Alois Hadamczik re-elected president of Czech Hockey, seeks Jágr in advisor role

This past weekend in Prague, the Czech Ice Hockey Association held its elections and president Alois Hadamczik ran unopposed for president, getting 59 of 61 potential votes. Hadamczik, 71, became president two years ago following the resignation of Tomáš Král. He has won a mandate to be president for the next four years.

“You must have appreciated the work I have done in two years,” Hadamczik said immediately after his re-election. “I promise to keep doing it the way I've been doing it.”

Prior to becoming the head of Czech hockey, Hadamczik was well-known in the country for his two stretches as coach of the Czech national team between 2005 and 2014, where he was known for his authoritarian style which several players chafed under. In his following speech and answering questions from reporters, however, he spoke about including well-known figures in Czech hockey, such as Jaromír Jágr, Jiří Šlegr and Petr Břiza, in the decision-making.

“I believe that I will convince people like that to help me,” he said. “I have an idea in my head that, for example, Jágr will be my personal advisor for on-ice matters. And I believe that if we invite him to the executive committee, he will come, and I would like to involve him in the hockey operations department.”

Other things Hadamczik spoke about were his desire for direct promotion and relegation between the Extraliga and second-tier league. The current best-of-seven series is thought to greatly favour the last-place Extraliga team, which is well-rested, over the champion of the second-tier league, which has already had to endure multiple playoff rounds.

“It might be tough to accomplish, but the Extraliga must realize that we need to function as one unit,” he said. “At the same time, the club from the lower league must fulfill all requirements and report in advance that it wants to move up, so that we know that it has all the facilities, including an arena that’s suitable for the Extraliga.”

Hadamczik also spoke about efforts to keep young Czech players at home, rather than leaving as teenagers to develop in Sweden, Finland or North America.

“We have to be able to persuade the players that it’s worth it to be at home with their families, because (when they leave too young) our athletes have a very low success rate abroad outside,” he said.

“I would like to see the young players play more. We have to be able to develop these players, not ruin them by putting them on the fourth line so they’re on the ice for three minutes per game.”