The World Junior Championship took place from December 26, 2019 to January 5, 2020 in Czech cities Ostrava and Třinec. However, despite the effort, which Slovak representatives under the age of 20 showed mainly in the last match, they ranked eighth in the final ranking. Our young hockey player Martin Bučko was also included in the Slovak Formation. Košice defender successfully represented also HC Košice, so we asked him for a short interview after his return. What were his immediate feelings and impressions of the tournament?

Martin, what were your feelings when you learned about the nomination to the World Championship?
“I was very happy about being included in the final nomination, but I must say that I was hoping and doing everything to do my best.”

How did you train yourself for the tournament?
“I trained myself in Košice on ice with the team, and my fitness coach Daniel Kičura trained me outside ice and he trained me very well. Overall, I enjoy trainings with him very much.

Did you expect a better development of the tournament on your part?
“We could certainly perform better, and I am most sorry about the match with Switzerland, during which we absolutely failed...”

Is there anything that you would change or improve in your performance on ice during the World Championship?
“Of course, I would change a lot of things as regards my performance, but that is not how it works. All I can do is learn from my mistakes and make them no more in next match.

Have you set a goal with the boys that you would like to meet during the tournament? Did you succeed?
“We wanted to win the match against Kazakhstan and Switzerland, and we achieved only half of this goal. It is clear that we wanted to win all matches but first of all, we wanted to enjoy the best tournament in the youth representation and do our best to win.”

Do you have any rituals before the match that you tried to follow also during the tournament?
“We do not have any rituals before the match.”

Did your close relatives support you on the tribune in Třinec or Ostrava?
“Yes. My grandparents attended each match and my parents, brother and sister attended two matches. They all were a great support for me! “

We thank Martin for excellent representation of our country as well as our hockey club. We wish him a lot of fulfilled dreams and success in his future career!

HC KE Media Team