"Catching Up With ..." will keep you in touch with the Admirals over the long summer months. A new player or hockey operations staff member will be interviewed regularly.

norfolkadmirals.com catches up with #30 Radek Smolenak today. Like Paul Szczechura, who we caught up with last time, Smolenak enjoyed an offensive explosion in January when he was paired up with newcomers Szczechura and Junior Lessard. On January 18, the second year pro scored his first AHL goal in his 39th career AHL game. In the last 38 games of 2007-08, Smolenak scored 15 goals – the most goals of any Admiral during that span. He also accumulated 80 penalty minutes in those 38 games, as Smolenak embraced the role of agitator in addition to goal scorer. The 21-year-old native of Prague, Czech Republic, will enter his third pro season in 2008-09.

How has your summer been?

I took three weeks off and started training by myself. We have a training schedule from Tampa. Plus, every afternoon I’m training with some guys from Kladno, a city where I used to play. We have a lot of guys who are playing in the NHL, AHL or junior hockey leagues, so it’s pretty good because we push each other. Some of the guys I am training with are Jaromir Jagr, Tomas Plekanec and both Frantisek and Tomas Kaberle. Another thing I did was I finished another year at school.


What kind of school did you go to?

Because I was gone from the Czech Republic since I was 17, I had to finish my high school. I know it sounds funny, but we finish high school here when we are about 19. I was gone all the time, so this year I had time to finish it. Finally!


Did you follow the Calder Cup Playoffs since your countryman and friend Ondrej Pavelec was doing so well for Chicago? How do you know Ondrej? Have you spoken to him since the playoffs ended?

He is one of my best friends so we spoke on the phone all the time through the playoffs. They deserved to win. They had a good team and he helped them out big time. Me and another one of our friends, Jiri Tlusty, picked him up at the airport when he got back and went out a few times, because he wanted to celebrate. I didn’t want to, but I had to … LOL … We are together pretty much every day and our group just got back from a vacation.

Where did you go?

My best friends and I went to a cottage for a week. We went to a place in the Czech Republic where everyone goes in the summer. Kind of like a Czech Cancun ... LOL.

Who are some of your best friends in hockey?

My best friends are both Kaberles, Jiri Tlusty, Ondrej Pavelec and Jakub Voracek (a first round draft pick of Columbus).

You had a breakthrough with the Admirals this season. You scored your first goal on January 18 and had 15 goals by the end of the season. What happened to spark your dramatic increase in production?

I don’t really know what happened. We made some trades and I started play with great players like Junior and Paul. They helped me out big time. We scored some goals, I got some lucky bounces and coach gave us a lot of ice time. I had an amazing time since Christmas. I enjoyed every single second when I could be on the ice. I got my confidence and everything was easier with confidence.


Admirals fans got a glimpse at your personality when you came out of the locker room for the Admirals MDA Jersey Auction wearing red sunglasses, silver pom-poms sticking out of your hat and a colorful boa wrapped around your neck. For people who don't know you, what kind of a person are you?

What kind of person? I don’t really know what to say. I think people have to get to know me for who I am. I love to have fun. I love to see other people laugh and having a good time, because without that everything is harder. For sure, sometimes you have to be serious, especially when you are on the ice. Another one of my faces is that for me everything is my family. I might not look like it, but I love kids and my family, as well. I’d do anything for them.


What are your plans for the rest of the summer? When will you be heading back to North America?

I don’t really know. In the end of August, I’m having a camp called Jagr Team. He puts some players together and we are going to play a few exhibition games for charity. Also, starting in the middle of July, I’m going to skate with other pros from Kladno and with a hockey team in Kladno. So I’ll be pretty busy, I guess.

What are your goals for 2008-09?

I have only one goal: MAKE THE NHL. I’ll do everything it takes to make it.

Source: www.norfolkadmirals.com