Farewell Miha Zajc (and hello David Rodman)

FAREWELL MIHA ZAJC 

I watched 4 days' worth of Grand Sumo highlights yesterday, which I took as a sign that I needed to fabricate something hockey-related for me to do. I was in increasing danger of writing about Yokozuna Terunofuji's shock retirement mid-tournament and the disappointing performances from the two Ozeki who were looking to get promoted to the top rank. Thankfully, I took Socrates' advice to 'know thyself' and I managed to stop before I became tempted to start a Sumo blog.

Back to hockey - Miha Zajc left the club 10 days ago. The team released a two-sentence statement, translated below:

"Olimpija Ljubljana Hockey Club and Miha Zajc have mutually terminated their cooperation. We thank Miha for his contribution and effort in the green and white jersey and wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

The LinkedIn-ification of corporate life has left us with these brief 'future endeavours' messages. Now, as I've said previously, this is not just an Olimpija thing - almost every organisation in the modern world does this. It's easier to default to this and get the interaction over with than to explain why or recount the good times with the person involved. To me, people are worth more than this. What about their character, the way they impacted others? 

This man was a former captain of the club. He has been with Olimpija, on and off, since 2011. Was there really nothing worth commenting on from those 14 years? Let me repeat - this is much less of a complaint to the club and much more of a complaint about Western/European/human society today. The club are just being professional with this statement. For me, what we as a globalised society deem professional should incorporate more humanity. The club hasn't done anything wrong here, but we as a whole should try to do more to appreciate those around us, whether they are coming or going.

Now, I don't know what was happening behind the scenes - this year, he was frozen out. For all I know, he could have been turning into a locker-room issue (EDIT - and I have heard rumblings of this type of thing...), and that's why the club were a bit short with him at the end. I assumed he wasn't playing much because he was carrying a nagging injury, but it seems that that wasn't the case. With Červeny, Lavoie and Sabolič coming in, Kapel gaining the trust of the coaching staff and the reworking of our centre depth (Tomaževič, Bonino and Kerbashian) freeing up Simšič to play wing, the starting spots have been squeezed. That goes without mentioning Pance's important role as a penalty killer and provider of skill/spark. This kind of hyper-competitive environment is how it should be - and I really respect the club for keeping Mehle, Beričič and Sodja together. Development for the future is just as important as how we play now (and those guys are great to watch - particularly 10 and 23 on the PK). All that contributed to a situation where Zajc wasn't finding a place. 

Was it defensive issues? He was on the PK3 last year, so I wouldn't immediately dial it down to that. Would it have been nice to keep Zajc in reserve for the playoffs? Sure! Do I understand him for wanting to play and find ice time somewhere else? Definitely! Personally, I would have played out the rest of the season and enjoyed staying with my long-standing teammates for that time - but it wasn't my decision to make. 

Anyway, here's a bit more on #88's time since I started watching HKO last season (yes, it has only been that short!). I don't know the guy personally, so it's going to be more impersonal than I would like for a farewell message. No matter, it won't be hard to make it longer than the official one!

2023-24

36 games, 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points and a +14.

Last season, Zajc mostly played on the top line alongside Maris Bičevskis and Trevor Gooch. This was an effective group for Olimpija, with Gooch in particular scoring the joint 2nd highest points in the league. Now, I am thankful that we strengthened our depth at centre, as Bičevskis wasn't suited to being the 1C, but these guys drove much of our later season success.

Zajc himself was what I would call a 'werewolf player'. Some nights (and forgive me for not analysing the shape of the moon when he registered multi-point games - even for me, that would be a bit much), he was an absolute multi-point monster and some nights he looked very human. As I wrote in the blog's first article, 'Welcome to the 24-25 season':

"Miha Zajc (27, SLO) - the definition of streakiness. Had some monster games (e.g. 3G 2A) and then disappeared for weeks on end (and even had to be publicly told to keep his stick on the ice near the net by Gooch). Hoping for more of the former than the latter!"

I had intended to go through every game last season to find the big games, but the ICE League's website is brutal for it's lack of tab-opening and refreshing to the current season, so alas that won't be happening. Suffice to say, scoring and form are such tantalising and ephemeral elements in sport. Why do some strikers in goal-based games go without goals for ages, and then suddenly 'the  ketchup bottle' opens and goals flow like a raging river? If I knew that, I would be getting paid a lot more than I am now! 

2024-25

28 games played, 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points and a +5.

You can see that something changed this year. He played almost as many games, but didn't get anywhere near the same opportunities and ice time as last season. As we become more competitive and as Mr Lefebvre's financial backing has bolstered our recruitment capabilities, people are going to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately this happened to Miha Zajc. All that remains to say is that I wish him all the best in his future endeavours...

LOL

Just kidding, obviously. Thank you Miha, for everything you put into the club, for all your monster performances and for the joy you brought fans, especially those who wore 88 on their backs. Best of luck with finding a new club - I hope it's one that doesn't bring you up against us!

ADDENDUM - David Rodman

I have been asked to add a comment on the blog about the negative fan sentiment towards appointing David Rodman, another Jesenice man, as assistant coach to AT. I have been explicitly told that some fans plan on not turning up to the next game in protest at his hiring. I do not have a dog in this fight, so to speak, as I am not from here, but I do sympathise with the club. In my view, we should be looking to build the best team we can for the long term. As ŽG and I have discussed, signing Slovene players and coaches to form the foundation of the team is the most sustainable way to build this success, as foreign players are far more likely to be transient Dragons, moving on after a season here. If we entirely avoid personnel from Jesenice, that won't be possible. Personally, I just want the best coaches and players we can find - but I do acknowledge that hiring from local rivals is going to be a tough pill to swallow for many local fans.

EDIT: Thanks to some loyal followers, I have been given a bit more information on the man. In that case, where he was essentially a brazenly dirty player against us for years, I completely understand the negative fan feelings and it is an unusual appointment, to put it mildly!

P.S. By the way, watch 1:55-2:10 here. This is how I want us to play - a big hit in the D-zone and a successful rush off the back of that.

https://youtu.be/JeBXEQG4MDk?si=lH7i0b2dWoGMJhqQ

P.P.S. Most importantly, out of all of this, Zajc leaving means our LPP Bus advert is out of date!! ^^ (He's on the left, just after the concertina join on the 'bendy bus', as we would say in England!). Photo by yours truly on a bleary-eyed morning commute!