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pontcanna
08-31-2012, 12:25 AM
Czech goalie brings plenty of style

BY MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, TIMESCOLONIST.COM AUGUST 30, 2012 10:01 PM

In his short stay in Victoria, Patrik Polivka has become infatuated with the city.

Now, he’s hoping he can make Victoria Royals fans fall in love with his play as he sets out on a major junior goaltending career after being selected 14th overall from his native Pizen, Czech Republic, in the Canadian Hockey League import draft in late June.

The 18-year-old officially signed a Western Hockey League Standard Players’ Agreement on Thursday afternoon then stood tall stopping the first 17 shots he faced in the team’s first pre-season game in Kamloops later in the evening. He allowed just one goal over 24 shots as Tim Bozon scored on a 5-on-3 power play to lead the Blazers to a 4-2 victory over the Royals.

Coleman Vollrath came on in relief for the Royals, who went with an extremely young lineup with an average age of 16.5 years. In fact, 15-year-old Tyler Soy — who also signed a player agreement earlier in the day — had both Victoria goals as the Royals were out-shot 44-23.

“It’s a beautiful city. I like it so much and the guys are so cool. I am so comfortable and I am so happy I am here,” Polivka said of the opportunity to be in Victoria.

Thrown into a tough situation, the six-foot, 170-pound import is still adjusting to life away from home, not to mention a different hockey style.

“The angles are different [because of the smaller ice surface] — lots of shots, lots of hits,” he said of the variances to the North American game. Last season he suited up with the HC Pizen U-20 team, where he posted a 3.20 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. “It’s actually a faster game, that is the biggest difference.”

And that’s just on the ice.

“He’s been here now about a week and we’re just getting to know him,” said Royals general manager Cam Hope. “He looks good on the ice and off of it he’s a terrific guy, speaks English perfectly.

“When he arrived here, after a 17- to 18-hour travel day, he didn’t want to go home, he wanted to come straight to the rink because he knew the guys were skating. He was out there and he’s fitting in just great.”

Which isn’t always an easy task, venturing from home to a new surrounding.

“I expected it would be a tough adjustment, but he seems to have fallen right into it,” said Hope. “He’s a terrific guy and hopefully he stops a lot of pucks.”

Polivka did just that on Thursday, looking sharp through the first half of the game.

So far, he has flashed his own style that appears to be a hybrid of sorts. He’s not a stand-up goalie, nor a butterfly-style netminder.

“I think he’s been good,” said head coach Dave Lowry. “The thing now is, you’ve been evaluating guys at camp and now it’s a different game.

“He’s going to have to find out how to play with traffic, with guys crashing the net,” added Lowry. “It’s a smaller rink. That’s an adjustment for him and something you have to take into consideration.”

But Polivka was looking forward to that challenge.

“I am so excited about [playing] games,” he said.

The bottom line, though, is he’ll have to perform to earn his keep.

“They’re going to battle it out and our decision is going to be based on their individual performances,” Lowry said of the goaltending situation. “They’ll get an opportunity to play in games and their play will dictate.”

ICE CHIPS: The Royals also signed recent draft picks Chaz Reddekopp, Regan Nagy and Matthew Campese, and 1996-born players Brandon Fushimi, Michael Bell, Ryan Gagnon and Michael Herringer to WHL Standard Players’ Agreements.

Also coming to terms Thursday was a pair of Telus Cup champions. Kolton Dixon and Logan Fisher, both 17, were members of the Red Deer Optimist team which won the national midget championship last season. Dixon is a six-foot-four defenceman, while Fisher is a six-foot-two forward.

rednex50
08-31-2012, 04:17 PM
So, is Hamilton and Rathjen fighting for starter job as well...or released/traded over the summer?

Obviously living in Chilliwack, I am unable to go down and check things out for myself personally