For those unfamiliar with the Czech language, a simple greeting like “hi” translates to “čau”—pronounced much like the Italian “ciao.” I recently learned this firsthand from Vancouver Canucks defenceman Filip Hronek, who jokingly insisted that I greet his Staffordshire bull terrier, Attila, in Czech. The loyal black dog, who has been Hronek’s companion for about five years, apparently does not understand English.
“Čau,” I said to Attila, who waggled his tail and looked up at me in anticipation.
This friendly interaction was the second time in a couple of weeks that Hronek had shown a surprising willingness to casually engage. On the eve of training camp, as I walked across the underground parkade at Rogers Arena, Hronek slowed down on his way out of the building. Spotting Global’s Jay Janower and myself, he offered a warm, friendly wave.
It seemed a new leaf had been turned. Hronek, who in the past was known primarily as a reluctant speaker who mostly cast a wry grin, appeared to be letting his guard down. If this trend continues, we might find ourselves in a brave new Canucks era—at least for a little while.
These moments of openness came into sharper focus as I read a pair of candid quotes from Hronek to The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, delivered following Thursday’s tough 7-2 loss for the Canucks to the Carolina Hurricanes, the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Hronek was remarkably frank in his comments. Even on nights when they are heavily outgunned—which will happen frequently during this rebuilding phase—he and his teammates must keep skating hard. In the season’s opening week, they managed to stay close to the Oilers because they did not get rattled by the pace of the game.
“They scored those goals on the power play, and then we didn’t (reset),” Hronek said of Thursday’s game, clearly pointing to a need for improved mental resilience. “After that, we just stopped trying. We have to learn from that. We have to be ready to start, and whatever happens, if we score or they score, we just have to keep playing the same way.”
Fairly speaking, this was not the outburst of a frustrated player. We are too early in this rebuilding campaign for veterans to be feeling genuine frustration. Rather, it serves as a constructive warning—a direct message to his teammates to draw a lesson from Thursday’s loss and avoid letting their guard down.
In past games, they have worked hard, showed heart, and demonstrated plenty of hustle. If they lose that fundamental drive, the course of the season will quickly go astray.
Zooming out, there is a mountain of defensive improvements to be made. To even keep games like Thursday’s close, the Canucks simply have to become better at defending the slot. The game’s opening goal, scored by K’Andre Miller, came off a beautiful breakout sequence, a fine zone entry, and a failure by the defense to pick up Miller streaking to the goalmouth.
The Hurricanes were Cup champions for the exact reasons they displayed on Thursday—a relentlessness that only intensified as the game progressed.
Hronek remained philosophical in defeat.
“No one is happy with this, and we just have to be better at everything,” he continued. “We’re going to do better. We have to battle. We can’t (get hit) and just fall down. We just have to keep playing and we have to work hard and do the right things.”
In those words, we hear a message from a player who has been there before: if the team loses its sense of self and its identity, none of the work will matter, and nothing will get better.
We have long heard that Hronek has been a strong leader behind the scenes. It is clear now that we are finally starting to see him showcase those leadership skills in front of everyone else.
