‘I think I can bring a lot to this team’ – Jakub Stancl

“I think the most important thing is how good the team is and the atmosphere in the locker room,” Stancl added. “If you have a nice rink and a nice area around, that is good too, so I can’t wait to see how beautiful Kelowna is.”

Stancl (pronounced Sh-tan-sul) was chosen by the Rockets in the first round of the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in 2023 but was unable to come over and play in North America last season.

“I was trying to get here last season, already. It didn’t work out. I am excited to be here now, and I got a warm welcome from my teammates and the coaches, so I am excited about playing.”

No stranger to air travel, Stancl left his hometown of Praha, Czechia to play hockey in Vaxjo, Sweden at a young age.

“At 16, I moved to Sweden and played at the pro level,” he said. “I got some games with the pro team there in the Swedish Hockey League, and it went well. I think my parents were sadder when I moved. You don’t just grow as a hockey player at that young age, you grow as a person too.”

With nine of ten people in Sweden now speaking English, the personable forward was able to get a better command of the language.

“Thank you, I try my best,” he said after being complemented for his proficiency in the North American dialect. “I learned most of his [English] in school and when I moved to Sweden, I was pushed to talk to the people around me. I learned some Swedish also, but it is not at the level of my English.”

A fourth-round draft pick of the Blues in 2023, Stancl made his Western Hockey League debut with his new team Friday night against the Victoria Royals. While he was held off the score-sheet, he managed to lead the team in shots on goal with five.

“I think my size is one of my greatest strengths,” he added. “My shot too. I am trying to improve the skating and the other skills, but I think my hockey sense is good too. I think I can bring a lot to this team and bring some success here.”

Stancl, who will be in the lineup tonight when the Rockets host the Prince George Cougars (104-7 The Lizard has the pre-game show at 6:35 pm), would earn his first career WHL point, an assist on Michael Cicek’s second period goal in Sunday’s 6-3 road loss in Everett.

“The smaller size of the ice surface here in North American is no big deal,” he added. “Everything is faster on the smaller ice but I am going to get used to it very soon and it is going to be good.”

Listen to the audio version as Regan Bartel speaks with Jakub Stancl:

European born players often take time to adapt to the North American game. The best example is Gabriel Szturc, who didn’t score his first career goal with the Kelowna Rockets until he played his 9th game, and had only two goals in his opening 22 games.

“It is nice to speak Czech to someone,” Stancl said about hanging out with teammate and fellow countrymen Marek Rocak. “We live with the same billet family, so we are going to spend a lot of time together. I am going to make a point of spending time with the other guys too.”

While making a strong impression with his new junior team, Stancl is also eyeing a spot in Czechia’s world junior team at Christmas.

“It is definitely one of my goals this season,” he said honestly.

“It is going to be in Canada (Ottawa), so I am very excited about that. I played for them last year and we won a bronze medal.”

by Regan Bartel

‘I think I can bring a lot to this team’ – Jakub Stancl

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