Bortnak helping Bene adjust

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Dalibor Bortnak remembers what it was like when he arrived in Kamloops a year ago.
For starters, the Kamloops Blazers’ sophomore Slovakian forward said Monday, there was the time change.
“Nine hours difference,” he said. “That was a big change.”
And then there was the language — that, he said, was the “biggest thing” — and coming into an entirely new situation.
“I wasn’t really scared because when I was 15 I went to the Czech Republic to play,” the 6-foot-4, 191-pound Bortnak said. “I had been two years away from home (when I arrived in Kamloops) so it wasn’t really hard for me.
“There was the language and new people and different style of hockey. Food was different but I really liked it.”
It is understandable, then, why Bortnak took some time adjusting and finding a level of consistency. He finished the season with 28 points, eight of them goals, in 68 games.
With all that behind him, the Blazers are hoping that Bortnak’s experiences will help make the transition at least a bit easier for Slovakian forward Matej Bene, 17, who is the WHL club’s newest import player.
Bortnak said he knew “maybe a little more” of our language than does the 6-foot-0, 166-pound Bene which is why the former’s services are needed for a chat with the latter.
Matej, who represented his country in the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and then left for Kamloops with Bortnak, said he was “pretty nervous” about joining the Blazers.
“I didn’t know what was here,” he said, adding that, unlike Bortnak, this is the first time he has left home to play hockey.
Asked if he was excited to be here, Bene didn’t need an interpreter. He quickly smiled and nodded his head.
He said he spent the summer working hard in preparation for the Hlinka tournament and for joining the Blazers. That meant a lot of hard workouts that involved “running and skating.”
And when he got on the ice as the Blazers opened camp Friday, Bene found the biggest differences to be the “toughness and speed.”
There was, he said, “lots of contact . . . more than at home.”
So will he be able to play at this level?
“No problem,” he said, flashing another smile.
While Bortnak will serve as Bene’s translator, at least in the short term, the two aren’t billeted together. Bortnak spent last season with veteran winger Shayne Wiebe and this season is with Wiebe and centre C.J. Stretch.
“He really helped me,” Bortnak said of Wiebe. “He drove me everywhere I needed to go and showed me everything.”
Bene, meanwhile, is living with Tyler Shattock in the home of Linda and Tom Havers.
“He’s getting better. His English is coming along pretty well,” said Shattock who, with that impish grin of his, added, “I’m teaching him all the important words.”
Bene and Shattock both were on Team Orange for Sunday and Monday scrimmages. In fact, the two played together a bit on Sunday.
“I thought we played pretty well together,” Shattock said. “He’s a skilled guy. He should score some goals for us.”
If that happens, Bene won’t need an interpreter to explain the noise coming from the crowd.
JUST NOTES: F J.C. Lipon, a 16-year-old who played last season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, signed a WHL contract Monday. He is an undrafted player who was added to the Blazers’ list in April. . . . F Dylan Willick scored three goals in one of the Monday scrimmages. He is a list player from Prince George who is showing some scoring touch. . . . The evening's late scrimmage include a titanic heavyweight battle between sophomore D Brandon Underwood and freshman D Kiefer McNaughton, a 16-year-old from North Vancouver who was the 88th pick in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Training camp wraps up with the Blue/White game tonight at the Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 o’clock. . . . The roster was trimmed to 40 players Monday night. . . . D Brady Gaudet, the club’s first pick in the 2009 bantam draft, will miss four weeks with a knee injury that turned out to be more significant than first thought. He will play this season with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans. . . . G Josh Thorimbert, a third-round pick in the 2007 draft, also headed for home. Thorimbert, who is from Saskatoon, suffered a concussion. He likely will play in the SJHL this season. . . . The Blazers are to open their exhibition schedule Friday against the Vancouver Giants in Ladner. The teams are to play here Saturday at 7 p.m.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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