As the Nottingham Panthers engage teams from some of Europe's top leagues, they've signed a player who's played some high-level hockey of his own. Martin Podlesak is a veteran of the Western Hockey League, American Hockey League, Czech Extraliga and Finnish Liiga, and will now ply his trade in the British Elite Ice Hockey League and the Champions Hockey League.

by Jon Rowson

Hockey is definitely a sport for people who don’t mind the road. Countless hours are spent on buses or planes getting to and coming back for games. Some players, like Martin Podlesak take the decision to leave their home country altogether. The 31-year-old Czech forward joins the Nottingham Panthers after a distinguished career in the Czech Extraliga, which includes one title as part of the Sparta Praha team which won in 2007. In his words, he “wanted to try something new” and now the Beroun native lines up as an essential part of the Panthers’ Champions Hockey League roster.

Speaking during the first weekend of the Champions Hockey League, Podlesak talked about the difference in level between Liiga and the Elite Ice Hockey League. “Well the game was really quick. It was hard to get the puck away from them as they skate so well”, the Beroun native said. “They challenge guys in one-on-one situations but at this level of senior hockey you have to match them. It doesn’t matter what country you come from, everyone can skate and everyone’s strong.”

After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes, Lukko appeared to lose their way in the second period, as a brace from British defenceman Stephen Lee brought the home side level. However, a costly turnover in the third period saw Jerry Ahtola score for Lukko, before Aaron Gagnon added the insurance marker on the power play.

“Hockey is about mistakes,” mused the Beroun native. “We made some mistakes tonight but we also played really well at times. We have to build on it for our next game against Luleå and if we learn from the mistakes we’ll see if we can get some points.”

Unfortunately for Podlesak and the rest of the Panthers, Luleå’s quality shone through as they romped to a 10-1 victory at the National Ice Centre.

Podlesak may be the only non-native English speaker in the Panthers dressing room, but the 196 cm-tall forward has plenty of experience in the English-speaking hockey world. At a young age he split two seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Tri-City Americans and Lethbridge Hurricanes, impressing in both seasons. Consequently, the Phoenix Coyotes drafted him 45th overall in the 2nd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Four injury-plagued seasons in the AHL followed before he returned to Europe.

“It’s a little different to what I used to play back home. I played this style when I was 18, 19 or 20 when I was in major junior or the AHL,” added Podlesak about the British league. “I’m enjoying my time here. The guys are great, the coaches are really good. They’re treating me really well. I’m trying to give it back somehow which I can hopefully do by doing my job on the ice.”

The Panthers have only been assembled for a short period of time, and last weekend they travelled to Slovenia for a pair of games against Olimpija Ljubljana. Their hosts won both of the games, but it was vital for the Panthers to get some game-time in before their CHL clash.

Podlešák quipped, “We played in Ljubljana, which wasn’t the best as we got out of the bus after 18 hours of travelling due to traffic. I felt good today, finally, and I’m getting used to the system.”

The Nottingham Panthers are the sole British participant in the Champions Hockey League, and have established a tradition of winning in recent times under the guidance of Canadian head coach Corey Neilson, leading his new Czech signing to say “Nottingham is a really traditional club in Europe and one of the best teams in Britain, if not the best. The organisation is really good, it has really surprised me how good things are here.”

“I played the last couple of seasons in the European Trophy and I know that it prepares you for the season really well. When I was talking to the owner and to Corey, I said it was important to be part of the team for the CHL. Everybody knows that the European Trophy was not that exciting and teams approached it like it was pre-season, but now everybody is working hard. It’s difficult when we’ve been on the ice for two weeks and everybody else has been together since mid-July. We’re getting there though and it will come good.”

The Panthers will look to get revenge in less than two weeks, as they head to Scandinavia to face Lukko and Luleå on 5 and 7 September.