Dallas Stars: Exit Day Interview With Radek Faksa
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars held their exit interview day this past Friday in Frisco. Before heading out for the summer, we got a chance to catch up with Radek Faksa. Catch the complete interview below.
It’s been two days since the Dallas Stars cleaned out their locker stalls and headed their separate ways for the first time since October. It already seems like it has been too long.
This past Friday, the Stars hosted their yearly exit interview day. This gives the media one final chance to talk to players, coaches, and general manager before each goes to their own respective offseason dwelling spot.
You can catch some of the bigger names in the organization (Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Jim Nill, etc.) on the Dallas Stars website with video-recorded interviews (there is also a post on Blackout Dallas with all the links stashed inside it. Just click here).
But we decided to get a little more intentional and talk to as many different players as we could in order to gain multiple different perspectives on the season and offseason as a whole.
22-year old center Radek Faksa had an outstanding first season in the pros with the Dallas Stars, and it looks as though he will be sticking around for a while. In 45 games this season, Faksa tallied five goals and seven assists (5-7-12), along with a +9 on-ice average and 48 hits. He did all of this while averaging 12:21 on the ice.
He did not disappoint in his first postseason appearance either. Faksa played all 13 games with the Stars, scoring three goals and notching two assists (3-2-5) while holding on to a +2 average.
I got the chance to speak to him on exit interview day about this past season, the offseason ahead, and his future with the team. You can read some of the highlights of the interview below.
What are your thoughts on the season overall?
We had a great season and a great ride. It was kind of a tough ending, but sometimes it happens, even in a game seven. But we have to learn from it for next year and become stronger and better.
How do you feel about the team this year?
We had a great team. We had a great regular season and even a great playoffs. If we had beaten St. Louis, we would have had a good chance at winning the Stanley Cup, right? We were very close in the second to last round, and we just need to convert our experience and become stronger.
What was it like playing with Antoine Roussel and Ales Hemsky down the stretch?
It was great. We had [Antoine] Rouss battling hard and getting lots of pucks from the corners and Ales [Hemsky] can make plays and score goals and just hold the puck. You love his experience and he is so calm. It’s great to play with guys like that.
More stars: Stars Can Stay Relatively Quiet This Offseason
Do you have any plans for the offseason?
I’m going now to Russia for the World Championships and then after I’ll just vacation for a bit and take a couple weeks off. Then I’ll start training and get back to work.
If the crowd’s reaction when he made his presence known on the ice this year is any evidence, it sounds like Faksa will be with the Dallas Stars for the long haul. That’s all they could ask for from their former first round draft pick.
Next: Stars Call It Victory 'Rising' For A Reason
We’ll have exclusive coverage of interviews with Ales Hemsky, Antoine Roussel, Patrick Eaves, Colton Sceviour, and Mattias Janmark as the week goes on, so stay tuned for more updates.