2023-05-12 17:39:08
Thursday, April 27, a few hours before the two preparation matches of the French team against Slovenia at the Aren’Ice in Cergy, the prodigy of the Blues Alexandre Texier gave himself up for a little more than a half – hour on the difficulties for a young person to acclimatize in the prestigious championship of the NHL (North American National Hockey League) and the reasons for his return this season to Europe in Zurich (Switzerland) before leaving next year in the United States with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Is the NHL an Eldorado for an ice hockey player?
ALEXANDRE TEXIER. It’s the best league in the world! We all want to play it. When you’re young and playing hockey, that’s where you want to be. Me, I had this dream but it seemed far away. I was lucky enough to be drafted quickly at the age of 16 by Columbus and a year and a half later the managers called me back at the end of my season in Finland (in Kalpa) to join their team. I chained the matches for a month and a half without taking the time to realize. Then I realized during the summer. It’s good to be drafted, to participate in a few games, but you have to know how to stay there and that requires a lot of work.
How is life outside of games?
We live hockey, we eat hockey and we sleep hockey. We play 82 games plus possibly the playoffs. The meetings are very intense and follow each other quickly! We have a lot of air travel in Canada and the United States. There is very little time left to do other things. The only times we have rest, we just go for a walk or have a coffee. There is nothing extraordinary. I had an apartment where I lived alone. My mom used to come when we had playoffs at home. When you’re 19 and playing in the best league in the world, it’s important that someone allows you to keep your feet on the ground and reframes you. I’m not the king of the world I keep working
Is it so complicated to keep your feet on the ground when you are presented as young as the future tricolor hockey star?
When you’re young, it’s complicated not to ignite and not be at the bottom of the hole in difficult times. We look at the comments on social networks and you understand as you grow up that little by little it weighs on you psychologically. You also sometimes wonder why you don’t have the life of a 19-year-old going to school. I know that I can count on my family and ask me the right questions to reboost me. I am lucky to be very close to my mother who helps me on these points and allows me to move forward. And with age we learn. The high level, you have to go there because there are people waiting behind. Behind the stats, the trophies, there is life and it’s not easy every day.
Why did you decide to come back to Europe in Zurich at the start of this season?
It’s a personal choice, it did me good to leave. It was my own decision but now I’m ready to go back. I am better in my mind and my body. And more mature too.
“I am emotional and I assume it”
The death of your grandparents also explains this return to Grenoble where your family resides…
I do not wanna talk about it.
Leaving the NHL was a strong act…
It was my decision. I knew I was going to go back but I needed this. I knew after discussions with the leaders of Columbus that I was going to come back. I had no pressure. My goal was to have fun and continue to improve because I’m only 23 years old. NHL players and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (Editor’s note: his teammate in the France team and NHL player in Tampa Bay) wrote to me. He didn’t have an easy time. He always told me: “Make decisions for you”. So it helps to get advice from players who have been through these things. I made the decision for me and today I am happy to be able to return there next season and perform there.
Does personal life have an impact on his professional and sporting life?
Of course ! Everyone handles it in their own way. Each has its own character. And, there is no one perfect path to take. I am emotional and I assume it. I need people who accompany me and that’s how I make my way. It’s easy to say that we want to go abroad, that we want to leave, that we want to play at the level, but it’s not that simple. It requires a lot of work and demands. We’re not going to have a life like the others, we’re not going to be able to have outings, not eat anything and everything. Signing in Zurich allowed me to be closer to my family while playing good hockey in an excellent league. It made me realize some things. The leaders of Columbus came to Switzerland and always supported me.
Are you ready to take the big leap to the United States again next year?
Yes. Zurich is behind me. I learned a lot of things. I am more mature. If I don’t want something I will say no. Before that, I want to perform well in the world. We must first ensure the maintenance (avoid the 8th and last place in the group) and why not go further (the first 4 are qualified for the quarter-finals). You have to dream a little.
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