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His natural talent, very good skating and puckhandling skills allowed him to dominate in the games of the kids of the youngest grades and turn heads of the coaches. Pavel was always playing at forward, even if coaches sometimes let the kids play all positions, even goalie, before they finally decide about the position. He scored and scored a lot. This lasted for five years.
In the summer of 1991 it was time to bring Pavel Brendl to a better team of 10-year old kids. A First League team was the best solution (the Extraleague didn't exist at that time) and HC Sparta Praha showed some interest in the future star. Pavel skated with the 5th grade kids team of Sparta Praha during the summer, Pribram native Patrik Stefan, who grew up playing for Sparta, was his teammate during the two months and it was the last time the two prospect met on a same team. Because Sparta Praha didn't show enough interest in Brendl so he left the capital Praha and his dad placed him into the Olomouc team, a strong First League team at that time. Not to mention that Olomouc was not so far away from his birthplace than Praha. The whole family moved to Olomouc, where Pavel worked his way up to the midget Extraleague. He played for all the teams of older grades kids, usually against kids one year older than him and the midget Extraleague he also entered as an underage. In the 1995-96 season Pavel just accustomed himself on the roster of the midget team and played only sparingly. He got used to the faster and more aggresive play in the midgets and in 1996-97 he had the leading role on the Olomouc midgets team. He did what he can best - score goals.

Pavel Brendl is natural goalscorer and he has it in his blood. He is a very good skater with fast acceleration, even if his skating isn't top-notch. He has a perfect hand-eye coordination which he uses to fire very fast, highly accurate shots. His wrist shot is of high quality and the slap shot is nearly as good. His nifty moves with the stick turn the heads of the opposition and if Brendl has the puck on his stick, it's very hot time for the opposing goalie. On the downside, when he hasn't, he doesn't show lots of interest for the game and that was a thing which was evident since he played for the midgets. He worked on it now but let's return to the midgets.

In 1996-97 Pavel always scored twice as more goals as assists. At midseason he had 14 goals and 7 assists and he finished the year with 52 points (35 goals, 17 assists) in 40 games. That meant 11th place in the midget Extraleague scoring. That season was also Pavel's first when he wore the jersey of a junior national team. Pavel played for the Under-16 team that year quite regularly but wasn't selected to perform at the Four Nations Tournament, that year played in Voskresensk, Russia.
He also practiced with the juniors and played sparingly for them but he moved up to the juniors to play regularly for them in 1997-98. His goalscoring skill was immediately evident and Brendl became to star of the junior team as a rookie. After 14 games Pavel already had 16 points for 11 goals and 5 assists. He was so good that he even played 16 games among the seniors in the Div I league. That year was comet-like for Brendl. He also moved up right to the Under-18 team where had a big role. He finally went to Russia for the Six Nations Tournament, this time of the Under-18 teams in Yaroslavl and he scored once in the 5:3 win over Slovakia. He established himself on the team and the European Championship of the Under-18 teams was waiting for him.

It was held in the Swedish cities Malung and Mora and the NHL scouts got a taste of Brendl's talent. He showed his nose for the net, soft hands and swift skating against one year older opposition. His first goal Pavel scored in the 12:1 drubbing of Norway and his second and final in the 7:1 win over Switzerland. That year the Czechs had hard luck, only 2 goals they acquired in the game against Finland prevented them from a jump over the Russians in the final group standings and a bronze medal. They finished fourth and the Czech Republic is waiting for a medal from the Under-18 World Championship till these days. But Pavel Brendl had a very solid performance and showed that he'll be a blue-chipper for the 1999 NHL draft. His 6 points (2 goals + 4 assists) were underlining his strong performance against one year older competition.
He also posted very good numbers in the Junior Extraleague. In 36 games for the Olomouc juniors Pavel scored 50 points for 28 goals and 22 assists to finish seventh in Junior Extraleague scoring race.

