Photo: iSport

The following interview, video and article is from Swedish media outlet SVT (here.) An English translation of the non-english portions of the interview is provided below. 

Article translation:

Earlier this summer, he scored in the crucial Stanley Cup final when Washington Capitals won his first NHL championship. Over the past few weeks, Jakub Vrana has held the summer training in Linköping, the city that taught him both about hockey and life.

“Linköping still feels like home for me. When I came here I could neither speak Swedish nor English. But when I was here, I learned English and it helped me a lot for the future, “said 22-year-old Jakub Vrana.

Jakub Vrana left as the 15-year-old parental home in Czech Prague to bet on hockey in Sweden and Linköping HC. It was the former LHC coach Slavomir Lener who recommended the young super talent to go to Sweden when he considered that the Swedish hockey training was world-leading.

And it was fine. After four years in Sweden, Vrana was transferred to NHL and Washington Capitals two years ago. And already his second season in the NHL he got to lift the world’s most sought after hockey squad – Stanley Cup.

In the video above you can hear Jakub Vrana tell about time in Sweden and Linköping – and about the feeling of winning the Stanley Cup together with teammates like Alexander Ovechkin and Niklas Bäckström.

Jakub Vrana translated interview

A lot has happened since Jakub Vrana left Prag at the age of 15, which was 7 years ago. To put all his effort into ice hockey, in a foreign country, with a start in the junior league of the SHL team Linköping. Vrana had a clear goal from the very start.

– Vrana speaks in English to answer the text above. “I have always thought of the NHL…”

And that’s what happened. Vrana played his first game in the SHL at the age of 16. Two years after his debuted in SHL, hegot drafted by the Washington Capitals as their first pick. This year, his second year in the NHL, he became an important player in the playoffs and did a goal in the last game and got to celebrate the Stanley Cup with team mates like, Nicklas Bäckström and Alexander Ovechkin.

– Vrana answers in English. “You know, when I played…”

Translated by Sofie Bengsston

Original video: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/ost/stanley-cup-hjalten-trivs-i-linkoping