Better late than never
Bakos, 28, loves his shot to play in NHL
Martin Bakos never gave up on his dream to play in the NHL despite circumstances that pushed it to the deep recesses of his mind.
In his draft year, the now28-year-old Bakos was on the shelf with a knee injury, needing two surgeries and 11 months to recover. Now a decade has passed, and Bakos built a pretty good career in Europe, playing in the Czech pro league as well as a season in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Last year he not only led his Czech club, Bili Tygri Liberec, in scoring with 14-26-40 totals, he represented his native Slovakia in the Olympics and World Championships.
And he was happy with his play.
“After the season, I started thinking that I could step up to Sweden or the KHL, because I was in the Olympic games, but I was never thinking I could go to the NHL,” said Bakos.
What his productive season led to was his first and only offer from an NHL team, the Bruins. He wasted no time in responding.
“A scout called me and asked ‘Do you want to go to Boston Bruins?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure! 100 percent!’ It’s a great opportunity to me and I’m honored to be here,” said the 6-foot-2, 198-pound right winger. “Every kid who starts in hockey wants to play in the NHL. I was satisfied with my career in Europe, but I always waited for my chance to go to the NHL. For me now, it’s a dream come true. I’ve got a chance and it’s up to me to how I use it.”
Making it that much sweeter was the call came from the Bruins, Zdeno Chara’s team. At the team’s development camp on Wednesday, Bakos met Chara for the first time and picked his brain about life in North America.
“It means so much because to me Zdeno is almost the best person in the Slovak hockey world,” said Bakos. “He’s a big leader and wants to help everybody. That’s the most important thing to me because here’s a guy who can help me if I need it.”
Bakos signed a twoway contract, landing him $700,000 if he makes the B’s roster. It’s not exactly clear what this opportunity will look like. That will sort itself out in the next weeks as general manager Don Sweeney works his way through the John Tavares sweepstakes and free agency and whatever the trade market presents.
But, as of right now, the B’s are in need of a right winger or two. In this week’s development camp, Bakos worked mostly with teenagers, but it’s been a good way to ease his way into a new style of game.
“You’ve seen him get better with each drill,” said director of player development Jamie Langenbrunner. “By the end, his legs started to get back and he started to feel good out there. Smart hockey player, good size, makes plays. He’ll be an interesting one. I think our lack of right-shot guys on the wing, he’s an interesting player in that, if you can make plays and you can skate you give yourself a chance.”
Bakos has played all three forward positions.
“I don’t really care if I play on the left or the right. Also I like to play center,” said Bakos, “But I have to adapt to this system and this style, because the North American style is much different. Playing center in Europe is not as hard as it is here. But I’m ready to play anywhere.”