Settlement with Erdy and Bartalis is not close – Széli

– What is the main consideration when selecting the newly arrived legionnaires?
– First of all, who we were interested in at all – on the one hand, the Austrian ICEHL at the league level, and on the other hand, Hydro Fehérvár AV19 as a club. Plus, it’s a turning point, whether the chosen player fits into our budget. Then, we chose those who went through these sieves – Volán’s general manager, Victor Zelig, answered when asked by Nemzeti Sport. – We had to move quickly, because valuable players are snapped up every now and then, especially by wealthier clubs. We knew what kind of hockey players we were looking for – we wanted to put together a stronger defense than last season.

– Perhaps I will not offend you if I say that the Legionnaires of the 2022-2023 season did not live up to the expectations placed on them. Did they change the selection process, were they looking for players with different personality types?
– I do not find the result hurtful at all, and unfortunately it so happened that we went too far, expecting more from each arrival. I would like to note that we are not talking about instruments, even if a person plays successfully somewhere, there is no guarantee that he will repeat it here. The beauty and dangers of this genre at the same time. He touches on this point by saying that one’s personality is key, as performance on the field is a bit intimidating, but personality, trainability, openness, and motivation don’t fade away.

How far can they determine a player’s mentality before a move?
– We always talk to the chosen one, and try to get all available references – from former teammates and coaches. This is how we try to get around the problem.

– A player has arrived at Volán, and you don’t have to go far for the experience report: Josh Atkinson has returned to Székesfehérvár after a year in the Bundesliga. Was it difficult to draw him in?
– As I mentioned, we have our own experience with him, and he is with us. He enjoyed his time here, he had a good season at Volan, unlike the Bundesliga – he was hampered by injuries last year. That’s why it didn’t take much to convince him. Fortunately, in Fehérvár the vast majority of the legionnaires are complacent and ready to return if it is convenient.

Alex Bitan also spent three seasons in Hungary, during which time he became a crowd favourite. As is well known, he will continue his career at Pustertal Wölfe – was there a real chance of keeping him?
– I would like to note that, in addition to the audience, the management and his colleagues also liked him. He’s a dual Italian Canadian citizen, and with three Italian teams in the ICEHL, you could say he’s got even more value. He was given an offer he couldn’t refuse – he’s also over 30, at that age the priorities were different, and I respect that.

– The survival of three key Hungarian players is uncertain, so what can you tell us about the status of Erdely Çanad, István Bartalis and the naturalized Andrew Sarawer?
“We are talking to them.” We’ll see what their vision is – it’s one thing we’ll all stick to, but the decision isn’t just up to us. The question is how they envision continuing their career. By definition, cooperation is established if points of view meet, but not if one of the parties is uncertain or if there is any divergence of ideas. Negotiations between Erdeli and Bartales are in their final stages. Sarawer is not a young player, and he has to decide if he will continue on the ice or if he wants to use his skills off the field.

“How close are they to an agreement?”
– We are the closest with Sarawer, he will be happy to commit to another season, we will be very happy with him, he is versatile, useful and a professional player in every sense of the word. Erdely and Bartalis have a common interest, but we’ll see how they decide. Lately, we’ve been talking about select forwards involved in an elite competition, and obviously in a situation like this they’re wondering if they could be interesting elsewhere, and what opportunities they have.

– Have they developed a plan B in case it is not extended?
– Of course, there are also young players in the company who are worth checking to see if they can handle a bigger role. Unfortunately, there is a real possibility that we will not be able to come to an agreement and will have to go in a different direction. This kind of thing happens, there’s always Plan A from the middle of the season, when extension negotiations start, and then we almost end up with Plan Z, since the evolution of the situation doesn’t just depend on what kind of team we want to see.