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ibuprofenaddict · 09-25-2023, 03:11 PM

Rookie Interview: Carda
By: Teddy Dyche

At the SMJHL draft this past Saturday, a player we introduced last week joined the enormous haul of rookies selected by the Detroit Falcons. As the second pick of the third round, Marek Carda becomes only the second natural right winger on a re-tooled roster that hopes to improve on last season's disappointing 13th place finish with a record of 21-39-6. Overall, the Falcons were able to snare a number of good prospects, including the highly regarded Will Tomlander and Emil Karlsson, as well as the mercurial defensive defensemen Simo Jaaskalainen and fellow blueliners Stormlord Imotekh and Martins Priede, and finally goaltender Dako Nanokov. I had the chance to sit down with Marek upon his arrival in Detroit this weekend and catch up on how its been going for him since our previous article.

First, have you had any feedback to the article i previously wrote about you?

MC: Not as much as you might think. I try to keep kind of a low profile. Obviously some of my mates in Pilsen got a kick out of it and found things in there to use against me like not being able to skip rocks and my lame quote about not betting on myself, but otherwise it hasn't been too crazy. Obviously when you have a busy week like I have time both stands still and flies by at the same time so its impossible for me to actually remember all of the different comments. I thought it was very well written though, so thank you for that, I enjoyed having you in my city and being able to speak with you. Hopefully it helped to get me where we are today!

It was a very busy weekend for the Detroit Falcons. What are your initial impressions of the organization?

MC: Absolutely. I'm part of a rookie class of seven and i think we have the potential to make some real noise over the next few seasons. I'm looking forward to starting the games and seeing how we all mesh together and with the core of players who were here before us. The staff and players have been really welcoming so far; I'd had positive interactions with Detroit prior to the draft but i don't know if either of us knew at the time it would work out this way. It was a relief to be picked, and when i saw it was Detroit, i was ecstatic, yeah.

Have you been to Detroit before? What are your initial impressions?

MC: No, i hadn't. I'd been around the country a bit, obviously i still have some family in Oregon, but never here in the Midwest. Obviously Detroit is a great place to be for hockey, with a rich history in the sport and the Falcons are absolutely part of that. Even at the grassroots level i can 'feel' hockey a bit more here as part of the makeup of the people and culture than i see in other places. It's been fun so far, I landed at DTW just yesterday but I've already had Buddy's Pizza, which is really more like someone said what if we took all the ingredients from a regular pizza and made a birthday cake out of it? But it was good, i liked it. I don't think the staff will like me eating that stuff too often though.

Have you had the chance to try any other uniquely Detroit experiences? Better Made Chips? Vernors Ginger Ale? Have you been to Motown or seen any of the city center yet?

MC: No not yet, I hope to be here for awhile so I'll have to start keeping a list! The team have me set up at a pretty nice new place in Dearborn, which isn't too far from our facilities, but yeah its been a whirlwind so far and I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact that I'm here at all!

Has the staff given you any indication of where you might line up for them this season?

MC: Definitely at forward! No, seriously, I think ill probably be mid-bottom of the lineup right winger - there's a lot of adjusting that needs to be done to the speed of the game here in the SMJHL on my end and we have a solid core in place that can slot in above me to allow me the space i need to grow into the game. I'm not expecting to make a big splash at the beginning.

Is there something you're hoping to be able to do in order to contribute to team success in the first year?

MC: I think my style would suit the team well in terms of earning some special teams minutes. If I can end the season on special teams - especially as a key piece to the penalty killing units - i think that will show that I'm making progress towards being the player i ultimately want to be come. Otherwise, yeah, I just want to win!

What are your parents thinking?

MC: They're here now! They were able to take a few days to help get me here safely and moved, and meet everyone that I'm going to be living and working around this first season. But yeah, they're buzzing, I'm buzzing, we're all buzzing. I'm glad to have them here and I'll for sure miss them when they go back, but i gotta remind myself: This was the dream, you know?

You Mentioned the Rookie Class before, did you know any of them prior to draft day? Do any of them stand out in your mind?

MC: I hadn't met or played with any of them before, so looking forward to sharing the ice with them. Obviously Will and Emil are awesome players and I'm excited to be part of a forward core moving forward with them. Simo i think I'll get along with pretty well. Obviously he's already kind of a media & social media legend in these parts without ever having stepped on the ice yet. Yeah he's hilarious. I think we'll get along and hopefully stay out of trouble.

What's one thing that you want to tell Detroit Fans about yourself or your game heading into this season?

MC: I'm not a flashy player but I like to think i play a smart game, a hardworking game that will contribute to the team getting results at both ends of the ice. I'm looking forward to pulling the red jersey and playing in front of the home fans and I'll never give less than 100% as long as I'm in Detroit.

Obviously, Detroit is going to be one of the more interesting stories to follow in SMJHL S73. We'll be sure to check in on Marek and his teammates as the season progresses to get a read on both his experiences and how the team in faring overall. Until then, thanks much!

2x draft media - 1253 words.

***Aephino*** · 09-26-2023, 07:16 AM

Can’t wait to see Marek on the ice!

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