Dalibor Dvorsky came to Sweden as a nine -year -old – now he plays the World Cup for Slovakia

-He was such a kid who always, always wanted to train, and always, always wanted to compete and get better, says Håkan Waerner, now coach at Flemingsberg’s J-20.

It was in August 2014 that a nine -year -old Parvel from Slovakia knotted in with his father in Tumba Hockey’s dressing room for boys born in 2005.

Dalibor Dvorsky had with his family moved to Tumba to take the next step in their development. Despite the large transition with a new country and a new language, the nine -year -old quickly came to justice.

– All the guys in Tumba were very nice to me – I have many friends there that I still write with, says Dvorsky in fluent Swedish.

Montreal’s European Scout Christer Rockström, who once advised the Detroit Red Wings about a certain Niklas Lidström, heard about Dvorsky’s ambitions. The scout saw that Tumba had good conditions for developing talents and felt that the association would be a good next destination for the nine -year -old.

Håkan Waerner, who was a coach for Tumba’s 05 team during that time, remembers when Drovsky for the first time entered the ice hall.

– The first time I met him was with his dad in the club room. I’m not super good in English, but we still made ourselves understood there, says Waerner.

– What I noticed the first time he came, it was that, even though he did not understand English or Swedish, he still stood in the queue first.

After his first years in Tumba, Dvorsky played in Flemingsbergs, Linköping and AIK’s youth activities, and then made the A-team debut for the latter in HockeyAllsvenskan.

2023 went dvorsky as tia In the NHL draft and became St. Louis Blues first choice. Now the 19-year-old has also made his way all the way to his first hockey World Cup on his « second home ground ».

– I would never have been the player I am now if I hadn’t been to Tumba when I was nine. They have helped me very much and it was great for me to start there when I came to Sweden, says Dvorsky.

What have Håkan and your family meant to you?

– He played a huge role in my development – even the time after Tumba.

– My family is my biggest role models, but I would never have been here. These are the ones I thank you for everything.

Waerner says that Dvorsky was absolutely good when he arrived – but that it was not a player who stood out significantly. He adds that it is also difficult to see if a nine-year-old has what it takes to become a future NHL player.

It is above all Slovaken’s drive to constantly want to be better that underlies the success.

– We had a guy in the team who could shoot the shot and « Dali » couldn’t really. But then he went down and drove three hours together with our goalkeeper coach and trained a shot – then he knew it, says Waerner.

– Talent is not everything, I love hockey and I love being on the ice. I did it then and I do it now, I don’t see it as a job, says Dvorsky.