Frenzy make Rome a European destination

ROME, NY – When it comes to building a hockey team’s roster, there are as many methods as there are coaches and general managers doing so. At the single-A level, budget issues and immigration rules can easily put those decisions into a very small and awfully square box.
As Rome Frenzy G.M. Brian Hall set out to construct his team, he took a path outside the box. That path, which centered on finding the best available talent, led him to do something that makes the Frenzy rather unique at the single-A level: a team with almost half of its players coming from Europe.
“We’re doing a lot of things in this organization (that are) outside the box. It was vital for us to get a highly skilled team out on the ice when competing with some of the failures of the past in the market,” Hall said. “We were willing to step outside our comfort zone a little bit more than some of the other teams.”
The Frenzy roster currently sports six international players out of 17, giving the team a completely different flavor than the other five FHL squads. Tibor Varga (Bratislava, Slovakia), Niklas Agild (Stockholm, Sweden), Marcus Gustafsson (Stockholm), Ilja Urushev (Tallinn, Estonia), Kirill Doronin (Khabarovsk, Russia) and Michal Zatloukal (Czech Republic) make up Rome’s version of the United Nations, each one bringing skills that when combined make the Frenzy a formidable foe on the ice.
Hall’s promise to deliver a quality product has evolved into an entertaining end product that is turning the heads of discerning, hockey-smart fans.
“Our team speed is just unbelievable at this level,” Hall said. “That’s a direct fact from having these European playing the European

style that is much more free flowing and (has an) emphasis on skating skills.”
Hall’s decision to “go global” with the player search actually has its basis in another worldwide sport. He gleaned the idea of recruiting outside of North America from watching collegiate soccer programs and their success in finding high-quality, competitive players willing to play in return for an education. In the case of the European players in Rome, they are being exposed to the North American style of hockey which will make them more rounded – and valuable – as they develop.
The forward thinking in Rome is helping to set the Frenzy apart as well as giving the FHL as a whole a leg up on other leagues.
“It helps the FHL distinguish itself from some of the other upstart leagues. It’s really good for the league that we are getting access to some of these players (who) are on their way up,” Hall said. “It’s not the same old run-of-the-mill very diluted talent pool. It injects a whole new chemical into the equation which ultimately raises the level of the league.”
So why is Rome the only team that is dipping into the international pool of players? One reason might be the inherent risk withinternational recruiting. Without the deep pockets to be able to send scouts to see them in person, depending on videos, statistics and recommendations to evaluate players can leave teams with a “you’re not really sure what you are going to get” mentality.  It requires more patience on the part of the organization because you have to be willing to allow the player(s) to adjust to the North American game.
Then there is the always sticky topic of immigration. Dealing with the bureaucracy and cost of obtaining P-1 work visas (as opposed to the H2B visas that allow Canadian players to enter the U.S.) as well as the various embassies can be an arduous task. Luckily for the Frenzy, the FHL – like most other leagues – has immigration attorneys on retainer to walk the teams through the detail-oriented initial parts of the process.
Part three of the complicated equation is money. With the limited resources the team owners have, their budgets are based on a weekly salary cap, which puts definite restraints on paying for top shelf talent. In this case, the players’ desire to gain exposure to the North American market outweighs their desire for a big pay day so they are more willing to play for lower pay.
“These guys are coming because they want to play. That means that they don’t have outrageous salary demands that are well beyond what we can pay. They’re looking at this as an opportunity to get seen so they’re willing to stay in our pay structure,” Hall said. “We’re honest with them up front. The response we’ve gotten 90 to 95 percent of the time is that they don’t care about the money, that they are there to play hockey.”
The beneficiary of Hall’s work is head coach Gary Gill. Gill has had to make some adjustments to the way he coaches in order to fit the international roster. He spends much more time using the rink side dryerase board to write down drills and systems and he also spends more time explaining those instructions. He’s also had to adjust to the multiple languages on the roster and getting everything translated properly.