Pavel Brendl was eager to have a taste of North American hockey and was convinced that the CHL is way better for him than the Czech Div I league. He got drafted by the Calgary Hitmen surprisingly low, 34th overall in the 1998 CHL Import Draft and soon after the draft the GM's probably kicked their butts for not taking Brendl. He wanted to come over and he turned down HC Zelezarny Trinec offer to play for an Extraleague team and took the Hitmen jersey instead.
If the 1997-98 season was comet-like for Brendl, then in 1998-99 the sky was the limit. The flashy sniper with great instincts immediately got used to the WHL and started terrorize the goalies with his scoring ability. He was switched from center to wing, where he had more freedom for his offensive raids and since the beginning of the season Pavel averaged more than a goal and two points pro game. His first WHL honor was The rookie of the month October award, but it didn't stay that long. Pavel was selected to play in the WHL All-star game and the Top Prospect game. The only shadow was that head coach Jaroslav Holik didn't select him to the Under-20 WJC team. It was said that it was due to Brendl's bad attitude and that he wasn't 100 per cent sure that he wants to play. He forgot about it soon and he scored a goal even in the Top prospects game after a nice backhand deke.
When the regular season was nearing to the end, Pavel Brendl was threatening the WHL record for most points scored by a rookie held by New York Rangers' Petr Nedved with 145 points. Brendl didn't make history but his numbers were totally impressive as he was just 0.03 shy from a 2.00 points pro game average with 134 points for 73 goals and 61 assists in 68 games. Another outstanding playoff performance only marked his way as a 1999 NHL draft top prospect. Brendl also took the WHL trophy ceremony by storm as he took home the trophies for the Top rookie and top goalscorer and was selected the All-star and All-rookie team. He was also selected the Top rookie in the entire CHL and was voted to the All-rookie team.

Before the draft it was clear that one of Patrik Stefan, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Pavel Brendl will enter the center stage as the number one. At the evening before the draft it still wasn't decided who will be the lucky one. People from the New York Rangers staff talked to Pavel in the evening, asking him if he thinks he is NHL ready and will play the next season. Pavel said an emphatic yeah and things got rolling. The Rangers traded away starter Dan Cloutier and other draft picks in order to move up to the fourth spot. Once that happened, they didn't hesitate to select Brendl who took the Rangers jersey over his head for the first time.

During his time in Calgary Pavel was billeted at the Boessenkool's family and he taught Mrs. Boessenkool cook some typical Czech foods because his parents visited him only twice a season and sent him only Czech newspapers and videotapes with Czech films. Also before the draft it was frequently said that Brendl's eating habits don't correspond with young athlete's needs. He liked the food he got in his new Calgary home too much and didn't matter in the WHL. It was a problem in the NHL. Pavel reported to the camp out of shape and refused to fill coaches' tactics and play defensively in his first camp. He also lacked productivity and was returned for his sophomore season in the WHL.

Bitter disappointed, Pavel started to work on his defense to get rid of the label "one-dimensional". Also in the 1999-2000 Brendl wasn't selected to the Under-20 WJC team which brought golden medals home and he had to concentrate on the WHL career. The only numbers he doubled were the PIM's, 94 compared to 40, but his scoring numbers dropped slightly to 111 points for 59 goals and 52 assists after 61 games which means a 1.82 point pro game average. After the Hitmen playoff exit Pavel joined the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL for their playoff run but played only 2 games in which he went scoreless.

His play at the Rangers camp was way better than in the previous year, Brendl combined well with his Czech mates and tried to concentrate on defense. But still Brendl was among the last cuts and was demoted again to the Calgary Hitmen for his final junior year. He played his typical play with lethal shooting and smart passing skills and this time his play was more well-rounded. His intensity while playing away from the puck didn't wane so much and Pavel tried to turn into a two-way forward.
And he was eager to play at the Under-20 WJC. He finally was selected and it was a stellar showing crowned with the scoring title and a gold medal. His first goal came in the 9:1 thrashing of Kazakhstan and the second in the 5:0 win over Slovakia. He added 5 assists to lead the Czech team in scoring after the regular group games. His two goals in the quarterfinal game against Switzerland were highly important because the Czechs had to turn over the game and the second goal was the game-winner. After the 1:0 win over Sweden the Czech team stood in the final game. In the first period Brendl won the puck at the boards and passed it to Rostislav Klesla who fired a slapshot blast which gave the Czech a 1:0 lead. Brendl was on the ice also when Vaclav Nedorost scored the tournament-winning goal and he served a minor penalty for hooking before. After the game he could finally celebrate the World Championship title and and the Best forward selection.

He finished his WHL career with under 100 points in the last season. Pavel amassed 75 points for 40 goals and 35 assists in 49 games and he finally wanted to crack the Rangers lineup. The Eric Lindros saga influenced also his career. The fact was, that he didn't have to crack the Rangers roster any more, now it was the Philadelphia Flyers roster. Along with Jan Hlavac he joined the Flyers and there were other Czech players like Roman Cechmanek, Jiri Dopita, Tomas Divisek and Petr Hubacek so he could feel comfortable. He likely felt because his mission was accomplished. He made the Flyers roster and he dressed for his first NHL game in the Flyers opener against the Florida Panthers. In this game he also injured his ankle so he won't remember it as his best game. But let's hope that there will be games Pavel will remember because he scored NHL goals!

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