10 Questions with Jiri Hrdina
Want to get to know your fellow GM’s more? 10 Questions is back! Let’s kick it off with a bang by interviewing CPHL head honcho Jiri Hrdina:
MJK: So what do you do for a living anyway?
Jiri Hrdina: What kind of question is that? I run a very successful hockey league and manage the Minnesota Wild. In my spare time I take an odd shift at McDonald’s because their hours are flexible and I can take time off when needed. Free fries!
MJK: It is rumoured you have never been able to buy a date and have been single your entire life, would you care to put those rumours to bed?
Jiri Hrdina: Indeed, while I wasn’t able to get a date for the first 30 years of my life, I finally tricked someone and now have a wife, who I’ve been married to for 7 years, and a six year old daughter Suzanna.
MJK: We met up one brief time in Calgary, can you please tell us how much of an impact I had on you and how this moment changed your life forever?
Jiri Hrdina: We met? I don’t remember that.
MJK: How did you get into the CPHL?
Jiri Hrdina: Cheese recruited me MANY years ago (probably over 15). When he took some time away from the game he asked if I would step in to run things.
MJK: What is your favorite CPHL memory?
Jiri Hrdina: We had a PR person reach out to one of our GMs and ask if one of their players could attend a charity event. Winning a championship also many years ago was also fun. There’s been some weird stuff that has happened over the years that at the time wasn’t fun but looking back is funny.
MJK: What is your favorite part of playing the game?
Jiri Hrdina: I love the draft and tracking prospects. Our draft became much more fun when we moved it up a week ahead of the actual draft. Prior to that most GMs just followed the NHL list, offering very little intrigue. Moving it ahead really created a fantastic new wrinkle in the game. From what I can tell, we were one of the first sim leagues to do that.
I also love the overall approach building your organization
MJK: What is your least favourite part?
Jiri Hrdina: When GMs try to bend the rules or outright cheat. Intentionally tanking or trading players to their friends and then quitting. Anytime the league has to intervene in something it isn’t fun.
I also wish the sim was less random. I like the randomness of the sim, but it is too much at times. I wish it produced more realistic results both in terms of player and team performance.
MJK: Any trades that stick out that you love?
Jiri Hrdina: Anytime I’ve been able to force Ravi to overpay for a Flame it has been great. Probably the best example of that was getting Karlsson for Hamilton 1:1
MJK: Any trades that you will never forget because they were so bad?
Jiri Hrdina: I’ve had a couple times where I’ve drafted really great players but then flipped them soon after. Examples are Jordan Eberle for Colton Teubert and flipping Kris Letang for a pick. I think I also originally had Wayne Simmonds and got next to nothing for him. I often have too many players on my roster and have to drop some for poor return. Slavin is another example. I also drafted Karlsson but didn’t hang on to him long enough to extract the highest value.
MJK: Who do you predict will come out on top in the East and West in 2018-19?
Jiri Hrdina: Pittsburgh and NJ are always good bets in the East. I would never bet against Cheese in the West. What he has going for him is that he is entirely focused on winning now, while a lot of other franchises are trying to balance the short-term and long-term.
MJK: Thanks for giving up your shift at McDonalds to take this interview.
Last edited by MJK; 05-31-2018 at 04:32 PM.
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