Not far faraway from a 30-goal season within the NHL, Dominik Kubalik is hoping to take his sport up a notch this coming marketing campaign.
Acquired by the Ottawa Senators, together with Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round draft choose in 2024 and a fourth-round draft choose in 2024 with Alex DeBrincat going the opposite option to Detroit in early July, the 28-year-old winger is worked up for a brand new begin, a brand new alternative to kickstart his NHL profession.
In 4 NHL seasons, he has 82 objectives. Final season in Detroit, he had 20 objectives and 25 assists. In 2019-20, with Chicago, he had 30 objectives in his rookie season, ending third within the NHL’s Calder Trophy voting.
The Senators will likely be trying to him to switch among the offence misplaced when DeBrincat, who had 27 objectives and 39 assists in his solely season in Ottawa, was dealt to the Wings.
“You at all times need it to be higher than the final season, that’s a objective I’ve,” Kubalik stated. “Final season, I used to be loads higher than I used to be the yr earlier than. If I take one other step up, that may be good.
“I’m not a 21-year-old anymore. I’ve to do my job proper and and be ready for all the pieces. Total, I’ve to be myself. I can’t do issues that aren’t in my sport. What I anticipate from myself is forechecking, shoot once I can and play responsibly. If you come to a brand new group, you need to be prepared. Crucial factor is once I look within the mirror, I need to be certain I did all the pieces I might.”
Kubalik performed junior hockey within the Ontario Hockey League with Sudbury and Kitchener from 2012-14. A seventh-round draft choose of the Los Angeles Kings in 2013, he returned to his homeland, the Czech Republic, then moved on to play for a Swiss group earlier than getting signed by the Blackhawks.
Kubalik, who will likely be paid $2.5 million within the closing yr of his contract, moved to Ottawa every week and a half earlier than the beginning of coaching camp to assist make the transition simpler. He was nonetheless ready on his furnishings, together with his mattress, to reach and expects to have it Tuesday.
“Every little thing has been fairly good, fairly clean,” he stated. “The welcome from the fellows has been fairly heat so I’ve actually loved the time right here to this point. It’s getting higher and higher daily. I might see immediately the group is tremendous proficient.”
Requested about discovering out in regards to the commerce that introduced him to Ottawa, he stated: “You’re slightly shocked. I used to be abroad, with the time change I discovered very early within the morning. You don’t anticipate it, so that you attempt to take the positives out of it. I bear in mind it was actually robust to play in opposition to Ottawa so I used to be excited to hitch them.
“It’s a brand new system, new guys, new rink, you’re making an attempt to determine all the pieces out as fast as attainable. I can’t complain about something. The worst half is the primary day once you don’t know what to anticipate.”