This past week Fehérvár AV19 had a home and home against Ferencváros, winning in Budapest 5-3 which they followed up with a 6-0 win on home ice with Alex Scola getting the shutout. One of the reasons for the two wins was that 10 out of the 11 goals scored was by the first line. With Chris Bodó scoring five goals and Brance Orbán four goals, each having a hatrick in a game, because of this they are the first ever co-players of the week.
Of the five goals that Bodó scored over the past week Orbán assisted on three goals and on the four goals that Orbán scored Bodó assisted on three of them. The two Canadian-Hungarians have been doing this all season as Brance Orbán is leading the league in scoring with 34 points, Chris Bodó is not far behind with 29. The players have very similar backgrounds both are from Canada, played NCAA hockey before picking up their Hungarian citizenship and making a move to the MOL League.
Orbán comes from Lethbridge Alberta, played college hockey at Bemidji State and this is his third season in Europe, the first with Fehérvár. Bodo comes from St.Thomas Ontario, went to Mercyhurst for school and came to Hungary right after. The two young men took time out of their schedule to talk to icehockey.hu.
This duo has been on fire and they have to have a secret or they are somehow always on the same wave length. “We just go out there we read off of each other, when Brance has the puck I try to get into open space and to get free so he can pass it to me, we just try to read off of each other.” said Bodo, “We have good chemistry, we read off each other and with speed we really create chances for me, and he has great speed that gets him home free.” followed up Orbán.
Hungarians or anyone that has been living in Hungary is always interested in how a foreigner is liking Hungary and if they are enjoying their time. This can also be applied to the MOL League and with Chris and Brance, and what have experienced in the city and their current club. “I think the caliber of hockey is pretty good and we are having a great season” said Brance “I really like it, I'm having a lot of fun” said Chris, he agreed with Brance “we have had some success and our team has had success, things are going good for me so far and I have had a great time.”
One of the biggest factors for their success and the great time they are having both on and off the ice has a lot to do with head coach Tyler Dietrich and the Fehérvár AV19 management and organization, both Chris and Brance give a lot of credit to Tyler. “I met with Tyler, I really liked him and I liked what he was about and what he had planned with the team.”
Chris went on saying, “Its young team that we would have a chance to come in and be one of the leaders. there would also be a chance if things went great to play myself up to the EBEL team.” On this subject Brance had a similar answer but with him being in his third season of pro hockey and also playing in his third country he can compare Fehérvár and the Volán organization to what he has seen in other parts of Europe and in North America.
“Chris said it the best, I came in and met with Tyler and the organization, actually last season, this team has good honest people which in hockey is hard to find sometimes. I feel this organization has loyalty and they want to win and at the end of they day I want to win as well and it was the right decision.” It is clear when Brance talks that he has a clear picture and understanding of how things usually work in the pro hockey world in Europe.
“I flew in once my season ended and talk to the management and watched an EBEL game. What with Chris said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with making the move career wise. The big goal is to play in the EBEL but right now we are focused on what we can do with the MOL League team and helping the team win.”
When the conversation moved to the lighter topic of adjusting to life in Hungary and Fehérvár the two prolific scorers were all smiles. “It’s a lot different to where I have lived in the past, it's nothing that I can’t get used to.” says Bodo, “Driving in general and the older city, it's a little bit of an adjustment so far.” Orbán quickly jumped in with a wide grin on his face, “What Chris means by driving is that he has never driven a stick shift before and he was thrown into the fire on his first drive home, he figured it out pretty well.”
Orbán also spoke about what he has experienced “I love this city, it's the best city I have played in so far, it's close to Budapest, we can sneak up there and enjoy the big city when we have a chance.” Of course Bodó would not let his linemate have the last word. “I can drive up to Budapest now, the driving was a struggle at first.”
The Volán management has been pretty clear on saying that Bodó and Orbán are not import players but Hungarians, this clearly leads to the question of where they see themselves in regards to the national team. “It is definitely a goal for me, I have all the paperwork and I am a citizen, it's something i would like to do and if the opportunity comes up I will be ready for it, it's really exciting.” said Bodó who has had his Hungarian citizenship for a couple of years, his father is actually from Budapest and his grandmother still lives in the city, naturally as a good grandson he visits her when he has the chance.
Orbán has a bit of regret in his voice when he talks about his situation, “If i could do it all over again, I would have come right to Hungary straight out of college, I guess things happen for a reason, it has been a good ride so far, hopefully things will work out well in the end.”
This season's players of the week