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| From the Czech Republic, Daniel Bartek is a forward with the ±«Óătv Tigers men's hockey team. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
±«Óătv Tigers hockey star Daniel Bartek has taken a long and winding road to Halifax. Over the last four years, the native of the Czech Republic has travelled from his hometown to Western Hockey League teams in Tri-Cities, Washington; then to Brandon, Manitoba, back to Washington and back to his native country to play in the World Junior Championships. From there, he attended a NHL training camp with the New York Rangers.
Joining the Tigers a year ago, Mr. Bartek, in his second year at ±«Óătv studying commerce, played with some of the brightest young stars in the NHL today and has overcome numerous injuries, including a broken wrist, foot and finger.
Many young hockey players dream about representing their country at a national level, whether it be at the World Junior Championships, the World Championships, or the Olympics. For Mr. Bartek, that dream became a reality when, at the age of 19, he was selected to play for the Czech Republic at the 2008 World Junior Championships. Not only was he able to represent his home country, he was also able to do so on home ice.
“The tournament took place an hour and a half from my hometown,” he recalled. “It was the highlight of my career besides going to the NHL camp. To have made the team and then play on a line with players like Jakub Voracek (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Michael Frolik (Florida Panthers), who are playing in the NHL now, it was amazing. I’m really glad I had the opportunity.”
Mr. Bartek has a vivid memory of their first game at the World Juniors as it was against the eventual tournament winner, Canada.
“It was the first game of the tournament,” says Bartek. “We lost 2-0 so obviously I don’t have the best memories of that, but I played against guys who I actually played against in the WHL. There were a couple guys from out west on the Canadian team. The big names stand out obviously -- I remember shifts against Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay) and John Tavares (NY Islanders).”
NHL camp
Apart from playing in the World Junior Championships, Mr. Bartek says the highlight of his career was receiving an invitation to attend the Traverse City Prospects Tournament with the New York Rangers in September, 2009. He proved himself as a top rookie and recorded four points in four games (2 goals, 2 assists).
“Just to have the chance to be invited to the NHL camp was something I’m really proud of. It’s one of the highlights of my hockey career for sure. I wasn’t going into the camp with any high expectations. Basically I just had the chance to play in the rookie tournament, but it actually turned out to be one of the best tournaments I’ve had. I made it to the top line and afterwards I was invited to the main camp as well and stayed with the Rangers main team for a couple weeks. It was amazing.”
The road to accomplishing these goals, however, was not easy. He had to recuperate from serious injuries and find a way to keep playing the game that he loves. He started to look at playing at a varsity level—an option that would allow him to further his education.
“±«Óătv stood out right from the beginning. I got in touch with Pete Belliveau, the head coach of the hockey team here, and I really liked what he had to say about the program. I did my own research on the school so right from that time I was excited to come to Dal.”
Coach Belliveau says Mr. Bartek is a big asset to their team. “Dan gives us great leadership on and off the ice with his hard work ethic and never-say-die attitude. He is one of our team’s hardest and most dedicated student-athletes in terms of how he has transitioned from his home country to attending our university, playing varsity hockey and working eight weeks of summer camp.
“We are very happy to have him as part of our Dal Tigers hockey family.”