Icing on the cake
Competing in the Olympics as captain of Czech Republic team a special treat for the Blue Jackets’ David Vyborny
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>NEAL C . LAURON | DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Jackets right winger David Vyborny has played in nine world championships, winning five gold medals, but will be competing in his first Olympics. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
avid Vyborny’s cell phone
rang Monday afternoon, a
short while after the Blue
Jackets had finished their morning skate in Vancouver.
On the other end was Patrik Elias, a New Jersey Devils center who had just been added to the Czech Republic roster for the 2006 Olympics.
‘‘He just wanted to talk to the captain," Vyborny said, flashing a smile.
The captain. That would be Vyborny, a 31-year-old right winger for the Jackets who will wear the ‘‘C" for the Czech Republic when the Olympic hockey tournament begins a week from today in Turin, Italy.
He won’t wear it lightly.
‘‘It means so much to me," Vyborny said. ‘‘Every captain in hockey is proud to be the captain, it doesn’t matter how old or what country. But for me now, to be captain of my country’s team in the Olympics . . . yes, it is a very big thing for me."
It’s a fitting honor for a man who has played in nine world championships, winning five gold medals. And it also provides further proof that Vyborny’s international reputation has skyrocketed.
The Czech Republic has a proud hockey tradition that includes a gold medal in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The Czech roster includes elite players such as Jaromir Jagr, Dominik Hasek, Milan Hejduk, Robert Lang and Martin Rucinsky.
And then there’s Vyborny, undersized, understated, soft-spoken — and the captain.
Meant to be
Vyborny was born in Jihlava, Czechoslovakia, in 1975, when communism still had a firm grip on much of central Europe.
Frantisek Vyborny, David’s father, spent 13 seasons as a left winger in the top Czech pro league.
"Every day, I would go to the rink with my mother, Kvete, for practice or for games," Vyborny said. "My father wasn’t like other fathers who played hockey. He didn’t push me toward it. It was up to me. But I loved it very young. It’s all I wanted to do.
"I’d come home watching him at the rink all day and I’d go to my room and play hockey some more."
His desire did not outreach his ability. At 16 years old, Vyborny became the youngest player in the Czech elite league. Two years later, in 1993, the Edmonton Oilers picked Vyborny in the second round of the NHL draft, 33 rd overall.
"Very excited," Vyborny said. "When I was younger, we didn’t even know to dream about the NHL."
The next season, Vyborny made his first trip to North America to play for Cape Breton in the American Hockey League. Vyborny had 61 points in 76 games during the 1994-95 AHL season but didn’t seem to interest the Oilers, who were still adjusting to life without Wayne Gretzky.
Vyborny went back to Europe, spent four seasons in Prague and another in Sweden and seemed to be off the NHL’s radar screen.
New team , new chance
The Jackets, who joined the NHL in 2000, first targeted Vyborny in 1998 and zeroed in on him at the 2000 world championships. Vyborny had four goals and six assists in nine games as the Czechs won gold.
"I spent a lot of time talking to people before I signed him," Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean said. "There was a reputation that he was lazy and had an attitude. To this day, I don’t know where people got that impression. But I’m glad I didn’t buy it."
Vyborny had offers from Minnesota and Tampa Bay but chose Columbus.
"I’m not really sure why," Vyborny said. "It seemed like a good place to play."
In his first two seasons with the Jackets, Vyborny was so-so. He had 13 goals and 32 points in his first season, 2000-01, and 13 goals and 31 points the next.
At that point, there was growing concern among coaches and staff that Vyborny would never be a viable NHL player. For the first three games of the 2002-03 season, Vyborny was made a healthy scratch by then-Jackets coach Dave King.
"There were a lot of questions to be answered at that time," said current coach Gerard Gallant, then an assistant. "It was Dave King’s decision to scratch David, but nobody disagreed with him.
"Coming out of training camp, we thought there was more there."
Almost got away
Only now does Vyborny acknowledge how close he came to going back to Europe.
"If it’s three games, OK. Not happy, but I can handle that," he said. "If it was 15 games or something bigger, I was going back to Czech Republic or Russia. I had an offer already.
"I believe in myself. I knew inside I was a good player."
Vyborny was back in the lineup on Oct. 17, 2002. He has missed only two games since, both this season and both because of injury.
Nobody is quite sure whether King’s decision to scratch Vyborny made a difference — Vyborny says it didn’t — but he has developed into one of the Jackets’ best players.
The 2002-03 season was his breakout, with 20 goals, 46 points and a plus-12 rating, a franchise record.He has continued to improve and now holds club records in games played (368), points (203), assists (120), winning goals (13) and short-handed goals (six).
The Jackets find little fault with his game these days. Most consider Vyborny and Sergei Fedorov to be the team’s most well-rounded players.
"To me, it’s a great lesson," MacLean said. "It’s a lesson in patience. A drastic mistake could have been made."
Vyborny’s attention to detail on defense might be a credit to his father, Frantisek, who excelled as a shut-down left winger back in Jihlava.
"David’s so smart," Jackets captain Adam Foote said. "He plays every situation right, and it’s more than experience. It’s that part you can’t teach that sets him apart."
‘ He has that aura ’
Off the ice, Vyborny is mostly quiet and serious. But there are flashes of wit followed by a mischievous smile. Vyborny learned English quickly, and he’s the unofficial spokesman of the Czech and Slovakian players.
"I don’t have my membership card in Czech, Inc.," said goaltender Marc Denis, a Canadian. "But Veebs and I are pretty good friends.
"He’s a cool dude, there’s no doubt about that. He has that aura about him. It’s hard to explain, but he has an aura."
Vyborny and his wife of 11 years, Irena, have lived in Gahanna since he came to Columbus. It’s not Prague, he notes, but that’s OK. There’s Mr. Sushi and Brio, his favorite restaurants.
"No traffic in the morning," Vyborny said. "Everything is close. Close to Easton. Close to airport. I like the people. Quiet city."
Vyborny will be an unrestricted free agent when the season ends. The Jackets want to re-sign him, possibly to a long-term contract.
"It’s a priority," MacLean said. "And I don’t anticipate any problems getting it done."
Vyborny wants to stay in Columbus because he likes living here. Now he wants to win here.
"We’re starting to get that feeling, like we’re close to becoming that kind of team and that’s the next step for us," Vyborny said. "That would be fun."
In the meantime, Vyborny has three more games with the Jackets before the Olympic break. He flies to Italy on Sunday and expects to play on a line with Elias and Hejduk when the Czech Republic opens against Germany on Wednesday.
"There is pressure in Czech Republic for them to do very good," said Jackets winger Jaroslav Balastik, a Czech who was not chosen for the Olympics. "A lot of people will remember what they do. A lot of people expect them to win something special."
Vyborny is ready for a special tournament.
"To play for your country is the biggest honor you can get," Vyborny said. "If you play hockey, this is what you play for."
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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH PHOTOS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Kings goaltender Mathieu Garon looks over his shoulder as Jason Chimera’s shot goes in the net for the go-ahead goal. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
