EurolancheDavid
Registered User
Sorry guys, we absolutely forgot to translate it in the summer, but it is online now finally. Part of this story was also published in the biggest national daily newspaper in Slovakia where I work.
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Maximilian Pajpach became the only Slovak player drafted in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, when the Colorado Avalanche picked him with the 174th overall pick. The Avalanche held a development camp for their youngsters during summer and the former Poprad goalie was one of the participants. The camp in Colorado wasn’t your typical on-ice training sessions camp. All of the camp took place off-ice. The camp was mainly about getting to know how life in the NHL feels like. Maxo will spent the next two seasons in Finland, where he signed a contract, but hopes to get a shot at a roster spot with the Avs in the near future. He wrote a diary during camp, exclusively for Eurolanche.com.
July 5th – Saturday
The day, which I’ve been impatiently waiting for since the draft when the Avalanche chose me, is finally here. Two days after selecting me at the Entry Draft, they send me an invitation to their development camp via e-mail, which took me by surprise. This’ll be the first time I’ll be on a plane for such a long time. I’ll need to get up early, because I’ll be picked up in Poprad, where I live, and brought to Vienna. I didn’t want to sleep anywhere near, since I wanted to spend the time remaining before my journey with my family, which has always supported me.
July 6th – Sunday
I’m already on the plane to Denver! The trip from Poprad to Vienna was really long, but can’t be compared with what I experienced since we took off to Washington. Ten endless hours, without my teammates! It was pretty boring. All in all, everything went well, even though I didn’t have much time to board the plane to Denver. The boards at the airport were pretty coherent and after I passed the immigration control, I finally got on my next flight. I’ll finally be in Denver in just four hours!
(Later)
I’ve just arrived at the hotel. A club official was waiting for me at the airport and drove me here. I’ll finally get some rest after spending the last 24 hours on my feet. I’ll be sharing my room with Swede Dennis Everberg. He seems like an okay guy. We’ll talk more tomorrow, now’s the time to get to sleep.
July 7th – Monday
Today was still pretty easy, since some of the guys from the US and Canada didn’t arrive before noon. We’re 24 players in total. First, we looked around the malls and bought some souvenirs and clothes. Not too much of course! After filling out some papers, the club gave us clothes with their logos, so I’m already in a dilemma, since I have no idea how I’ll bring everything back home to Slovakia. It’s mostly caps, t-shirts, trainers, a bag and a special book about how we’ll be divided into squads, everything about the schedule, some contacts, stats and photos… Maybe I’ll have to leave some things behind! But only things I brought from home, of course.
Besides that, everyone got to know each other and we met with some of the trainers, who’ll be giving us a hard time in the coming weeks. Everybody agreed that we’d really like to meet Patrick Roy. One of the interesting things they made us do was learning how to communicate with the media, something I’ve never experienced home in Slovakia.
I really like Denver a lot, it’s a nice and big city, and it has broad roads and not as many big and tall buildings… Classic America! I also have to compliment the local cuisine, which was delicious and literally dropped my jaw.
July 8th – Tuesday
This was really a hard day! We had to get up at seven and went straight to breakfast. Afterwards, we went to the medical center, where they did a plethora of testing, including measurements, blood sampling and so on. We also went to the Avs’ training facility, the Family Sports Center. There we took the first couple of physical test, like balance, jumps, cycling etc.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and had dinner together. I’ll really remember that we got to change in the same locker room as the guys from the first team. I immediately noticed Nathan MacKinnon’s stall!
July 9th – Wednesday
We resumed training at the Avs’ training facility, where we also had presentations about healthy nutrition and good hydration. We talked about what food we should eat and stuff like that. We also talked about our way of training. They had a lot of questions about our training regime and pointed out any mistakes we were making. We also had a two-hour meeting with a sleeping specialist. The most of us had no idea how sleeping could influence an athlete’s performance.
In the afternoon, we went to see the Colorado Rockies of the MLB. Although it was an interesting game, I don’t really like baseball, because I think it’s pretty boring. After dinner, each of us had an individual meeting concerning nutrition.
Not only did I learn a lot of new things, but I was also promised a fifteen-page-long diet book by our coaches, based on the meetings I mentioned.
July 10th – Thursday
After breakfast we took off to the natural amphitheatre in Red Rocks. Members of Eurolanche who’ve been to Denver certainly remember the endless stairs, which are there. We had to run up and down those stairs for like 2 or 3 hours. It was really a nail in the coffin for most of us, some of the guys were close to fainting and some were even vomiting.
