Tomas Vokoun
Tomas Vokoun
Tomáš Vokounis a retired Czech professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey Leaguefor the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he was originally drafted in the ninth round, 226th overall, in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft...
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth2 July 1976
CityKarlovy Vary, Czech Republic
blocks defense guys helps playing pressure taken veteran
Brendan Witt is playing great. He blocks shots. He is also a leader. With him in the lineup the whole defense has the pressure taken off of them. We have a lot of young guys and a veteran like Brendan helps them play better.
busy few guys missing
I wasn't too busy (last night), ... They were missing a few of their guys but I thought I did pretty well.
best czech elite everybody grew guy high home league national played respect several standard watching
I grew up watching Dominik Hasek. Back home he played several years in the Czech Elite League and was the No. 1 guy on our national team. He was really the first Czech goalie to come over to the NHL and do well. He set the standard so high for everybody else, it's unbelievable. I have a lot of respect for him because he's been one of the best if not the best goalie to ever play the game.
guy team
When one guy makes a mistake, it's like dominoes from there. We have to be better as a team and as individuals.
against canada four germany goals guy
Does one guy play against Germany and another against Canada? You can play against Germany and someone else and get two shutouts, or you could play against Canada, give up four goals and play great. How would you really decide?
bunch came goals guys
I didn't do very good. But our guys came through and scored a bunch of goals and that's why we won.
guy guys hard hardest push rule stands
In the past, if a guy comes up to the net, you can cross-check him and push him out of the way. Now you can't do anything. He just stands there. You have two of their guys there and two of our guys there and it's really hard to see the puck. That's the hardest part about the rule changes.
guy ice middle seconds walking
In a 2-2 game, there's no way their guy should be walking down the middle of the ice with 10 seconds to shoot, deke or do whatever. Breakdowns like that kill you.
boards guys hard middle mistakes protect win
You've got to protect the middle of the ice. The guys on the boards are not a concern. It's hard to win when you're making mistakes like that.
best czech europe everybody goal grow kid natural player playing practice realize remember saves since style trying watched
I've watched him play since I was 7-years-old. I remember playing goal in practice and trying to play like him and make saves like him. Then you grow up and realize that everybody is different. Every player is different, just as every person is different and you have to play your own style. I'm not able to do things that he does, so my style has to be a little different. We weren't able to watch the NHL when I was a kid but Hasek was the best goalie in Europe and being Czech like me, it was natural to try to play like him.
cancel danger decision friend front immediate life lost national
It was the right decision to cancel our other game, especially being his friend from our national team. You put life in front of everything because he was in immediate danger and he could've lost his life.
against detroit expect win
It was an embarrassing effort. We got outplayed and outscored. If you expect to play like that and win against Detroit that's impossible.
chance
Things went their way. I think they scored on every chance they had.
crucial good team work
Crucial breakdowns to a good team is not going to work. We had opportunities but it didn't work out.