Blazers imports make adjustments

Answer: “Zdeno Chara — yah (sic).”

Question: “What is it about his game you like?”

Answer: “Uh, physical game, yah (sic).”

While he’s not big on interviews, Sillanpaa has a good hockey pedigree. His father Teemu played professionally in Europe for over a decade, and represented Finland three times at the World Junior Championships and his brother Nicklas is currently active in the Suomi-Sarja, Finland’s third tier pro league.

“He’s a big body, very rangy, but I think he moves very well — he’s got some good edges,” says head coach Serge Lajoie. “I think right now we just have to get his stamina up a little bit. He seems to lose a little bit of his power over the course of a practice or a game — but likes to get involved physically and likes to get involved in the rush, so from that standpoint he’s got a pretty good makeup.”

The other European who will be suiting up for the Blazers isn’t quite as imposing on the ice. Martin Lang is 5’10” — a winger from the Czech Republic, who is coming to Kamloops with the goal of putting the puck in the net.

“I’m sniper, I’m can score (sic),” says Lang. “And I’m very offence player (sic).”

Question: “Which NHL player would you say that you try to play like?”

Answer: “I think Patrick Laine — because we have same style hockey (sic).”

Last year playing in the Czech Under-18 League, Lang put up numbers to back up that comparison, scoring 37 goals in 35 regular season games — adding 8 more in 8 playoff matches.

“I think he’s got a flare for the offensive side of the game,” says Coach Lajoie. “What’s encouraging with Martin is that there is a lot of room for growth in terms of being able to play the game in such a way that he positions himself well offensively so that he can get the puck back — we want that puck on his stick.”

Both players will be 17 by the time the season starts, meaning there’s potential for them to be with the Blazers for several seasons. Head Coach Serge Lajoie likes what he sees from both players, and doesn’t expect either to have any problems adjusting to the WHL.

“We don’t play a complicated game,” says Lajoie. “We want to play a predictable game, so they’re going to fit right into our system. Jonas is used to playing on the big ice so that is going to be a bit of an adjustment. I think with Martin there is the language barrier that might be a little bit of an issue. So we’re going to be patient with him and show him a lot of video so that he feels comfortable when he goes on the ice. He can just play and not think the game too much.”

by Adam Donnelly

Blazers imports make adjustments

Our Community