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When Robin was about to start attending elementary school, he also decided what sport he wants to do. It was hockey, of course. So at 6 he entered the team of the youngest kids in Valasske Mezirici. There he also met Josef Vavra, a fellow 2002 NHL prospect and the two were almost immediately the bright spots on the roster. Among the youngest kids it is very important to have lots of skill and to practice a lot. Robin did a lot of offseason workouts and had hockey in his blood, so the puckhandling whiz ruled on the ice with his nifty stick moves soon. There made the tips of his father the first use and Robin was on every important shift. His parents really supported him a lot, Robin's mum helped him with school duties so that Robin could have time for both education and hockey.

As a great natural talent, Robin's name was soon concerned among the people from Extraleague teams, looking for a boost in their pipeline of youngest kids' prospect. The new Vsetin team broke into the Extraleague in the fall of 1994 and wanted to establish a solid base of prospects of all ages, from 1st grade to juniors, soon. The two gems from the nearby Valasske Mezirici became an offer among the first ones and so at the age of ten Robin Kovar and Josef Vavra moved to the city where a new dynasty in hockey was founded. Vsetin won seven Extraleague titles in the following eight seasons, but also their team consisting of 1984 born players was very succesfull. Still without Jiri Hudler and Ondrej Nemec Vsetin 1984 born pee-wees grabbed the championship title among the 8th grades and the following year the situation was nearly the same among the 9th grades.

But both Robin Kovar and Josef Vavra were simply too good to play only against kids of their own age. Vsetin midgets head coach Hudler promoted the two to the midget Extraleague one year before they were normally eligible and they played as underagers. For Robin Kovar the 1998-99 season was hampered by mononucleosis. He had to battle the sickness during the whole course of the season and coach Hudler, father of Jiri Hudler, didn't want him to loose the joy from hockey, so he has let him to play sparingly some games at least. Robin didn't loose contact with the game and coach Hudler helped him at this point of his career.
The next season Kovar soon became one of the go-to players in the Vsetin midget team because of his style of play. Robin combines in his style the perfect blend of size and top-notch skill. He posesses nearly the size of Jiri Dopita and the soft hands of Robert Reichel. The finesse center Reichel is also along with Mario Lemieux and of course Jaromir Jagr Robin's hockey role model.

Robin Kovar is a very good skater with solid acceleration and fast turns, but his biggest asset are his hands. He handles the stick really well and likes to have the puck on the tape. That makes along with his tremendous vision and hockey sense the opposing defenses fear. Robin can score and pass equally well but he tends to pass the puck than just fire it at the net. He can make surprising smart passes and is very effective on the powerplay.
When speaking of Robin's drawbacks, then you'll hear defensive play and lack of toughness. For a player of his size Robin could throw in his body more when fighting along the boards and deliver more hits. The defensive play also isn't one of his strengths, but Robin is asked to play offense, where his top-notch skills rule, so he doesn't concentrate on defense that much.

He wore the jersey of the Czech junior national team already before he entered the Under-16 team. It was in the season when he had to fight mononucleosis and this made at least one bright spot at a season which was probably to forget for Robin.
He was selected to perform against Finland in a meeting of the unofficial Under-15 teams of both countries. Robin shone in that contest which turned out to be a 4:2 win of the Czechs and it was sure that he'll perform also for the Under-16 team.
He didn't miss any game of the Czech Under-16 team in the 1999-2000 season, but didn't also register any goal. The season in the midget Extraleague was very succesfull for Robin, who played the full schedule for the first time. In the summer he worked out a lot to gain strength he lost when was sick and also to add some bulk to his frame. Robin concentrates on leg strength a lot and in the offseason he loves to ride the bike and he also takes part in various bike races.
So in the 1999-2000 season he wanted to prove everybody that he is ready to score and fight his way into the Vsetin junior team. And he really showed that he has nothing to prove among the midgets. Robin Kovar won by far Vsetin midgets' scoring with 58 points for 26 goals and 32 assists in 46 games, leaving second Josef Vavra 12 points behind. Kovar also reached one of the highest point per game averages in the whole midget Extraleague, finishing seventh overall with 1.26.

That was enough for the Vsetin juniors coaches to let him skate as an underage in the junior Extraleague the following season. Playung against older competition wasn't a huge problem for Robin, he was used to it as he battled older opponents for nearly the whole length of his previous career. Robin Kovar played 25 games for the Vsetin juniors last season, scoring 13 points for 6 goals and 7 assists. Solid numbers for a rookie, but the biggest surprise came as he got invited to play one game with the Vsetin seniors and so make his debut in the Extraleague. Without practicing one single time with the seniors Robin entered the locker room of the senior team, where he could see the stars like Jiri Dopita, Jan Pardavy or Jiri Burger. He didn't have a jersey with his favorite number 8 on, for the game the equipment manager gave him a jersey with the number 29. In the game Robin went scoreless, but this was a huge experience for the talented forward.

His 2000-2001 international season was also quite succesfull. Robin Kovar was one of the most consistant scorers for the Under-17 team. He didn't score a goal only at the Four Nations tournament played in the Czech Republic. Jakub Koreis, Petr Kanko and Kamil Kreps were able to score at every tournament they participated and so Robin was the second best in this cathegory. From the scoring point of view his best tournament was the first one, a three-game series against Germany, where Robin notched 4 points for 2 goals and 2 assists. The World Hockey Challenge wasn't a huge scoring explosion for Robin with 1 goal, but overall he left a solid impression with his play.

So in the summer of 2001 Robin Kovar had a tough time with deciding whether to stay at home and try to grab a regular spot with the seniors or to come over and try his luck in the CHL. The WHL's expansion franchise Vancouver Giants secured the rights on Robin as they picked him in the second round of the CHL Import Draft, after making Marian Havel the top Import pick overall.
Robin Kovar practiced with the Vsetin seniors during the summer and first it looked like he would stay. Almost every player from the senior team which played in Vsetin in 2000-2001 left due to salary problems and Robin could have a regular spot on the senior team. But then he changed his mind and soon was aboard a plane heading Vancouver.

There he had to cope with other culture and the biggest problem was the language. Marian Havel has spent one season playing in North America before and he helped and still helps his fellow countryman to overcome those problems. In the scrimmages at the camp they played for different teams so that Robin had to use English to speak with his teammates. But on the ice he didn't need to speak that much, his skills were evident and he ruled also in the gym. Robin Kovar was one of the top Giants' players in every workout and was in a very good shape.
No wonder that he dressed up for the franchise opener. The game didn't turn out to be a lucky one for Robin who suffered an injury in the opener and had to sit out the following games. He could at least do the things he prefers to do in his free time - search the internet, play videogames and watch Sylvester Stallone in the "Rocky" series of movies. The "Rocky" is by far the favorite movie of Robin. Besides hockey and biking, Robin Kovar is also an accomplished tennis player and he likes to play tennis in his free time in the summer.

Even if playing only very limited time, Robin Kovar was ranked 21st among WHL skaters in the CSB preliminary ranking. In his first 12 WHL games Robin posted only average numbers as he scored 4 points for 1 goal and 3 assists. He has to bounce back in the second half of the season in which he already suffered two injuries.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Atlanta Thrashers fan hopes some NHL team will pick him in June, but doesn't care which one. He wants to reach the NHL to fulfill his dream and by this way also return his parents all the efforts they have put in his hockey career. He definitely has the tools, it's up to him how he succeeds. Hope Robin Kovar will do it!

Copyright 2002 Hockey’s Future. Do not reprint or otherwise duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.