Crack open the slivovitz, because it’s going to be a long night in Slovenia. It will be 1:30 a.m. in the small European country when the Kings and Detroit Red Wings face off tonight, but there will be plenty of interested followers. For the first time, two Slovenian-born players will face each other in an NHL game, as the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and Detroit’s Jan Mursak meet.
Kopitar is a native of Jesenice, while Mursak is from Maribor, approximately two hours to the west, but the players were born only five months apart and grew up playing with and against each other in various tournaments. Kopitar was drafted by the Kings in the first round in 2005 and Mursak was drafted by Detroit in the sixth round in 2006. Mursak, after two years of OHL junior hockey and two years in the AHL, played 19 games for the Red Wings last season and then suffered a major ankle injury — oddly enough, almost the exact same injury that Kopitar suffered last season — last September. Since returning, Mursak has played 15 games, mostly in a fourth-line winger spot. The Kopitar-Mursak matchup, it seems, is big news in Slovenia, a country of approximately two million people. “Even on the news, and in the newspapers, they’re talking about tonight,’’ Mursak said. “Hopefully we can win tonight.’’ Here’s what Kopitar said about the game…
KOPITAR: “Obviously it’s the first time that it’s going to happen, so it’s going to be fun. He’s a great player, and I played against him quite a bit growing up. I know him quite well. We had a few national-team duties, in our younger years, when we played together. He’s a good friend of mine, but as soon as we step on the ice, he’s on the opposite side. I’ll play hard and he’s going to play hard, and we’ll see what happens.’’
MURSAK: “Well, Slovenia is really small, so every hockey player knows the other guys. He’s a really good player, and everyone back home knows him. We’ve been friends for quite a long time, since the under-18 juniors. He’s pretty busy there with hockey during the season, so we don’t talk too much.’’
A note to all my Slovenian friends out there. If any of you will be up watching tonight’s game live, or know of any type of gatherings, etc., please email me and let me know. I’m working on a bigger story about this for next week. Thanks.
Lets hope you play hard enough.
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Interesting that in a country of 2 million 2 individuals make it to the NHL but say Italy (not too far away) or France, or Germany do not represent that many per capita hockey players. How many French are there besides Huet? And how many Germans besides Hecht and Sturm?
Looks like Slovenia is on the map!
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prosmar Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
@jonsey, Ehrhoff and Seidenberg are from Germany too but Germany has a population of 80 million so they have a lot less players per capita in the NHL.
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NB22 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
In Slovenia we have less professional hockey players (according to IIHF, 943) that there are hockey rinks in Canada (according to IIHF 2,486 indoor). Thats amazing, but probably most countries have that stat
. Here we love hockey and we are very proud of Anze and Jan! Can’t wait to see this game.
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Canadian King Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
@NB22, Its not the number of rinks in a country, its the size of the heart in the countryman.
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Lake Forest Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
@NB22, Good for you guys!
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Stagger Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
@NB22,
Thanks for posting! Good to get some inside info. Keep us up to date on the party in Slovenia tonight please.
If you’re awake.
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LF13 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
@NB22, and we have 6 indoor ice rinks (like a small town in Canada
)
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 5:06 pm
@jonsey, still a lot of talented young players here and across the Europe, America also in other leagues. With Matjaž Kopitar on the helm of our national team we’re looking to get back to elite int hockey this year. We just need to win the tournament without the help of Kopi and Muršak..Hope/believe we can still make it.
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C’mon…All you Slovenian bloggers..
Come out en masse tonight…
We wan’t to see you on here…
We need you’re support…[At least I do]..
And once again…..
Hail Slovenia!!!
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
@SLIM, +1
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Kings wing 4-2. As per popular demand, Penner with the hat trick. Kopi gets the game winner.
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Stuart Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
@DesertKing, pass those meds over this way
!!! I can see the 4-2 and maybe even Kopi getting the game winner, but Penns filling the net 3x??? I’d be happy if he ended the game with 3 SOG…
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DesertKing Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
@Stuart,
Say it enough time and it will happen, and as I said yesterday, it will mark the beginning of the end of the world and we will know that Gilligan got off of the island.
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Stuart Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
@DesertKing, ski-PPPPPPER!!! If he pots three tonight, I will immediately start digging under my house to build my doomsday getaway!!!
Hey!
I think there will be alot of us Slovenians watching the game tonight, given the special occasion, but just to be clear: GO KINGS GO!
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NB22 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
@Matt, I’m from Slovenia and just to be clear: GO KINGS! Here is a video of some Jan Mursak Fan Club members (from Slovenia ofc) watching DRW game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmINkHjblsI
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vegasking Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:45 pm
@Matt, Very happy for all the Slovenians that get to see the game.
Too bad I can’t get it in vegas. GKG!!!
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O jea i will be watching this! special night for slovenian hocky
pozdrav from Slovenia 
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Sramota, da Šport Tv prenaša Chicago – New York. Sam gledam na LSHunter, kje gledate tekme vi?
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NB22 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
@boter, Itak. Ampak verjetno nimajo pravice zahtevat, ampak jim to pač ponujajo. Vseeno bo dovolj free streamov na netu. A zdej bomo to spletno stran poslovenili
?
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vegasking Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@NB22, ??????????
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NB22 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
@vegasking,
Sorry, I was just responding in Slovenian language. Nothing speciall really.
LF13 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
@NB22, tole pa ni v skladu s pravili objavljanja na tem blogu
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SLIM Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@boter,
Exactly what I was thinking..
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Belexes Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
@boter,
Whoa! Rich is gonna have his hands full tonight! I hope that means “Go Kings!”
