Darragh: How about spending your vacation alone and getting ready for recovery and games?
Nosek: That’s a good thing, as both teams have roughly the same vacation. We get a few days on the ice, so for me, I prepare every practice and do my best to get everything ready.
Darragh: Your line had a huge impact on these playoffs. What’s working so well for you guys?
Nosek: I think we played a pretty good advancement game. We were able to deepen the puck, put pressure on their D and play physically. We played defensively, and we tried not to let them overcome our goals.
Darragh: AJ Greer and Jonah Gadjovich are two guys who are not afraid of physical play. How do they play?
Nosek: They’re pretty good forecheckers. I’m trying to use it for my benefit. That’s a simple read for me as if they hit someone, the pack would normally stay there or be restricted. I played with AJ in Boston and we were pretty good there too, and the Gajo fitted perfectly. We built some good chemistry during the season.
Darragh: You played with Nate Schmidt of Vegas and Greer and Brad Merchand of Boston. How special is this run along with your teammates you’ve played elsewhere?
Nosek: That’s great. It’s one of those things that makes you look older and make you feel like time flies. Everyone I played with and it’s so much fun. In Nate’s case, the Vegas final was a fairy tale, so I felt this was a bit different to Vegas. This is a different feeling as no one expected us to be that good. It was a blessing to be able to be with the people in the same room again.
Darragh: When the Panthers added Vitek Vanecek to the deadline, how excited were they to see another Czech joining the team?
Nosek: He’s amazing. I loved it. It’s always nice to have someone from the Czech Republic on your team. You can also use a bit of Czech humor in the locker room. That’s good. We are always trying to follow the words of the Czech Republic. Only when we are together and not around men, we try to be respectful and speak English when we are around many people. Certainly it was amazing.
Darragh: It’ll be a long flight to Edmonton. How do you usually spend your time on a flight?
Nosek: Maybe you’ll play cards with boys. There are Nate (Schmidt), Jonesy (Seth Jones), Kuli (Dmitry Kulikov), Mikksy (Niko Mikkola), AJ (Greer), Samo (Mackie Samoskevich), seven, seven down.