Afterwards, we had a meeting with Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog, who told us about how he became a professional and other things he’s experienced. It was a great experience, from which a lot of us learned a lot. Another interesting thing was a meeting with the local police, who told us about American laws and about the things we as athletes should keep away from. More individual meetings followed. We also got to relax a bit, getting to play bowling and ping-pong.
July 11th – Friday
I was thinking that after yesterday we wouldn’t experience anything harder here. I was so wrong. We were training with the US Special Forces the whole day. They told us that the US Army is like the juniors and they were the NHL, meaning they were the cream of the crop. We had to change into long sleeve shirts and long trainers, because we had to do the whole training course. We also ran and worked out a lot. On top of that, we had to run into the hills. On stairs. Again. Again, we were divided into teams, every team having a big piece of rope (I’m in the picture completely on the right). We had to coordinate and work as a team, which was the whole point of today’s training session.
July 12th – Saturday
We had a debate with the physiotherapists, who asked as about our injuries in the past and analyzed them afterwards. We trained a little less intense than in the past few days – only cycling and stuff. In the afternoon, we went to meet food specialists, who specifically told us what and what not to buy.
We thought that a trip to the pool would be relaxing, but it was quite the opposite! We really had to work hard, we had some team competitions and we even swam with weights. After that, we said goodbye to each other, since we’ll be leaving tomorrow. The coaches wished us good luck and told us that we should work hard during summer. They’ll be meeting most of us in preseason camp in September. I sure hope I’ll finally get to meet Patrick Roy there!
July 13th – Sunday
I made some last-minute shopping before going to the airport. Now I’m sitting here and waiting for my flight. Roman Will had to pay extra for his luggage, because the club gave him a whole new set of equipment, since he has a contract for the coming season. Everything was fine with my luggage.
July 14th – Monday
The most memorable week of my life is over and I didn’t even notice! The flight back was better, because it was shorter. I wasn’t alone on the flight, because besides Roman and me, Borna Rendulić, Michael Schumacher and Anton Lindholm were flying with us.
The last couple of days were really great and helpful. I had a lot of fun. I’m really thankful for the opportunity to take part in the development camp, because I had a blast. It was a shame that we didn’t have on-ice training sessions. We talked to a lot of people, we learned a lot and I know that it’ll be helpful for me in the future. I hope I’ll remember the most from camp and that it’ll help me during my career. I didn’t experience anything like this before. Not on a high level as this.
Source: http://eurolanche.com/article.php?id=5329
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Maximilian Pajpach became the only Slovak player drafted in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, when the Colorado Avalanche picked him with the 174th overall pick. The Avalanche held a development camp for their youngsters during summer and the former Poprad goalie was one of the participants. The camp in Colorado wasn’t your typical on-ice training sessions camp. All of the camp took place off-ice. The camp was mainly about getting to know how life in the NHL feels like. Maxo will spent the next two seasons in Finland, where he signed a contract, but hopes to get a shot at a roster spot with the Avs in the near future. He wrote a diary during camp, exclusively for Eurolanche.com.
July 5th – Saturday
The day, which I’ve been impatiently waiting for since the draft when the Avalanche chose me, is finally here. Two days after selecting me at the Entry Draft, they send me an invitation to their development camp via e-mail, which took me by surprise. This’ll be the first time I’ll be on a plane for such a long time. I’ll need to get up early, because I’ll be picked up in Poprad, where I live, and brought to Vienna. I didn’t want to sleep anywhere near, since I wanted to spend the time remaining before my journey with my family, which has always supported me.
July 6th – Sunday
I’m already on the plane to Denver! The trip from Poprad to Vienna was really long, but can’t be compared with what I experienced since we took off to Washington. Ten endless hours, without my teammates! It was pretty boring. All in all, everything went well, even though I didn’t have much time to board the plane to Denver. The boards at the airport were pretty coherent and after I passed the immigration control, I finally got on my next flight. I’ll finally be in Denver in just four hours!
(Later)
I’ve just arrived at the hotel. A club official was waiting for me at the airport and drove me here. I’ll finally get some rest after spending the last 24 hours on my feet. I’ll be sharing my room with Swede Dennis Everberg. He seems like an okay guy. We’ll talk more tomorrow, now’s the time to get to sleep.
July 7th – Monday
Today was still pretty easy, since some of the guys from the US and Canada didn’t arrive before noon. We’re 24 players in total. First, we looked around the malls and bought some souvenirs and clothes. Not too much of course! After filling out some papers, the club gave us clothes with their logos, so I’m already in a dilemma, since I have no idea how I’ll bring everything back home to Slovakia. It’s mostly caps, t-shirts, trainers, a bag and a special book about how we’ll be divided into squads, everything about the schedule, some contacts, stats and photos… Maybe I’ll have to leave some things behind! But only things I brought from home, of course.
