Hawks' Hossa gets back to work
Marian Hossa rejoined the Blackhawks on Wednesday after experiencing two of the most emotional weeks of his life.
On Sept. 7, Hossa lost best friend Pavol Demitra in the plane crash in Russia that killed the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team from Kontinental Hockey League.
Two days later, Hossa and his wife, Jana, welcomed the birth of their first child, daughter Mia.
Hossa was excused for the first five days of training camp by general manager Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville while he grieved for Demitra and also celebrated his first child.
“It was a tough week,” Hossa said. “First the tragic accident. What happened was terrible. I lost a couple of people on that plane I knew really well and one really close one.
“It was tough to deal with that. After the next couple of days my daughter was born. From death to born, it was really upside down. It was a really tough time and at the end it was my best day of my life.”
Hossa and Demitra were close friends and neighbors in Slovakia and played many games together on national teams.
“It was my best friend,” Hossa said. “It was a rough time, but obviously it was much tougher on their families. It was just a terrible time.”
At Demitra's memorial service last Friday, it was Hossa who raised his friend's retired uniform No. 38 banner to the rafters in the arena in Trencin, Slovakia.
“There was about seven or eight of his close friends,” Hossa said. “His wife basically asked us if we wanted to do something. We were thinking of speaking, every one of us, but it probably took too long, so Marian Gaborik spoke for all of us.
“It was a sad day, not only for us, but for all of Slovakia and the hockey world.
“He was an excellent guy and a great father. He had two little kids. It was such a tragic thing that happened to a great guy like him, but not just him, for the whole team of Lokomotiv.”
Hossa also was close with Lokomotiv head coach Brad McCrimmon, who was an assistant with the Red Wings when Hossa played in Detroit.
Hossa's Hawks teammates were happy to have him back in the room Wednesday.
“He's one of those guys we love having around the locker room,” Jonathan Toews said.
“Do you ever notice him on the ice,” Quenneville said. “The practice picks up, the pace. He looked like he was in midseason form. You appreciate what he has gone through, and hopefully playing hockey will help him.”
The Hawks are hoping the injury problems that limited Hossa to 65 games last season are in the past.
“Every time it looked like he was ready to take off he got hurt,” Quenneville said. “Certainly he's an amazing player, how he can control the puck and the game. He can be a force for us.”
After three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals with Pittsburgh, Detroit and the Hawks, the long off-season helped Hossa recharge his battery for 2011-12.
“All summer was great,” he said. “I was giving myself time to relax, working out, biking and running and preparing on the ice.
“I feel good and I'm glad to be here and looking forward to training camp. I feel I'm in good condition. The long summer helped me relax.”
tsassone@dailyherald.com