With the first match week coming to an end, the first ERSTE Liga player of the week has been selected as well. There were a number of great games and performances but in the end with his two goals in the Budapest derby Andrej Hebar is this week’s Player of the Week.
The Slovenian national team player and Olympian returned to the ERSTE Liga and UTE during the offseason after spending one season playing for Olimpija Ljubljana in his home country. Hebar has played in eight different countries throughout his playing career. He left Slovenia at an early age and played his junior hockey for Frölunda where he was teammates with future NHL stars, Alex Steen, Loui Eriksson, Fredik Sjöström and the Lundqvist twins, Joel and Henrik as well as former Ferencváros forward Linus Schellin. Throughout his career he would cross paths with players who would end up playing in Hungary. He spent his first season of pro hockey in the Czech Republic playing for Havirov where he played with Ales Cerny and David Vychodil, two players who would later play for Fradi. After one season with Havirov he moved on to Czech side Trinec for a couple seasons. He spent one season with Olomouc, which was followed up with a return home. He would end up played for Slavija Ljubljana, Olimpija Ljubljana and Jesenice. After a couple of seasons in Slovenia he played in the CHL, the Allsvenskan with Troja-Ljungby where he was team mates with János Vas and István Bartalis. Hebar would later play for Zagreb in the EBEL. He would later play for Grenoble in France before joining UTE. Hebar represented Slovenia at the U18 and U20 level and has played in for Slovenian in eight World Championships, three of which were in the A-Pool and one Olympic Games.
What was the biggest reason you decided to return to UTE after being away for one season?
The main reason I came back was because I felt really good my first season here. The people around UTE are really nice and helpful, I really feel great here in Budapest and Hungary. I am really close to home and everything around the club is very professional. Hungarian hockey is getting better and better every year. I have a high opinion about the club and the people involved. I was not a hard decision to come back. Of curse that also helped that Ales Sila and Anze Ropret are my teammates as well, they are my best friends, we have been playing together since we were young, which is a great opportunity to play pro hockey with these guys.
After long preseason you opened up against the big rivels of Ferencváros, what was it like to have the first win of the season against them?
It was the best way to start the season to have the confidence going. The start of the season is always the hardest, but we all know that you need a tuff August to get better and be in top form towards the end of the season. This was an important win for us, it was a good way to start the win. We fought through the entire game and we deserved the win.
What do you expect from the season and from yourself as well?
UTE and myself both have the ambitions to win the league title this season. It is easy to say that you want to win the league, but there are many things that can come in the way of this. I want to help the team as much as I can, I want to be in the best form so that the team can win as many games as possible. We all play to win so we will fight to win the league title.
Two years ago you were one of the last players cut from the World Championship roster, this past year not only did you play for Slovenia at the World Championships, but you also played in the Olympics. What was the Olympic experience like?
This has been the best thing has happened to me, aside from my children being born. This was once in a lifetime experience for me, this is something beyond anything that you can think of. You feel good as an Olympian and with everything around you. I did not know what to expect, it was an amazing adventure for me and I am sure I will never forget this in my life.
