In his 26th season of professional hockey, 44-year-old Martin Rucinsky has just helped HC Litvinov capture their first Czech national championship. Is that a storybook end to his career, or will he play in the Champions Hockey League next season?

by Daniel Jezek

TRINEC – After 56 long years, HC Litvinov finally have a national championship. After finishing second in the regular season they faced regular-season winners and fellow CHL qualifiers Ocelari Trinec in the final. Litvinov were in the driver's seat after winning the first two games on the road, then were less than a minute away from wrapping up the title in game five before a late tying goal and a controversial no-goal call in overtime eventually led to a shootout loss. After Trinec won game six in Litvinov, Litvinov finally claimed the title with a 2–0 win in the seventh and deciding game back on Trinec ice on Thursday.  

Even though it’s the first title for Litvinov, the town from northwestern Czech Republic has produced some world-class hockey players over the decades, including Ivan Hlinka – the namesake of the local arena – Jiri Bubla, Vladimir Ruzicka, and two grizzled veterans who suited up for the team this season – 43-year-old defenceman Jiri Slegr and 44-year-old left-winger Martin Rucinsky. 

But while Slegr only played 17 regular-season games and none in the playoffs, Rucinsky put in a full season’s work. In 67 total games, he amassed 22 goals and 43 assists and also suited up for two games with the Czech national team, leading to speculation that his season isn’t quite done yet with the World Championship looming and former teammate Ruzicka heading the Czech squad. Rucinsky, Ruzicka and Slegr were all members of the 1998 Czech team, coached by Hlinka, that won the Olympic gold medal in Nagano, and now Rucinsky has contributed greatly to their city’s first domestic title. 

Rucinsky has now played professional hockey for 26 seasons, including nearly 1000 games in the NHL with eight different teams. If he returns for a 27th – a possibility he refuses to rule out – he could suit up for Litvinov in the Champions Hockey League. 

Martin, what is your immediate reaction to winning the championship?

Emotions, emotions! Almost nobody had faith for us, but we have shown mental strength and we did it! We played with half of the team; guys are injured. These emotions are unreal. When I see the team, how we grew throughout the whole season, how we gained confidence, and now this beautiful ending. I’m so glad for the city of Litvinov; for the team. I want to thank all the people who kept cheering for us. Now they can celebrate it properly. I think it will be long celebration.

This would be a sweet finish to your career, wouldn't it?

As I’ve said many times, the last few years of my career I’ve played only for bringing the title to Litvínov. We waited 56 years for this and we deserved it this year. It wasn’t any kind of luck, we won it. For me personally it’s an unbelievable feeling and a reward.

So was it the last game of your career? 

We’ll just leave that for now. We’ll know everything later.

You had a 3–1 series lead, but Trinec managed to tie the series. How did you feel then?

We've been mentally strong the whole season. But at the same time, when it goes from 3–1 to 3–2 and then 3–3, the pressure starts to build, and I could see it on the team. We knew that the championship was so close, yet so far away. The guys were calm before the final game and it was Trinec who played under pressure. 

The whole affair surrounding the goalpost, which might have taken the trophy out of your hands, in game five. How did the team handle that?

I was a bit sick from it. Goal or not … we didn’t finish it on Sunday, we finished it today. That’s hockey. There are controversial moments that happen in hockey. And for the referees it’s not an easy decision to make. On Sunday the referees decided that it was not a goal and we couldn’t do anything about it. However, after that moment we were more confident than before.

How did Litvinov keep this great form for the whole season? In previous years you had good starts but then couldn't maintain it.

You mean we didn’t choke? That was our label, but not anymore. We didn't lose more than two games in a row this season and we won every game on home ice after Christmas (until the finals). This season was awesome.

Will this title help Litvínov in the coming years?

Litvinov isn’t a rich club. We can’t afford to buy star players, so team’s always gone with players who were developed in our youth system. Jakub Petruzalek’s return was the key moment in our season. We also have Pavel Francouz, the best goalie in Czech Extraliga, and lots of heart.

Martin Straka won the trophy two years ago, Petr Cajanek last year, and now you.

I was thinking, if there actually is a hockey god then he has to give the trophy to us. We have been waiting for so long. This season we were never worse than third and we played good hockey. It wasn’t luck, we deserve the Cup.

Did you think about Ivan Hlinka during the post-game celebrations?

Of course! Ivan is here with us all the time. We have his photo in our dressing room. If he were still alive, I’m sure that he would be with us and share in the emotions. He is certainly watching over us from upstairs.