing +2 with 2 shots on goal, I'm thinking of making a comeback. Matt 'Langdon' Langen and ‘DAvon’ Devin Smith seemed a little outclassed by the 7 and 8-year olds they were competing against. Zamuner showed promise, but his old legs caught up to him by the 12- minute mark of the first period. High-fives, photos, and a press conference followed by a 2-hour drive to Vienna, and voila, Day 6 is done.
We are having a blast and meeting some amazing people on this voyage which hopefully will deliver well on film. We have been gathering a tonne of great footage, interviews and b-roll that will be used to create a nice recap when we return. To give you an idea of how much material we are capturing, our poor cameraman Keith Whalen lugged his camera around to film almost every corner of Prague yesterday and most of Bratislava this morning. (One thing that I hope doesn't make it to film is ‘Langdon’s’ right armpit excessive perspiration. If anyone reading this blog can help slow down his leaky right faucet, please contact us!)
We landed in Bratislava early this morning and immediately hopped into a couple of cars and drove – no joke – 160 kms per hour to Trnava. The day kicked off with us meeting with the mayor, before heading over to a school to hang out with some kids and listening to Zams rehashing his glory days in Tampa Bay.
And we got down to real business today too, giving more kids here in Slovakia a chance to lace-up the blades and play this game that we all love. Another 25 sets of equipment were donated by the NHLPA Goals & Dreams program today: 9 sets to HK Trnava, 8 sets to HK Banska Bystrica, and 8 sets for HK Michalovce. As has been the case everywhere so far on the tour, the kids were super-pumped to receive the new gear, and to hear some hockey stories from Zams, myself and Zdeno Ciger today.
Of all our days on this tour so far, Day 6 in Trnava has been the busiest. We’re looking forward to our 2-hour drive tonight to Vienna, Austria. We head to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzogovina tomorrow, and I think I speak for the group in saying that we’ve had Day 7, Bosnia circled on our schedule for the entire trip. It’s going to be special.
Stay tuned...
P.J.
NHLPA Goals & Dreams in Slovakia
NHLPA Goals & Dreams has contributed over $225,000 CDN worth of hockey equipment in Slovakia. To aid the many programs in the country that offer free ice time to children, the fund has donated more than 325 sets of equipment. NHLPA Goals & Dreams’ involvement in Slovakia enables and encourages children to become involved in hockey.
A few of the programs supported by the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund include:
- HK Ruzinov 99 – 90 sets of equipment
- HK SKP Poprad – 60 sets of equipment
- Korculiarsky Klub – 50 sets of equipment
- HC Topolcany – 50 sets of equipment – Miroslav Satan and Lubomir Visnovsky
- Slovakia School Children – 50 sets of equipment – Milan Jurcina
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NHLPA Goals & Dreams facts:
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