"I don't just give up, you know?" Capitals forward Jakub Vrana said. Photo: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8d40af92-f2fe-435f-9a0f-62995be03ebb.jpeg] "I don't just give up, you know?" Capitals forward Jakub Vrana said. Photo: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images ARLINGTON, V.A. — Sitting in his stall after an optional skate — one he treats with full intensity as he goes through the motions as a regular healthy scratch — Washington Capitals forward Jakub Vrana stares down at his now-faded tattoo of two hockey sticks, three stars and the Stanley Cup that he got with his teammates after winning the esteemed trophy in 2018. It's been seven years since those glory days. He knows the tattoo's fading, that he needs to get it touched up again. And in a way, it's reminsicent of where things stand now, as he faces the toughest part of his career yet in his second stint with the Capitals. For most of the year, Vrana, who earned a one-year contract out of training camp, has watched the action unfold from above, spending the majority of the team's games in the press box as a regular scratch up front. He's played in just 26 games this season, picking up seven goals and four assists as the games have come few and far between. "I haven't really cracked the 10-minute mark on the sheet, but at the same time, I was happy I was playing, trying to make an impact on our game and help the team win games" Vrana told The Hockey News. "Now I'm in this position, and it's even harder." Though he's happy to be back with the organization he's always felt was his home, Vrana said not playing for long periods of time have taken a toll, and he isn't blind to the fact that it's an ongoing uphill battle to prove he still belongs in the NHL. “It’s tough mentally, for sure. Obviously we do want to play and at the same time, we’re here and we want to be here and want to play for this team, but it’s stuff that, you know, when the stretch is too long," Vrana said, adding, "Honestly it’s not easy, just you want to play hockey, that’s it. You want to be. When you’re not playing for so long, it’s not like you kind of have a feeling you’re not part of the team, but you are. It’s just natural, right? We're humans, and you're going to feel like that a little bit." The hardships didn't start this year, though; the last three years have felt a bit like an endless road for the now 29-year-old. It all started back in 2021, when Washington traded a "frustrated" Vrana to the Detroit Red Wings for Anthony Mantha. He got off to a decent start in Detroit, but then suffered a shouder injury and had to undergo surgery that held him out for an extended period. When he finally returned, Vrana wasn't feeling right, and went to the Red Wings for help. He ultimately entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program for reasons he still keeps to himself, and after six weeks, would return to Detroit only to be placed on waivers and assigned to the American Hockey League. Vrana entered the program in October 2022. Raj Mehta — Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/a948d30a-21cb-4c21-9b94-709215e012ec.jpeg] Vrana entered the program in October 2022. Raj Mehta — Imagn Images Vrana credits the program with helping him get his physical and mental well-being abck on track, but noted that fallout was difficult to deal with as he was held off the ice, and then upon exiting the program, didn't get his fair chance with the Red Wings. "It's really good. It really helps you, like people are there for you with anything you need, with anything you're going through, they really are there for you and they really help you," Vrana said. "Hockey-wise, it really doesn't make sense to me that I left. I just cracked, you know what I mean? I felt like a broken glass; you can't put the pieces together again, which is kind of sad. "A lot of things didn't make sense to me... you just don't know what other people think, you know and how is their view on things in this business. It's not pretty sometimes and I just kind of had to accept it as it was and I kept working really hard, and I still am. It's just been really hard to stick around and get this opportunity." The challenge since then has been building himself back up. As a person, Vrana feels he has done a lot of good things to get back to where he was, and says that he's a different person now than he was back in 2021. When it comes to his career, though, things haven't gone according to plan, as things didn't work out in Detroit and subsequently, with the St. Louis Blues, before hitting free agency and making his way back to the District. "I'm trying to stay positive, because it's not easy. The last three years, since I left the program, it's been kind of tough. It's been hard to kind of bounce back to where i used to be," Vrana said. "I've been bouncing between the AHL and NHL, been on waivers twice, then traded and then signed a PTO (with Washington this summer). It's not ideal." And with months between stints in the lineup, it's even less ideal, but Vrana is making what he can of it to keep his NHL dream going. "I'm trying to do my best to kind of show that I should get the opportunity again and kind of work my way back to get my spot on the team that I had before in the past," Vrana said. "It feels like it's harder and harder every year. Honestly, that's not easy, but I'm trying to stay positive." Over the course of the season, Vrana and coach Spencer Carbery have had numerous conversations, which have been honest and have made things more transparent between the two. "All I'm looking for is honesty, right? And we have had pretty good conversations (about) kind of, you know, where I'm at. It's kind of hard sometimes, making decisions isn't easy, and you're obviously going to accept it as is and go from there and try to say how you feel," Vrana said, adding, "I wish I could rotate more; we all do, right? We could probably play here and there, but so far, the chances didn't come." "People don't think understand or it's just a really, really difficult thing to come and not play for so many days in a row and so many games in a row, and he's been fantastic. It's hard sometimes as a coach because you want to deliver good news and you want to tell someone that they're going into the lineup and when you constantly are saying, 'Unfortunately, no. Unfortunately, not tonight, unfortunately not tonight,' that's hard and he's handled it like a pro and I appreciate that because it's gone a long way in our room," Carbery said. "I know our guys have a ton of respect for him and the way that he's worked and our coaching staff as well love being around him and love having him here and him, earning his way back to the NHL to this organization, he's done a great job." Despite the circumstances, Vrana said the support from his family and teammates, as well as being back in the District, has made the process easier. "You know my relationship with the team and with the people that work here and anybody that works for this organization, and that makes it way easier than being somewhere in a new environment, but at the same time, you want to play for this team," Vrana pointed out. "It's kind of those mixed feelings at times, but at the same time, we've been playing in a really good spot overall, and as a result, we deliver, itn's not like we struggle and it's really tough decisions." Going into this final stretch, Vrana is keeping his head held high, and he's ready to do whatever he can to continue to prove his worth and show he's the same player capable of being a 20-plus goal scorer. "I'm blessed, right? I'm healthy, I'm playing hockey, I'm on this team... I'm trying to stay positive. I have to keep working hard and I have to believe and that's what I've been doing," Vrana said. "I don't just give up, you know? I'll keep working hard and keep trying to show that that spot belongs to me. "I've done some really good things. On the outside, I deal with stuff way better than I used to. As a hockey player... I'm still the same player."