“Luckily we have enough guys on the team that speak the languages that I can just talk to them to talk to the players. The hard part of that is that if I really want to stress something, it’s hard to have a player yell at another player in their language without that player getting mad,” Gill said. “You have to be really careful in the words you use and how you choose it.”
Gill said that his North American players have stepped up in helping their international brothers.
“Everybody is on board in helping these guys get to the right spot,” he said. “They’ve been doing a great job with these guys trying to help them along. They get together and they sit down and they draw it out themselves so that they (international players) can see it.”
Anthony Monte, who played for the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers last season, said that cutting through the language barrier is as simple as finding common ground over time.
“At first it (language barrier) was (a problem) but after you spend every day with the same people, you get used to their tendencies and what words they know and understand and what words that they are not familiar with.After that, it just becomes second nature,” Monte said. “Most of them understand English. You just have to speak slower. When you get back to the bench and you have to talk about your shift or the next period, they do a good job if you speak slower and use the words that they know.”
Another key part of the Frenzy staff has been assistant coach Bjorn Moksness. A native of Norway, Moksness’ years of coaching the North American style of hockey allow him to combine that with his knowledge of the European game to build “hybrid” players – ones that combine skating and speed with grit and hard-nosed play.
“He brings a fire and passion to the team,” Gill said of Moksness. “Because he is European himself, he brings that flavor to the team. He can also show the Europeans the gritty side of hockey – the North American style – too.”
One of the first things the European players have to learn is that the less physical, more passing and shooting style they know doesn’t necessarily work on this side of the Atlantic. On-ice culture shock is more like it.
“It is not allowed in Sweden and Norway to fight. You get suspended three or four games if you fight,” Gustafsson said,trying to explain how different the North American game is.
There is one thing that the intercontinental players won’t have to change: speed. According to Coach Gill, the Frenzy’s team speed has elevated the overall performance level of the squad, giving Rome an edge every time it takes the ice.
“We’re starting to wear other teams down. We’re starting to be successful because our speed is there,” Gill said. “We’re starting to get games into the season now where other teams are still working to stay in the game and we’re already in the third period on them waiting. Our speed is something that they (other teams) really haven’t addressed.”
Brian Hall said that the team has come together much faster than anyone could have imagined. He described the players as being “very close-knit” and credited the initial search for guys who were compatible from a personality standpoint as well as the fact that most of the players room together in two houses.
“Everyone gets along like we’ve been brothers for 10-15 years,” Monte, a native of Chicago, said. “That’s the way it has to be to have a successful team.”
The rink is not the only place where the European players have to do some adjusting. Since most of them have played hockey for teams away from home in foreign countries, adapting to new and different cultures is nothing new. Although they cite missing their friends and family the most, they are enjoying their time in Rome and bonding with their new Frenzy family.
Local fans can expect to see all of the Frenzy players out and active in the community but they may see the European guys more often. They are curious about American culture and want to experience every bit of it, from high school football games to the latest items on the menu at local restaurants. Monte noted that his Swedish teammates, upon partaking in their first American-style pizza, declared it “the best thing they ever had” and called fast food restaurants and mozzarella sticks “pretty impressive”.
“They’re enjoying what they are doing,” Coach Gill said. “They are learning and that’s important to us as a whole, as a team and as an organization.”
Monte added that while he and the rest of his North American teammates are enjoying watching their overseas brothers take in the experience that is Rome, they are getting something out of it too.
“They want to learn everything that we do here in the United States. They’re very optimistic and they’re very willing to go out and experience things,” Monte said. “The rest of the guys are happy to have them here. We’re learning every day. It’s a good experience for us too.”
An experience that the Frenzy hope will bring a championship experience come springtime.
Writer’s note: Special thanks to Kirill Doronin (spah-SEE-bah) and Bjorn Moksness (Tack) for translation services. Contact the author at wendy.hull@prohockeynews.com