Euro enforcer: Blades newcomer Dej dispels European stereotype

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Throw those stereotypes out the window.

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Slovakian import Frantisek Dej isn’t your ‘typical’ European hockey player, if you want to believe those decades-old labels.

“He’s scary,” Saskatoon Blades forward Rowan Calvert said of his new teammate.

“Great guy off the ice. Obviously he’s a guy you want on your team. I wouldn’t be dropping the gloves with him, but yeah, he brings a presence out there. He’s really good in the dot with face-offs. He’s a big body. He plays hard. He’s a great addition to our club.”

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In his very first game with the Blades — his Western Hockey League debut — Dej dropped the gloves to tangle with Portland Winterhawks captain Kyle Chyzowski early in the second period.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Dej used his size advantage to feed the 5-foot-10 Chyzowski a series of upper-cuts.

“It was kind of a surprise to me — (Chyzowski) dropped the gloves first,” Dej later said. “I was not expecting that. I will take it every day.

“I think the refs saved him there.”

Dej joined the Blades after suiting up for Slovakia at the IIHF world junior hockey championship in Ottawa, where he racked up 27 penalty minutes. Slovakia placed third in its pool with a 2-2 record but lost to Finland in quarter-final play.

“We were actually a very good group and very good team,” Dej said. “It was kind of unfortunate, but it was a very good experience and we were a great team.”

Last season, Dej recorded four goals and 12 assists in 50 games with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Sherbrooke. This season, the 19-year-old forward had two assists in 15 games with HK Dulca Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga, the top pro league in Slovakia.

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“Size, strength, speed,” Blades head coach Dan DaSilva says of Dej. “He’s great on draws — he was five-for-five in (his) first period (of WHL hockey). Physicality. I think he just brings a calming presence to our team, as well.

“Again, he’s learning the systems. (Wednesday) was his first game in the Western Hockey League, so there’s stuff to improve on for sure, and we’ll do that through video and practice. The fight was what it was. It got the guys going. If that’s part of his game, great — we’ll take it, too.”

Was DaSilva surprised to see his newest European import fight in his first game?

“Yes and no. I didn’t think he’d do it his first game. I knew he kind of mentioned that he’d be interested in getting into that. I’m surprised a little bit that it happened in his first game, but not surprised that it happened.”

Calvert, for one, approved.

“I was pretty fired up,” noted Calvert. “I was on the ice, so when you see a guy who’s really tough dictate a fight like that, it really gets the boys buzzing. I’m glad I got a front-row seat to that one, for sure.”

With Dej and fellow newcomers in the lineup, the Blades were 1-1-1 this past week on home ice. They lost to Portland in an overtime shootout, then defeated the Red Deer Rebels in overtime Friday on a goal from Hayden Harsanyi before losing 3-2 to the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday afternoon.

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Newcomers Tanner Scott and Hunter Laing scored for Saskatoon on Sunday as the Blades slipped to 23-15-2-3 this season. They are back in action this week with games Friday in Prince Albert and Sunday afternoon (4 p.m.) against the same Raiders at SaskTel Centre.

Dej has yet to register a point in three games with the Blades and is currently minus-6 in the plus-minus department as he adjusts to the Blades systems and the WHL.

“I really like Canada,” he said of his decision to join the Blades. “I got the opportunity and actually I wanted to come back to Canada. So I’m happy to be here. I was happy when I got that offer. The experience is amazing. Canada hockey is different. World juniors hockey is different, too. I’ll take the experience.

“Of course I want to bring good energy. I play physical. I like to (take draws). I’m kind of a two-way player, (do) whatever it takes.”

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