Kometa Brno have made no secret that some of their younger players will be given a chance to show what they can do in the Champions Hockey League. Last season Jan Süss scored a hat-trick in Jyväskylä, and this year Luboš Horký leads the team in scoring after four Group Stage games thanks to his trio against Neman Grodno.
The opportunity to shine in an international stage is something that the Kometa prospects appreciate and grasp with both hands, as Horký explained to us.
"It's true that Kometa are giving us young guys lot of chances, and icetime in our CHL games, which is great for us", explained the 20-year-old. "We get to play on special teams in the powerplays and spend lot of time on the ice, much more than in the regular Czech Extraliga games. So we really appreciate this chance."
"We also get to meet top teams from abroad, and it’s a valuable lesson to see what kind of hockey teams from other countries play."Luboš Horký (Forward, Kometa Brno)
Kometa's faith in Horký in particular has been repaid. The Znojmo native, who played all of his junior hockey in Brno, has three goals and four assists so far. "We’re scoring points somewhat easily, the guys just keep creating the chances and passing pucks to me, and I’m obviously glad we’re doing well and getting wins!" he said. "It’s definitely a great experience, and it also gives us some self-confidence." Horký played 13 games for Kometa in the whole of the 2017/18 regular season, but has played four already this year after his impressive CHL numbers.
Last year the Czech champions went out in the Quarter-Finals to JYP, despite having come back to home ice with the scores level. What about this season? "Year by year the CHL is getting more prestigious, so we obviously want to go as far as possible", he added. "Overall our goal would be to win the whole CHL! But we simply give our best every game, try to beat the team in front of us, and see how far it gets us."