At the U18s, Steve Yzerman is ”looking to get the best players available”

Welcome to the Czech Republic. Is this your first trip to the country?
It’s my second time. I was in Prague for the World Championship in 1985.

The players here are not quite at that level yet. What was the earliest level that you played international hockey?
That would have been the World Junior Championships, the under-20, in Leningrad.

Your drafting position is tenth and there are a few players here that are rated to go that high. Is there any one in particular that you have in mind to look at?
No.

What type of player are you looking for?
We’re looking to add young players to our club that can maybe help us in the future. We’re looking to get the best players available.

Has anyone here caught your eye yet?
Well I just got in this morning and I’ve only seen one game so far. The US played great, they’re a good team with a lot of good young players but there are a lot of teams here with a lot of great players, so I want to get a chance to see them all.

Do you think that what you see from players in an international tournament like this is any different from what you get playing in a North American league?
Well, in these tournaments the European ice surface is bigger and the style of play is a little different.

Is it a tough adjustment, particularly for European players?
It’s not as different as it was in the past. Nowadays, the European players get exposed to the North American game and there are some North American players who are more comfortable on the larger ice. This is a great tournament because you get to see the majority of the best players from their age group; you can see European players playing against North Americans, and there’s a lot of pride when you represent your country for everybody.

Speaking of adjustments, some players who get drafted are able to step right into the NHL. Do you think there are any players here who could do that or are they all along way off?
You know, I haven’t seen enough of them to really give you an answer for that question. It looks like there are some really good young players, though.

As for your Tampa Bay Lightning . . . After going to the Conference Finals last year, this past year didn’t go as well as most people predicted. What went wrong?
Well, we had hoped to make the playoffs this year. We had a good year last year. There were a lot of areas where we didn’t meet the standards that we had set the year before, so we just have to retool a little bit and get back at it for next year.

Is there any particular area you’re looking to improve in?
We want to improve in all areas. We want to put the best team on the ice that we can and looking at the draft, we’re looking to add quality players and go from there.

Well, good luck in the draft and enjoy your stay in the Czech Republic.
Thank you.