When you think of those beloved players in hockey, you’ll often get the iconic shot of a toothless grin and messy hair, or a stream of blood drawing an outline down the crooked nose that defines their face. It’s somebody that throws their hands in the air, and their screams seem to carry weight. It’s players who work their tail off in every zone, because they never know which shift is going to be their last and they want to be remembered as someone who laid it all on the ice.
When you think of beloved players, you think of somebody like David Kastrba.
Ask anybody around Manhattan, they’ll all give the same response. What gets you excited with the Manhattan Rage? They all remember the goals, the Cups wins … and that temperamental spark plug who seems to spark everything with a huge hit, a timely fight, a strong back check or a more aggressive forecheck. He’s the guy who does what nobody else wants to sometimes, and does it with a smile on his face because that’s just who he is.
“I love this game,” says Kastrba. “I love this team. I love this city. I’m going to give everything I have to it all, as often as I can.”
The future hasn’t always looked so bright for Kastrba. It never seems to work that way for those kinds of players.
It doesn’t take much of a trip down memory lane to get to a time when things were bleak for Kastrba’s future in the SHL at all. After being drafted tenth overall in S42, he returned to Vancouver and played a career high 17 minutes per game, while posting 15 goals and 47 points. He was riding on cloud nine.
Then it seemed like he was forgotten – he returned to the bottom six. In those 50 games, he played more than he would in the rest of his junior career. In 150 games spanning S41, S43 and S44, Kastrba played 11 minutes per game. He put in 20 goals and had 48 points. In the two seasons following his 47 point outburst, he put in 39 total points in 100 games and looked like something had broken.
“I was legitimately feeling forgotten, like why don’t they want a guy like me in a key spot right?” said Kastrba. “I was sitting there staring at the box scores, looking at the film and thinking I’m doing what they’re asking. I’m pressuring on the forecheck. I’m aggressive. I do everything. Why can’t I get a chance?”
He’d go to Manhattan for training camp, and return back to Vancouver dejected. The question continued to creep into his mind, why not me? It started to sound like Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when his dad returns for just a day, only to leave again. This player who gave it his all, and the fans loved, just never got a fair shake. It was never quite “his” time.
That is until it was. He entered his rookie season with Manhattan on what felt like a short leash for his last chance. Coach Jason Aittokallio took a look at him, and slotted him on the third line. “Oh great, more time on the bench,” thought Kastrba. Instead, Aittokallio saw something in him. He noticed he was a hard forechecker, so he put him up against the top line in practice. He saw he was great at reading plays, and started putting him into penalty killing situations. Kastrba saw his usage increase, actually.
“I was like, whoa! Where did this come from?” said Kastrba.
Kastrba continued to impress his coach. He would get praise in film sessions, and he felt legitimately like his hard work was paying off. Then came game 235 on the season, or game 33 for the Rage. Kastrba came into the locker room and there it was, the line-up on the white board.
“I was top line.”
Aittokallio had rewarded him with time. He was going to play alongside Rage veteran and alternate captain Reginald Rove as well as fellow young player Jax Aittokallio on the first line. The Rage won the game 3-0, and Kastrba was a major aggressor.
He has never left the top line since that time.
Manhattan went 10-5-2 in the last 17 games that season and came within earshot of the playoffs. Kastrba was among the most sought out jerseys after the last game of the season. He had 7 points in the last 17 games, but showed a lot of heart and soul and was looking like he was about to break out.
In to the next season we go, and Kastrba is still on the first line. He remains there all season. The Rage compete for first in the league, coming up just short of it all. Kastrba, who had just 16 points in all of S45, comes out strong and manages to hit 30 points in 50 games. His minutes on the penalty kill saw a decrease, but his total minutes went up slightly by playing more five on five.
“We went to him and said, look, we know you like killing penalties, but you’ve also never played this much and we want to protect your body for when we hit playoffs and need that physicality,” said coach Aittokallio. “You’re out there to be the muscle, to get to the dirty areas, to make the other team work for it. We need you to push them every second you’re out there. And from that point on, he never stopped pushing them.”
Kastrba saw career highs at every level, nearly doubling his point totals from one season to the next. Rove and Aittokallio both found themselves at career highs in goals and points as well. Kastrba landed 181 hits and was top ten in the league. The Rage found themselves in a race for the top of the league, they haven’t slowed down at all. Kastrba sees himself in a potential race for the Aidan Richan Trophy, but he just focuses on the wins that keep racking up.
Actually, since the moment Kastrba joined the top line the Rage have gone 39-23-5 in total from S45 to present. They’ve been the winningest team in the league in that timeframe. Kastrba has been a pivotal force in their development and growth into a star team.
“He’s the glue that has brought it all together for us,” said linemate Reginald Rove. “He’s somebody that has been incredibly consistent both on and off the ice. He’s so incredibly tough, physical. He creates in different ways. He really changes the dynamic of our line in the best possible way and helps to create legitimate depth in our line-up.”
David Kastrba is a man who holds it all together. He’s the kind of player who draws in fans, who bring out the best comments from the other team and who brings out the best play from his teammates. He’s somebody who makes you want to be better every time.
Since joining Manhattan, Kastrba has yet to ask if he belongs. He has yet to question his usage or think lesser of himself. He knows he’s a superstar in the league, even if he’s not the guy on the scoreboard at every turn. He’s the guy who brings it together in Manhattan.
He’s the glue.
@hewasajazzman ily
This is just a story about a guy that I think deserves some recognition as a big piece of our team in a major position who has also really broken out this season nearly doubling his point totals from his rookie year. What an absolute superstar. <3
An old man's dream ended. A young man's vision of the future opened wide. Young men have visions, old men have dreams. But the place for old men to dream is beside the fire.