From the beginning, it looked like this season would not be that good, due to the last season's mid-season stoppage and the difficult economic situation of the hockey clubs. But fortunately, the teams have yet again proved us wrong when they started to work on their off-season activities like signing contracts with new players and training camps. It is safe to say that several teams are currently being considered as cup contestants this year, and their lineups are looking better than ever, which means that this season will be a good one. The first two days have brought us a lot of surprises. The first and extremely positive surprise was the players of HK Nitra, who had to face two tough teams – HK Poprad and HKM Zvolen. Antonín Stavjaňa made sure to prepare his guys to do their best against these teams. Evan Cowley showcased outstanding goaltending skills, which resulted in Nitra being undefeated. This Canadian goaltender became the best player of the week, and we were more than happy to be able to bring you this interview with him.

 

Nitra’s last season was not one of their best seasons. The team was struggling. The offensive strength that we have been so used to seeing was now failing to do its job, which caused the team to fight for the last playoff spot that was still available. That was not the only problem that they had to deal with in the off-season. The team was missing a goaltender that would help the team win. And Nitra’s general manager took care of that back in July when Nitra signed a contract with the Canadian goaltender Evan Cowley. This twenty-five-year-old goalie, who has previously played in the AHL, has decided to continue his European journey. Soon enough, HK Nitra became his third team that Cowley has played for in Europe and his new home for the season. “We've settled in nicely here in Nitra. It is a beautiful city, with a great culture. My fiancée and I have been exploring a bit and have found some great restaurants and shops that we've been to a few times.” says Cowley. Nitra’s locker room does not have as many players from overseas as it usually does. The only Canadian players on the team are Cowley and the defenseman Jake Cardwell. Another English-speaking player on the team is Adam Dauda, who grew up in Canada. „Jake, Adam, and I have gotten close due to the language barrier, but the Slovak players have been welcoming. I am not able to understand much Slovak, but they always help me with translations. “says the goaltender. Can he speak Slovak, though? „I'm picking up some words, greetings, and basic communication but it is a tough language. “laughs the born and raised Canadian.

 

Cowley spent the last two years in Gdańsk, Poland and Odense, Denmark. And now he is going to be spending a lot of his free time in the small but picturesque city of Nitra. It did not take a long time for him to find his new favorite places in the new town. Cardwell took him under his wings and showed him around the city because, after all, he has been here for three seasons. So, he must have known a thing or two. “I love a good cup of coffee, so I've spent some time at a few coffee shops around downtown Nitra. Cards (Cardwell) was the first guy I met here after we quarantined from our travel, he was here for a month or two already, so he showed me some good places.” Tipos Extraliga is getting a lot of attention these days, because of the number of games that are scheduled at the beginning of the season. Even though the situation around the world is not the best, but there is no time to waste right now. Even though there was not enough time to finish the training camps, the league came up with a new tournament named Kaufland Tipsport Cup. The Elite Slovak teams were joined by the best teams from the first Slovak hockey league, and our fans already know the best four teams that managed to advance to the quarterfinals – and HK Nitra is one of them. “Training camp was definitely successful, the team had two months to develop chemistry and work on our fitness. The Kaufland Cup has been a great experience so far, and we were happy to make it to the next round. It was nice to have some of the preseason games count towards something important. I think it should take place again.” 

 

source: MY Nitrianske noviny (Martin Kilian ml.)

 

Nitra will face HC Slovan Bratislava in the semifinals of the Kaufland Tipsport Cup. It is too early to judge, but the combination of HK Nitra’s players and their coach has been quite successful. No wonder that the general managers decided to get Antonín Stavjaňa to lead the team again. They have also signed veterans like Slovák, Švárny, and Hrnka to lead the young and talented players like Vitaloš, Bodák and Kollár on and off the ice. “I think that it is always a good combination to have. Hungry and talented young players are very important these days, paired with the right leadership and ability from the veterans... it could pay off for us this season.” After a very successful beginning of the season, the team has proved that they can beat better teams, which helps with the team mentality significantly. “It was a good way to start the season, beating two talented teams should bring confidence to our group. It's a long season and we definitely have to continue to improve throughout but we now know that we have a chance to win every night.” says the goalie from Cranbrook, British Columbia. With 14 starts in the AHL, this goalie quickly became the team’s starter goaltender. The backup goalie, in this case, should be an older but greatly skilled Adam Nagy. We will not see Nagy on the ice anytime soon if Cowley stays healthy and keeps it up with his outstanding results. “I'm feeling good in there so far, just trying to show composure and bring my team confidence that I've got their backs.” It quickly became a paradox that both teams that Nitra played against were offensively better. Zvolen and Poprad have had 40 shots on goal, which kept the Canadian goalie on his toes. 

 

Cowley has spent a year playing for Springfield Thunderbirds, St. Louis Blues' AHL team, and he has also managed to play with multiple well-known hockey players, for example, the finish goaltender Harri Säteri, who’s currently a starter goalie of Sibir Novosibirsk in KHL. Then he played with Denis Malgin, Jayce Hawryluk, or Maxim Mamin who is currently playing in CSKA Moscow. This time, he is playing on the same team with Róbert Lantoši who has signed a contract with the Boston Bruins. Lantoši is one of the players that have been loaned to Slovak teams until the 15th of November. “Robby is a talented player for sure. His great ability aside, he leads with his work ethic and character, he is definitely motivated to improve every day and those are the kind of players you want around you in the locker room. We have a good friendship and we are excited to have him.” says Cowley about one of the biggest stars in Tipos Extraliga.

To leave a country where you were raised to try and find success overseas is never easy. You must get used to a lot of new things, the culture and the life are in every country different, right? It is even harder today when every newspaper and tv channel is talking about the global pandemic. “It's been difficult to navigate. There has been a level of discomfort and uncertainty that came along with COVID that is affecting all businesses, countries, and people, and hockey is no different. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time and stay as positive as possible, things are looking promising with our season starting now so it's been nice to think about playing my best instead of thinking about if we will even get to play.” The restrictions that have been issued by the Slovak government made it impossible for fans to see the games in person. But not even thatis stopping the players from playing their best and trying to win each game that is being played without their biggest supporters. Nitra’s home games have always been fun to watch thanks to their loud and dedicated fan base. “The great fanbase is one of the reasons why I came to Nitra. It’s always great to play in front of passionate people who support you. I really hope they can safely return to the rinks soon to bring that famous atmosphere back to us!” says Cowley. He and his teammates hope that the fans will be allowed back in the arenas soon enough. Until then, they will have to keep playing without their 6^th player on the ice – that the fans in fact are. But does he have any short-term goals for the nearest future? “Of course. Continuing our good start is essential, so we will be doing everything we can to prepare for our next match and go from there.”

 

On behalf of Timeoutsk, we’d like to thank Evan Cowley for taking his time to do this interview with us. May all your practice and preparation meet with the best of luck.

 

The author: Miroslava Meličková