Daniela Pejsova, the 7th overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft, discusses joining PWHL Boston and the year ahead. The Hockey News' Cee Benwell sat down with PWHL Boston's Daniela Pejsova. Here is their conversation. Pejsova was the 7th overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/pwhl-boston-trades-up-to-select-czechias-daniela-pejsova-7th-overall]. What was the draft experience like for you, being drafted by Boston, and all of the excitement? I was there for four days, and we had a lot of things planned to do with the girls. Before I flew to St. Paul, I was so nervous for the whole week, I had a hard time falling asleep actually. I was thinking about the draft and that I didn’t know what was going to happen, if I’m going to get drafted, where I’m going to get drafted. But when I got there and I met all the nice people from the PWHL and the other players, the nervousness left my body and my mind and I was just enjoying the whole experience. I’m just so grateful I could experience it in person over there, so I had a good time definitely. Boston moved up to select you - how did that make you feel? I had my first meeting overall with Boston actually, so it was the first meeting with a team, and I really got excited because it sounded so natural, I had a really good conversation with Danielle (GM Danielle Marmer), and it just felt right so I was hoping for Boston to select me, and it was my secret wish. When they moved up to draft me, it just felt like, ‘What’s going on?’ — like I couldn’t understand that they actually did that to get me. I’m just really happy that this happened and that my wish came true. Boston has one of the top defenders in the league in Megan Keller. Are you familiar with her and are you hoping to be paired with her? Of course, I have noticed her on the international stage [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/international/daniela-pejsova-set-to-make-a-big-impact-on-the-pwhl] when we were playing against them; her game style is just amazing. I think I can learn from her a lot just from playing with her on the team, so she’s going to be a role model for me. Like you said, her game is kind of similar (to mine), that’s how I want to play one day, so I think I can learn a lot from her. You’ve played in the SDHL for five years, as well as playing with the Czech senior national team, and being so young, you’re always playing with older players. What is it like playing as a younger player, and what have you been able to improve and grow in your own game? When I moved to Sweden, I was 16 years old, and before that, I was playing with the boys, and that was more like, just skate fast, shoot, not really any strategy at all, but I think I gained speed and strength with them. But when I moved to Sweden, I started to play professionally and there was more strategy and playing smart, playing with others. So I was learning that for a long time, to adjust to tactics, I think I gained the ability to play smarter than I played before and I’m learning from the older players, like when I moved to Luleå, I was learning from Jenni Hiirikoski, from Ronja, Anna Kjellbin, and Johanna Fällman, because they’re really experienced players. None of your Luleå teammates who were drafted will be on the same team — you will all be on different teams, playing against each other. What do you think that will be like? I feel like there will be situations where we will see each other on the ice, and just start giggling, especially me and Ronja—we played such a long time together. I’m just happy for those girls that they got drafted, and they are joining new teams, so I think it’s just great for the European players to play in the PWHL. What is your schedule looking like as far as coming over and joining the team to start practicing? Because I ended the season in April, I had some time off and I started to work out, playing Padel, tennis, etc. so I was still moving, but two weeks ago, I started to practice harder. I have an off-ice program from Boston so I’m doing that, I have some practices that I know feel great for my body, and I also started going on the ice, so I’m practicing with the junior team where I was playing before I left for Sweden, so I’m practicing with the juniors and their men’s team also. I think because I was feeling kind of lonely, you know; you’re used to always being around the team and around the girls, and now I’ve been here since April, and it felt kind of lonely. And now at least when I’m with the boys, I feel like part of the team, so I’m having fun, and the practices are great, their speed, they’re strong, so I have to adjust to that, and I think it helps me a lot. So I’m going to keep doing that, and I have my individual ice, and I’m working on small details, so I’ll keep doing that until November when I’m going to fly to Boston for the training camp. Have you ever been to the city? Have you found a place to live, and what do you think that will be like to be surrounded by a lot of new things? I’m still looking for an apartment, I haven’t found one yet, I just need to send some emails, I’m so bad at email! I still have to find one and I have never been to Boston, but I heard that it’s kind of like a European city, so of course I checked the coffee shops, restaurants, how it looks, so I think it’s an amazing city from just the pictures, and I can’t wait to be there and explore it and explore the whole culture in the U.S. so yeah, I just need to find an apartment! View the full interview on the Puck Drop podcast HERE [https://youtu.be/LaE8fjXtfQo?si=obUZD8BePIF2EGh3].
