Radek Faksa’s journey to the NHL is the stuff of modern legend – although it’s interesting to note that NHL Draft classmate Esa Lindell had never heard it until last week.
The bones of the story are familiar to most fans: Faksa’s mother, Alena, made the wrenching choice to let an 11-year-old Radek move to a different city. The agreement with the HC Oceláu0159i Tu0159inec youth program provided her talented son with opportunities she would not otherwise be able to give him. But living 90 minutes from his family in a team hotel was about as hard for a child as it sounds, as Faksa told Sean Shapiro:
“The first two years was really tough for me because I was still young, and every time I was home I was pretty much crying,” Faksa said.