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LF13 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
@boter, just talk about how slovenian sports channel does not broadcast this game but Rangers vs. Blackhawks
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Deke'r Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
@boter, …..easy for you to say….
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
@boter, isto…
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So, I was hoping to find out what a slivovitz is….
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Stuart Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, maybe it’s Slovenian bootlegger mash?
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DesertKing Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:52 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
Luxury version of a Schlemko?
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NB22 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Hehe. Its quite popular in this part of Europe. BTW:
(slivovka in our language)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slivovitz
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fsd1 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
@NB22, we call it hooch…..
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Stuart Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
@fsd1, I was close
LF13 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, If you visit Slovenia you will find out what slivovitz is and we have many many other alchoholic beverages
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Ok I’m going to go out on a limb and predict this… if the Kings can’t find a way to beat a good Red Wings team then they just may not be ready for the playoffs. We need to win tonight, just to prove that we can bounce back after a loss. Every game from now till the end is just like a playoff game . In the playoffs losing two in a row puts you behind the 8 ball. Same thing now. We cannot lose 2 in a row. Last night sucked, big time. We have to go out and take this game right from the start. If we use the excuse that we played last night, or we played hard but the puck didn’t bounce our way, we will not be a team to be reckoned with. I love the Kings with all that I’ve got, but sometimes we have to sit back and see what our team is made of. This is the type of game that will tell us what we really have. Coming off a loss and needing a win to keep pace with the playoff push. This would do a lot for our boys. Time to grow up, shut up, and put up!!! Now go out there and take this game from the Wings!!!!
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Stuart Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, what do you think we should expect out of the MR line tonight?
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King Charles of Salt Lake Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
@Stuart, We should not expect anything, they need to pl,ay the way we know they can play. Mike Richards needs a goal in the worst way. I can’t remember the last time he scored. Each game gives each player a time to shine let us hope that MR gets it together and gets one tonight.
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Stuart Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, I think we should expect scoring! I’m tired of a bunch of guys playing as if there are no expectations…
This group’s expectation was to make the playoffs. Hopefully when DL looks at the culture he’s built, he sees that the expectation needs to change to winning the SC!
GKG and I really hope we get a win tonight, for you, for me, for us!!!
King Charles of Salt Lake Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, I’m with you!!! I been burned to many times when I put expectations along with the Kings. I can only take being heart broke so many times.
Stuart Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, dude… at least when it’s a chick that breaks our hearts we can leave or find a new one…no matter how good they were. But with the Kings, we’re just gluttons for punishment over and over and over again. It’s a total love/hate relationship. LOL but I can never see myself loving any other team.
Greetings from Slovenia! Respect to Mursak, but since I haven’t missed any Kings games this year and they are my favourite team in the world, I’ll be rooting for the KINGS!
Nice to finnaly see Kopi-Mursak match-up…
!GKG!
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Jure-SLO Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
@Jure-SLO, *finally
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@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, slivovitz=plum brandy
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Slovenia is taking over the NHL ;P Seriously it’s so awesome to finally get to see Muršak vs. Kopitar in the NHL. Looking forward to this for a long long time.
Mi Slovenci! and of course Go Kings Go!
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 5:12 pm
@LF13, Mi Slovenci, ha, dobra!
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Lots of Sloveninan love on here. Really cool to see. Hope you guys keep us updated during the game GKG!!
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I just want to add – for whatever it’s worth – that I had the chance to visit Slovenia and Jesenice last fall en route to the game in Berlin. The country is absolutely beautiful and the Slovenian people were all warm and welcoming. I highly recommend visiting the capital city of Ljubljana, which is almost a mini-Prague (well-preserved, rich with history, and relatively inexpensive for tourists). Another gorgeous area was Lake Bled, which features the only island in the country and is pretty close to Jesenice. Here’s a pic of me in Jesenice with my Kings jersey: http://www.icebergprinciple.com/jesenice.jpg
Anyhow, even though I travel a lot, it probably never would have occurred to me to visit Slovenia if it wasn’t for Kopi. Many people I met knew his name (and in Jesenice many knew his family) and several bars had his picture up on the wall. Hoping Kopi gets a couple for Jesenice tonight! GKG!
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Kingstane9 Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
@jp, wow, very nice!
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Greetings from Slovenija.
I’m just killing time waiting for the game,reading your article and may I say this “Slovenian” match up is interesting only for people who do not follow the NHL,the rest of us knows Kopi is a lot better than Muršak.Muršak may have a better chance to win the cup this year,but the future is brighter for Kings and Kopi.I think even this year the Kings can go deep in post season.Ok one hour till the start of the game,thank God for the NHL gamecentre live,it will be another short night for me,I just hope the Kings win.
GKG
P.S: Rich,slivovitz is more Croatian and Serbian drink,we have other “poison” stuff.
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This has nothing to do with hockey, but it does have to do with Slovenia. If you’d like a quick pre-game show that is just wonderful, whether or not you love 80s music, this is really cool. http://www.tvkim.com/watch/20/kims-picks-african-thunderstorm
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Anže, give them hell !! Slovenia is with you.
Good luck Muršak
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well, as i read through some slovenian internet media, there isn’t a lot of focus on this first-time event and a historical one for slovenian hockey. probably anyone that knows anything about sports in slovenia knows who kopi is, but not so much for muršak.. they are both great, but of coarse kopi is far better but we slovenians are very proud of both our “flagships” in the great game of hockey.. so far its 2-2 after 2. so hopefully we’ll see some more magic from anže and maybe more minutes for jan.. GKG
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