NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The biggest mistake Filip Hronek made last season was scoring twice and getting himself named first star in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-1 road win in November against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
His punishment was a walkoff interview for television, which was followed that week by an actual press conference.
The 25-year-old defenceman from Czechia is so wary of talking to reporters that when he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on March 1, Hronek was accompanied upon arrival by a legend that he had gone 1,000-plus days in Detroit without doing a formal interview.
If true, that ironman streak would be every bit as impressive in the National Hockey League as Phil Kessel going 1,064 consecutive games without getting hurt — or frustrating his coach enough to be healthy-scratched.
Hronek’s aversion to publicity became a running joke among Detroit reporters but the 1,000 days of silence feels like fiction, although the player did tell Sportsnet during the current Canucks road trip: “I was going for 2,000, but got traded.”
So Hronek has a sense of humour.
He will, however, be unable to evade the media in Vancouver, which focuses on the Canucks the way Oppenheimer did the atom.
Hronek is a story again because he has been playing since the regular season began with Quinn Hughes in a power-pairing that has the potential to become one of the NHL’s best – if it remains intact.
While Hronek’s reluctance to be interviewed was expected, the H2 defence duo is a surprise. Hronek and Hughes barely played together during the pre-season, when the Canucks made it clear they’d rather balance the blue line by having their top two defencemen deployed separately.
Head coach Rick Tocchet introduced the idea of a “committee” of interchangeable defencemen, which caused a lot of media speculation about who would partner Hughes.
“The media talk was around Quinn,” assistant coach Adam Foote, who runs the defence, told Sportsnet on Saturday before the Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 5-3. “(The talk) wasn’t from me, but I understand it’s a legitimate question, for sure.
“If a guy goes down — knock on wood — you’ll see more of a committee. But even though you’re right and they’re sticking together more, I like what I see so far with them. I think they’re using each other pretty good. They’ve had some really good matchups where they can defend, too, by having the puck in the offensive zone.”
Heading into the Canucks’ sixth game of the season Tuesday against the Nashville Predators, Hughes has been sublime and the pairing with Hronek dominant at times despite facing the opposition’s best forwards.
According to naturalstattrick.com, in the 15:18 of five-on-five ice time that Hughes and Hronek were together on Saturday, shot attempts were 21-10 for the Canucks and high-danger scoring chances 7-3. In the other 34:21 of five-on-five, the Panthers clobbered the Canucks 50-18 and 9-0 in those metrics.
Through five games, Hughes has logged 78 of his 96 minutes of even-strength ice time with Hronek and the Canucks have outscored other teams 7-1. Hronek, who has eight more minutes than Hughes at evens, has a 7-2 personal goals-differential. Each is averaging 25 minutes a night.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure if there would be chemistry,” Foote said. “Why would we start them together because they’re both so good (at moving the puck)? Like, Hronek can get back, get the puck and just get it out himself. And Hughes can do that, right? So we thought maybe spread it out.
“What I’ve seen, it’s mainly chemistry. They’re giving fits to the opposition. There was one time in Tampa where (Nikita) Kucherov’s line had two shifts where they were defending the whole time. And they don’t like to do that.”
Foote said he didn’t know how good Hronek is — able to keep a tight gap on opposing forwards and retrieve and transport pucks — until the right-shot defenceman was able to rehab an injured shoulder over the summer and report to training camp last month fully fit.
Hronek was injured in his final game with Detroit and played only four times for the Canucks before the team shut him down in March.
Canuck general manager Patrik Allvin traded first- and second-round picks to get the player that Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman had said was part of Detroit’s core.
“I really enjoy playing with Hronek,” Hughes said. “He’s a great player. We’ve only done it for a few games (and) there’s 82 games in a season, so we’re just going to keep building. We’ll see how the next 10 go.
“He’s really mobile. He can make some passes that other guys can’t. He can skate and defend the rush really well. He can just make plays that a lot of people can’t make.”
That last quote could be anybody else talking about Hughes, who has lacked a “permanent” defence partner since the Canucks allowed Chris Tanev to leave in free agency three years ago.
“We haven’t given up much,” Hughes said of the new pairing. “He probably makes it easier (for me), for sure. And it’s just going to keep getting easier for me and him the longer we play together. He’s on a new team, really, so he’s going to just continue to get better.”
Hughes said he didn’t realize how combative Hronek is and “just how team-oriented he is. You never hear him complain; he just wants to win. He expects a lot of himself. He’s got a drive that I didn’t know he had.”
“Quinn is unbelievable,” Hronek countered. “He’s a great player, unbelievable. Everyone knows he’s very skilled and can make plays and is a great player. It’s a lot of fun and we’re going to get better and better.
“I mean, it’s easy to play with him. He’s going to make plays and open up even more room for me. I know I’m going to get the puck from him and have time. It’s easy playing with him.”
Asked if Hughes has done things on the ice that have surprised him, Hronek said: “He can surprise you every time. In a good way.”
Sometimes, so can Hronek. Especially in the interview room.