After transfering from the KHL to Finland, Tomáš Kubalík is off to a good start this season with KalPa Kuopio, recording five points in his first seven games. Coming up Tuesday, his attention is focused on the Växjö Lakers, and advancing past the CHL group stage.

by Lukáš Kratochvil

One of the tightest races heading into Game Day 6 is in Group F, where three teams are still in contention: Sparta Prague, the Växjö Lakers and KalPa Kuopio, with KalPa hosting Växjö in a huge game. The last time they met, Växjö won 2–1. This time, KalPa need a win. Forward Tomáš Kubalík discusses the team's approach to the game, and the general state of the team.

Your last group game is coming up on Tuesday and you still have a chance to advance to the next round. How are you preparing for it?

When the competition started, it was still the pre-season and we were trying to work on our game heading into the season, but now that we can still take first place, we're coming on strong and we want to fight for it. We definitely want to win.

Aren't you afraid that this game might disrupt your successful run in the Finnish Liiga?

No, definitely not. We want to win every game in every competition. We came up short in Sweden (last game in Växjö), but now we are playing at home and our goal is to win and advance to the next phase.

All your games so far in the CHL have been pretty even with only a few goals on each side. Does that mean that your team is focused mainly playing defensive hockey?

No, not really. We create a lot of scoring opportunities but we're struggling to take an advantage of them. We've been getting a great deal of chances in both the CHL and Liiga, but we score three or four goals at most. Usually we either win or lose by one goal, or the game goes to the overtime or a shootout. But we're working on it and hopefully we improve soon.

Despite the fact that you don't score many goals, you play really good defensively and you manage to get points.

Yes, we have a really good system. Our coach wants us to hold onto the puck and pass it around a lot. Our aim is to control the game and keep possession of the puck so our opponents have to play physically difficult hockey with a lot of forechecking. When we stick to this, we are stronger in the third periods and we have enough strength to finish the game.

Back in your first CHL game, you lost to Sparta Prague after a good start. You could have been much closer to advancing to the next round with those points.

Right, that's too bad. We gave up a late goal after making some mistakes. Instead of getting rid of the puck, we stayed in our defensive zone and Sparta obviously have skilled players who can utilize chances like that.

Now you're playing Växjö again. Can your recent experience of playing them help you prepare better for the next game?

I believe we were prepared well enough even for the first game, but we didn't play well in the second period, which actually happens too often to us. We bounced back in the third but couldn't tie it. Now we're playing at home with no travelling, so we want to start strong into the game and grab the win.

KalPa didn't have exactly a good season last year, but now you're in the top half of the league standings and playing well in the CHL. What's the overall mood on the team?

I wasn't here last year but I know KalPa didn't have a good season. Now we're trying to get our fans to come back and support us. So far we've played well, and we have to continue that and collect as many points as possible.

Last year you played in the KHL. What's the biggest difference now playing in the Liiga?

It's more about skating, not so much about the physical game, but it depends on the team. But the league is really fast, I had to get used to it even in practices. I'm still getting to know Finnish hockey better, but I like it here so far.

You've had plenty of ice time so far, playing on the first or second line and the power play, so I guess you can't complain about that.

Yeah, definitely. I'm glad to get so much space and play so much hockey after last year, when I was injured and didn't play as much as I would like to.

When you transferred to Kuopio, did your Czech teammate Michal Birner play a role in it?

Yes, he even talked to our coach about me and my skills. For me, it was obviously better to come to a team where I knew someone, especially "Birna", who played with me for Lev.

When we talked to Birner last time, he mentioned that you were not so fond of going to the gym with him. How is that going now?

(Laughing) That's just him. He was just joking around. But he is really working hard on himself and I'm trying to do the same. He's more experienced, so he helps me from time to time, but he was just having some fun at my expense.