In sports there are always stories about teams going from first to worst, management's ineptitude to build a team with the talent that is on the roster, having the right players but the wrong coach or right coach but with a group of over the hill veterans who just don't care anymore, or a number of other reasons why a team is struggling. Then the said team makes a couple of small changes and shoot to the top of the table again. Why is that?
In Hungarian hockey there has always been the slow rise or decline of an organization, such as Fehérvár climbing up from the bottom of the EBEL to becoming a perennial playoff team. Miskolc also has had a similar history where they built strong foundation of young players who have grown up and now if the team does not make a deep run in the playoffs it has been a disappointing season.
Another example that might be more familiar is the Hungarian national team itself as the sport has gained popularity the national program has slowly rising up the ranks. Fifteen years ago the national team was relegated to the old “C Pool” and now they are banging on the “A Pool” door.
This year in Hungary UTE is doing something remarkable that does not include throwing exorbitant amounts of money at a problem as teams such as Manchester City or the New York Yankees have in recent years.
The hockey section of the Újpesti Torna Egylet has a long history in the sport in Hungary, they have won the Hungarian title 13 times and were Hungarian Cup winners nine times. They have had famous players such as János Ancsin and Csaba Kovács snr. as well as infamous such as Attila Ambrus, the legendary bank robber of the mid 1990s.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
The past five years have not been as illustrious as the past, the team from one season to the next went from the MOL League title match to the bottom of the table. Five years ago they lost the championship game 3-1 to the Budapest Stars. The following season, because of financial reasons, gone were both goalies, top seven scorers, and nineteen players in total. The 2009-10 addition would win one game and lose 31, with total of three points and finish 25 points behind Steaua who had eight regulation wins. The following seasons UTE would finish dead last every season. Closest they ever were from getting out of the basement was 11 points and last year they finished 65 points out of second to last. The silver lining during this stretch - aside from staying within the meager budget - was to give valuable playing time for a number of young players who were hardened up.
This season the management came up with the right recipe and the right ingredients to get the team turned around. They were able to procure the right amount of funds to sign a line of adequate imports, and a couple of experienced MOL League caliber veterans to go along the the home grown talent. Throw in the right type of head coach and you get a team that finished 65 points behind the team in front of them to being on the middle standings and looks to be making their first playoff appearance since the loss to the Stars.
“I wouldn’t say it was a surprise, let’s call it the most pleasing aspect of the season so far: the work ethic of the guys,” said head coach Zoltán Szilassy. “We brought in very good foreigners who can pull the the team forward and step up in critical moments and who the other guys can learn from. We made great progress during the summer and continue to do so on a daily basis. This is one of the most important things in hockey and life in general: to be better tomorrow than we’re today.
We already collected many more wins and points than last season and the management is real happy and optimistic but I see the other side, too, we let points slip away from us at the closing seconds of games because of our inexperience. Of course, this can be said about pretty much every team in the league, but this is one of things we can improve upon. A coach is never fully satisfied, wants to reach the next level and I know that we can be even better.”
GOOD RECIPE, QUALITY INGREDIENTSFor a deep playoff run a team always needs stable goaltending. To ease the workload for József Pleszkán UTE brought in Olivér Ágoston, an excellent young goalie whose contract had expired with Fehérvár.
“I have known Olivér since we were kids, we have been teammates a number of times, so it has been great working together with him this season,” says Pleszkán.
Újpest brought in six new imports at the start of the season, which includes a trio of forwards, Jussi Tapio, Teemu Elomo and Jozef Mihálik who according to some opponents make up the top line in all of the league. After the 11th week of the season Mihálik is leading the league in goals, points and assists. The team also brought in Miroslav Durák and Reines Demiters to strengthen the blue line. Demiters has been let go by the team and former DAB.Docler defensemen Victor Lindgren was brought in. Along with Lindgren UTE also added Gergő Toth and Dániel Kiss from Fehérvár on loan. Another new signing Ádám Zoltán Hegyi was brought in as a forward but under the guidance of a good coach he has become a full-time solid blue liner. The team is now waiting for Karol Csányi to get his citizenship and Erik Maklári, main D-man in the previous seasons, has been out all season with a knee injury.
The import players look like they have fit in nicely with the team.
“The atmosphere is good in the locker room. We have been winning some important games,” said Teemu Elomo who has already been named MOL League’s Player of the Week once this season.
The feeling is mutual with regards to the import players.
“This season we were able to sign the type of imports who have a scoring touch, ones that the younger players can learn from,” says long time UTE player Róbert Dömötör. “Because of this us, Hungarian players can perform better therefore the team is going in the right direction. The import players have nicely fit into the team and this is the reason that we win a tight game, because of teamwork.”
SEASONED YOUNG GUYSA core group of young players have grown up up during the past few seasons and because of injuries during have taken up key roles in on the second and third lines this season as well. David Coleman, Róbert Dömötör, Martin Turbucz, Péter Gágyor, Ádám Pichler, Ádám Garbacz, Csaba Virág, Gergő Ványi, Gergő Bereczki and Tamás Sommer make up two full lines worth of players who have been playing regularly in the team the last couple for seasons.
The last ingredient that every playoff team needs is the right coach. Zoltán Szilassy, who last season was the head coach of the UTE U20 team in the EBYSL, was promoted to head coach of the senior team. Szilassy was an assistant at DAB.Docler before going to UTE and played for UTE, Fehérvár, Ferencváros and Dunaújváros during his career before retiring in 2011. He has played with or against most of the players in the league as well as a couple of coaches. He has brought a new style of coaching, a modern style compared to what UTE has had in the past few years.
“He has done a great job during the preseason in getting us ready for the season, as the season has progressed he has continued to teach us new concepts. We have to learn how to play from start to finish for 60 minutes and do what the coach asks from us so we review every game to see what we can improve upon and correct the mistakes. We are not a team that everyone thinks is a guaranteed victory anymore, but that we are equal to anyone in the league and that we can beat anyone,” says Dömötör.
Photo: László Mudra, Zoltán Rózsa