“A Dream Come True” | Buffalo Sabres Draft Radim Mrtka 9th Overall At 2025 #NHLDraft

“A Dream Come True” | Buffalo Sabres Draft Radim Mrtka 9th Overall At 2025 #NHLDraft

congratulations uh can you just tell us what you’re feeling in this moment uh the excitement just what you’re experiencing and c can you describe your decision to come to North America this season
okay so first of all thank you very much and yeah I’m excited like it’s one of one of your dream to be drafted and uh especially that high so I mean uh it’s amazing feeling and yeah I’m so excited to to look to the new city and your team and what was the next other question
just I guess you began last season playing pro hockey at home then you went to Seattle why why uh I want to have some experience with the man hockey and uh kind of use it later and it went pretty good for me uh from the start but at the end uh I didn’t get a lot of minutes and uh it was kind of hard for me to they just like kind of stop work with me so I was just about to leave and they dropped me to juniors uh so I could play more and kind of be prepared for for a transformation to to Yes and uh yeah it went it went pretty great pretty good for me since the arrival i mean the drive was pretty hard for me i couldn’t speak English from the start so uh nobody else understanded me and uh I was happy I had a guy with me and at the end the season went pretty good for us for Seattle
we at the end uh make a play also and play really good at the end of the season so I was definitely happy
it was unbelievable i mean Greg Walters coming in this year with that gave me a lot of opportunity and just with that game with confidence and that confidence took me a long way just kept getting better and better very happy with the outcome and ready to take on
rachel I think we’re ready for you
all right hi Ready i’m Rachel Lindsay from the Buffalo News uh first
hi Ry nice to meet you
good to meet you uh first off what do you bring to the Sabres organization and what stands out about your game so I will bring my heart i would just leave everything for the team uh to to bring the team for for the glory and I’m whipper uh who’s trying to be everywhere everywhere i help the team as much as I can and just leave my heart for the team and um at the same time what do you need to do to prepare for professional hockey uh definitely improve my skating i think it will help me to get to our level so I would say that and get
be more dynamic yeah francisco
and the third um you said you you came to to North America not knowing English how did you learn English what did you do did you take classes no I’m done actually like we learned it in Czecha and I always thought I’m good in English but then I arrived and I couldn’t understand and uh couldn’t even speak so I don’t know it just came to me like natural uh I listen and learn and uh it gets so much better during the year so yeah just learn it by the listening right thank you yeah it means a lot uh every coach seen an improvement from the first year until now i mean I put a lot in
uh hi Radim congratulations uh welcome to Buffalo well welcome Buffalo when when you get here thank you very much
um when you look at the uh the defensive setup here for the Sabres and you see the guys that are on this team
what do you think of what’s the first thing that comes to mind
i mean the the Buffalo have pretty amazing players for me especially Darlin is one of the idols who I’m trying to look up and play like him so it’s going to be great to learn from him and uh play with him so I’m definely excited to to him
what is it about Raasmus’s game that that you like so much like his calmness
and his two-way game that he’s able to do everything for the team and uh I mean he’s just he’s just good he’s just so good good work appreciate it Rod thank you
yeah of course hi Redeem matt Fairburn from the Athletic congratulations um I’m curious what was the most challenging part for you coming to North America um you know at such a young age uh first of all hi nice to meet you and I mean I was kind of prepared for it i used to live with our family in Czecha for last year in Bel family uh then I we used to play the small ring and I play with men so in this way I was prepared just the the English was hard for me
and who did you have with you this week what was the week like just being out in Los Angeles for the draft
yeah I’m here with my parents and uh with my brother
and what was it like kind of sharing this moment with them i mean it’s incredible uh they are definitely proud and uh happy for me and uh I have to thank them because they support me a lot during those years and I wouldn’t be able to make without them
thanks Redeem congratulations
yeah thank you very much me again i was just wondering
can you explain what exactly you know your growth was in Seattle what helped you find that next level maybe and allowed you to be picked ninth overall kind of your transformation uh I would say the most helped me that uh the trust which coach put in me i play a lot of minutes and uh I tried to do everything for for team and for the coaches because they put a trust in me and I didn’t want to disappoint so definitely that they put the trust in me and I played a lot and they are great coaches and and what would you say was the biggest adjustment to North American hockey on the smaller ice i would say it’s kind of heavier and faster so those two things that you sometimes have to take take a hit to make a plan
thank you okay any other questions for the group oh I’ve got one more
okay hop in
all right ready thanks again for letting me ask this question uh what did you know about the Buffalo Sabres organization even before you were drafted you know coming into this i mean uh I have been there at the combine so I saw the facility the ring and the city and uh I just like watch the team watch the players uh who you drafted and uh even I got uh teammate uh Scotty Raslaf who play with me in Seattle so I know a bit but like I said like in cheekya uh uh we didn’t have like TV uh NHL TV in uh in Chia and if we had it was 3:00 a.m in the night so I never really watch NHL but uh since I since I like get there I start to watch it and uh yeah I just know a bit
thank you okay any other questions all right well Redeem thank you for your time and welcome to Buffalo okay
thank you very much
okay okay
have a good day

The Buffalo Sabres drafted Radim Mrtka 9th overall at the 2025 #NHLDraft on June 27, 2025. Radim spoke with the media following the pick, and discussed what he knew about Buffalo, Rasmus Dahlin being one of his idols, what he brings to the Sabres, and more.

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