Besides that, everyone got to know each other and we met with some of the trainers, who’ll be giving us a hard time in the coming weeks. Everybody agreed that we’d really like to meet Patrick Roy. One of the interesting things they made us do was learning how to communicate with the media, something I’ve never experienced home in Slovakia.
I really like Denver a lot, it’s a nice and big city, and it has broad roads and not as many big and tall buildings… Classic America! I also have to compliment the local cuisine, which was delicious and literally dropped my jaw.
July 8th – Tuesday
This was really a hard day! We had to get up at seven and went straight to breakfast. Afterwards, we went to the medical center, where they did a plethora of testing, including measurements, blood sampling and so on. We also went to the Avs’ training facility, the Family Sports Center. There we took the first couple of physical test, like balance, jumps, cycling etc.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and had dinner together. I’ll really remember that we got to change in the same locker room as the guys from the first team. I immediately noticed Nathan MacKinnon’s stall!
July 9th – Wednesday
We resumed training at the Avs’ training facility, where we also had presentations about healthy nutrition and good hydration. We talked about what food we should eat and stuff like that. We also talked about our way of training. They had a lot of questions about our training regime and pointed out any mistakes we were making. We also had a two-hour meeting with a sleeping specialist. The most of us had no idea how sleeping could influence an athlete’s performance.
In the afternoon, we went to see the Colorado Rockies of the MLB. Although it was an interesting game, I don’t really like baseball, because I think it’s pretty boring. After dinner, each of us had an individual meeting concerning nutrition.
Not only did I learn a lot of new things, but I was also promised a fifteen-page-long diet book by our coaches, based on the meetings I mentioned.
July 10th – Thursday
After breakfast we took off to the natural amphitheatre in Red Rocks. Members of Eurolanche who’ve been to Denver certainly remember the endless stairs, which are there. We had to run up and down those stairs for like 2 or 3 hours. It was really a nail in the coffin for most of us, some of the guys were close to fainting and some were even vomiting.
Afterwards, we had a meeting with Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog, who told us about how he became a professional and other things he’s experienced. It was a great experience, from which a lot of us learned a lot. Another interesting thing was a meeting with the local police, who told us about American laws and about the things we as athletes should keep away from. More individual meetings followed. We also got to relax a bit, getting to play bowling and ping-pong.
July 11th – Friday
I was thinking that after yesterday we wouldn’t experience anything harder here. I was so wrong. We were training with the US Special Forces the whole day. They told us that the US Army is like the juniors and they were the NHL, meaning they were the cream of the crop. We had to change into long sleeve shirts and long trainers, because we had to do the whole training course. We also ran and worked out a lot. On top of that, we had to run into the hills. On stairs. Again. Again, we were divided into teams, every team having a big piece of rope (I’m in the picture completely on the right). We had to coordinate and work as a team, which was the whole point of today’s training session.
July 12th – Saturday
We had a debate with the physiotherapists, who asked as about our injuries in the past and analyzed them afterwards. We trained a little less intense than in the past few days – only cycling and stuff. In the afternoon, we went to meet food specialists, who specifically told us what and what not to buy.
We thought that a trip to the pool would be relaxing, but it was quite the opposite! We really had to work hard, we had some team competitions and we even swam with weights. After that, we said goodbye to each other, since we’ll be leaving tomorrow. The coaches wished us good luck and told us that we should work hard during summer. They’ll be meeting most of us in preseason camp in September. I sure hope I’ll finally get to meet Patrick Roy there!
July 13th – Sunday
I made some last-minute shopping before going to the airport. Now I’m sitting here and waiting for my flight. Roman Will had to pay extra for his luggage, because the club gave him a whole new set of equipment, since he has a contract for the coming season. Everything was fine with my luggage.
July 14th – Monday
The most memorable week of my life is over and I didn’t even notice! The flight back was better, because it was shorter. I wasn’t alone on the flight, because besides Roman and me, Borna Rendulić, Michael Schumacher and Anton Lindholm were flying with us.
The last couple of days were really great and helpful. I had a lot of fun. I’m really thankful for the opportunity to take part in the development camp, because I had a blast. It was a shame that we didn’t have on-ice training sessions. We talked to a lot of people, we learned a lot and I know that it’ll be helpful for me in the future. I hope I’ll remember the most from camp and that it’ll help me during my career. I didn’t experience anything like this before. Not on a high level as this.
Source: http://eurolanche.com/article.php?id=5329
