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For European NHL players, getting a driver’s license is a rite of passage

Jakub Vrana successfully flashed both turn signals, but when the examiner asked him to flip on the hazard lights next, he panicked. What were those again? Time moved slowly as he scanned the buttons on the rental car. Finally, Vrana spotted the red triangle. Of course, the hazard lights.

“I’m so happy I passed,” the Czech Capitals forward said. “I don’t want to hear ‘driving license’ for the rest of my life.”

Getting a driver’s license is an exciting rite of passage for American 16-year-olds. But for European NHL players who come to the United States and learn their foreign licenses are valid for only so long, it’s a chore, and some put it off for years.