“one eye is laughing the other is weeping”

“One eye is laughing the other is weeping” are the words that Zoltán Hetényi used to describe the emotions he was feeling the day after the announcement that he will be leaving the Zalai Titánok. Earlier in the summer Hetényi had announced that he would take a year off and concentrate on his studies as well as being the goalie coach in Zalaegerszeg. This is not the first time he has played in the United States, after playing in the EBEL for Fehérvár and one season in Finland the Nashville Predators had brought him into training camp and assigned him to one of their minor league affiliates. The “Sapporo Hero” spent part of another season in Finland before coming back to Hungary.

It is safe to say that Hetényi has reached the highest level of hockey during his career as he was in an NHL training camp, played in the Finnish Liiga and faced countries such as Canada, Finland, Sweden, Russia and Denmark at the international level. Hetényi talked to the HIHF and by the sound of it he was looking forward to being a coach but felt there was an opportunity that he could not pass up.

How did this Knoxville opportunity come about?
I would need to go back to the start when I agreed to a one year deal here in Zalaegerszeg to be a goalie coach. I joined a really great organization down here with a professional atmosphere that Tibor Neubauer set up. I got in contact with Knoxville through Áron Kecskeméti who was actually working in Zalaegerszeg during the summer. I came to Zalaegerszeg to try my hand at coaching, Tibor and myself had an agreement that if an opportunity came up that I could not turn down they would let my leave. Now whatever happens out in the United States they will welcome me back with open arms.

From the looks of it you did not have any past connections with the ,management and staff of Knoxville, this means that Áron Kecskeméti was the only connection?
Yes Áron has been coaching in the WSHL in the U.S., was here in the summer and we were talking about me career and what I was planning on doing. He mentioned that he would ask who he knows and if they would be interested in me. I didn’t know anyone in the Knoxville organization, they had talked to some of my former teammates such as Mathieu Aubin who I played with in Cincinnati and some other team mates what kind of person I am and what if my work moral like. Head Coach Jeff Carr said that he wanted me as the starting goalie based off of what he heard and saw on tape of me.

The next level up from the SPHL is the ECHL and then the AHL, goalies who perform well move up a level. Scott Darling  made it from the SPHL all the way to being Stanley Cup champions. Has Knoxville mentioned anything about moving up to the next level?
I had talked to Jeff Carr multiple times, I first need to prove myself at this level before I can move up to the next one. He said he is not in the way of me moving up in my career.

We do you have coming up in the next month?
First I have to take care of my visa. I am on ice all day down here in Zalaegerszeg, I don’t have any issues with my conditioning. I would do an off ice training before holding practice, later in the day I would do an on ice training as well. I would be dead tired at the end of the day. I also know that regardless of what happens they will welcome me back. I would really like to thank Tibor Neubauer for everything he has done for me and for Zalaegerszeg hockey, he would have prefered to keep me here but he knows this is a great opportunity for me. I don’t know the exact date when I am leaving.

Is it safe to say that you are leaving one great opportunity for another?
Life always has twists and turns, right now it looks like I will be back on the ice. I really liked working with the coaching staff here, there were some coaches from back when I played for Dunaferr in Dunaújváros. I would say one of my eyes is laughing and one is crying, I could really see myself spending the next few years of my life here.