UTE is currently tied for second place on points with MAC Budapest and the Slovenian goalie has been a strong point for the club not only this season but for the past four. Ales Sila comes from Ljubljana Slovenia and came up through the Olimpia Ljubljana youth system. He played for the Slovenia U18 and U20 national teams and spent a year of junior hockey in the NAHL. The following season he made his EBEL debut with Ljubljana as well making the Slovenian national team. Aside from spending a season on loan with Graz in the Austrian second division and one season with Slavija Ljubljana. During the 2014-15 season Sila joined UTE and has been with the team since then.
UTE picked up two important wins this past week, what is the atmosphere like in the locker room?
Its pretty good, we have been working pretty hard, this is the biggest reason for our success. If you have seen our games lately we out work the opponents and this leads to our success.
This is you fourth season in UTE, have you made yourself feel at home here in Hungary?
I feel really comfortable here in UTE and this is why it is my fourth season here. I really like the environment, I really like that people that work here and the club as well. I think that this is really important for the players, particularly the import players to feel good with the club, this also helps bring the good results.
You have been one of the key members since the UTE resurgence in recent years, how do you see the season going for UTE?
I really like how Újpest has been improving year by year, of course everyone wants to win the league and to be the champions at the end, this is why we play sports. I think we have a really good chance to win, we want to take a step forward from last season. We want to make it to the finals of the ERSTE Liga and we know that anything can happen there. We also however need to stay humble, we need to game by game and to see where that leaves us.
Slovenia and Hungary have developed a rivalry in recent years, how do people perceive Hungarian hockey in Slovenia?
The league is growing and improving, the word spreads around to the surrounding country and the import players have been getting better, which is a great advertisement for the league. Some of my friends back home have been asking me about the league and what is it like here and they are asking me if I have any connections with UTE or with other teams in the league. The Hungarian federations has done a great job in developing the hockey in the country they have a great youth program and this great for the future of Hungarian hockey.
