Rezanina: SSL instead of NHL

Lukas Rezanina is an unconventional young guy with positive energy and always good mood. Exactly this character helped him to become the first Slovak in the floorball NHL, as he calls the Swedish Superleague. Oddly enough it all started with him not being a good enough ice-skater.

Lukas comes from Kosice, with it’s 250 thousand inhabitants the second largest city of Slovakia. His ultimate dream had been to play in the NHL. But that one he had to let go pretty soon. “In Kosice, there was room for 20 best players of my age and I was let’s say number 25, who wanted to be in the team. So when I was approx. 9 years old, five of us were kicked out. And that’s when I started with floorball instead,” Lukas is describing the crucial situation. There would be many, who would just lose all love for sports but Lukas got inspired instead. He became more hard working and he declared a clear goal for himself: “One day, I´ll play in the best league in the world!”

_{Lukas Rezanina won three Czech championship titles with Vitkovice.}

“The foreign farm” of Vitkovice
Quite soon, it was clear, that Slovakia will be too small for the talented young guy. Thanks to the zero language barrier, Lukas got a chance to combine studying and floorbal in the Czech Republic. Actually in the team, where they in the last couple of years brought up the most successful players, who made it abroad – Vitkovice. “One day the telephone rang and it was Vitkovice-Coach Radomir Mrazek calling. He saw me playing for the Slovak national team and he made me an offer. I agreed immediately. I was actually supposed to go and study in Brno, but I couldn’t turn down the offer from Ostrava.” One of the decisive aspects for Lukas was also the fact, that in Vitkovice, he would meet the same kind of ambitious and goal oriented players, who have the same aim as he had – to play abroad. Such as Tomasik, Jelinek, Brus, Kolos, Suchanek, Tokos, Veltsmid and others who all come from the club in Ostrava.

No floorball in Finland
Lukas has never regretted his decision. To leave home and live abroad at age of 19 was pretty challenging, but he is looking at it as an important part of life education. “I can only recommend this to everyone. It was the best decision I could have made,” he says laughing. And the globetrotter Rezanina looked further for opportunities. When there was a chance to go to Finland (as a part of Erasmus student exchange program) he didn’t hesitate. He took contact with Happee and made a deal, that he could be part of their team. That was the season 2013/2014, when Happee became the Finnish champion.

But not everything went as planned. Rezanina injured his knee pretty severely during the play-off of the season 2012/2013, which meant for him no floorball in Finland. But he went there anyway as he wanted to develop not only his floorball skills, but also use the opportunity to study abroad. “I met many great people in Finland and I enjoyed travelling, which is my main hobby. So all in all, it was a good experience, despite the injury.”

JACT in the main role
After returning back from Finland, Lukas signed another two year contract with Vitkovice, but he already knew by that time that he would like to move further. “We had a great bunch of guys in Kosice, but I realized that I needed more competition to become better. And the same feeling I got in Vitkovice at that moment. That soon I would need a new impulse, to have a chance to get equal to the best players in the world.” 

_{Lukas Rezanina is ready to fight for his spot in the squad of Linköping.}

Lukas decided to take the faith in his own hands and contacted the Swedish players agency Jact, to ask them for help with an engagement in Sweden. “I was in contact with Jonas Thompsson and I got pretty lucky, as Linköping showed it’s interest. It is really a fine club with many great people”. It was not easy for Lukas to get a contract. He went to Linköping for one week testing and then once more for another two weeks. But after that he was offered 1+1 year.

But it wont be easy anyway. “I was pretty sure, that I would be just on the bench at the beginning of the season (Lukas really hasn’t played yet), but I don’t believe, that I will be there by the end of it. I have seen all the players, and that they are all good and skillful, but I believe I will overtake someone,” says Lukas with resolution in his voice. And then he thinks some more about his floorball career: “On one hand, I am really really disappointed by not playing ice-hockey. But on the other hand, when I now see some of my friends, who do play hockey, but who are not good enough to make a living from it, then I am really glad. They go to construction sites and work there to earn some money. I was able to do my studies, I can travel and now, there is another life challenge waiting for me thanks to floorball. So now, I just wish to have some success with the Slovak national team to be pretty happy.”

What doesnt kill us, makes us stronger
And what would Lukas consider as a success? “To experience as a player, that we manage to challenge the Czechs and manage a draw or some kind of a good result such as 2:4 or so.” Well, the last Czech-Slovak encounter ended up much worse from the Slovakian perspective – 11:0 for the Czechs at the Polish Cup tournament in September 2016. But Lukas stays optimistic anyway. “I don’t think we are any slower or in a worse shape. We are just lacking some experience. The best teams played up to 100 games, we played maximum one fourth of these. If we swallow for a couple more time to get bad results, but play the best we can anyway, I believe, we can get stronger. And in 2 years in Prague, we will be in full strength.”

But before the WFC in the Czech Republic, the Slovaks will in December take part in the WFC in Latvia. And Lukas has a plan, how to change the usual rankings. „We have been nr. 10 and nr. 8, so why not nr.6 this time? That would be really great.“

Interview with Lukas Rezanina to be read here.