Latest news with #Blanar
Boston Globe
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Will Zellers's goal-scoring touch is a welcome sight in Bruins' deepening prospect pool
'I was pretty surprised that I was getting traded at a young age,' Zellers said Monday at Boston's development camp. 'But to get traded to a place like this — an Original Six team — is pretty special. I was very excited. I will always forever be grateful for Colorado and what they did for me. … But for Boston to believe in me at this age, it's pretty special.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Most of the haul secured via Advertisement Welcome to town, — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) The 5-foot-11-inch winger may not be the most imposing presence on the ice. The same can't be said for the screaming salvos of vulcanized rubber that he uncorked at Warrior Ice Arena. 'You can tell right away that he's just fitting right into the group,' Advertisement As the Bruins look to build up the next wave of young talent to support the likes of David Pastrnak up front, Zellers's stock has soared in recent months given his knack for finding the back of the net. The Maple Grove, Minn., earned USHL Player of the Year honors after scoring 44 goals and 71 points across 52 games with the Green Bay Gamblers — his first full season in the league. Related : Possessing both a sharp wrist shot and a willingness to drive into Grade-A ice for greasy scoring bids, his scoring touch is a welcome addition for a franchise looking to inject more skill into its depth chart. Zellers said he models his game after another player who grew up in Minnesota, Jake Guentzel . At 5-11 and 179 pounds, Guentzel's blistering shot and offensive instincts have helped him score 30-plus goals five times. It remains to be seen if Zellers can replicate that type of production in the NHL ranks, but the winger, who will attend North Dakota in the fall, isn't looking too far ahead as he tries to build off his breakout USHL season. 'They were just talking to me, telling me not to look too much into it — that I'm still a great player,' Zellers said of Boston's message to him after the trade. 'Kind of wanted to make sure that I wasn't questioning myself and my worth and what's wrong with me. So they were just very reassuring about it and just told me to keep playing how it's playing throughout the year. They're really happy with my game.' Advertisement Vashek Blanar looked to take big strides as the Bruins opened development camp. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe Once an unknown, Blanar stands out early Vashek Blanar couldn't help but scroll through his phone on Saturday afternoon. On the day he found out that 'I've seen a lot on Twitter and YouTube — like, 'Who's this guy?' 'If you Google his name, he doesn't exist.' It's been pretty fun to see that," Blanar said. Despite Blanar's intriguing skillset as a 6-4 defenseman with poised offensive instincts, the Colorado native, who moved back to his parents' native Czechia when he was 4 years old, wasn't exactly viewed as a hot commodity. Related : Blanar was omitted from several draft rankings after the raw prospect spent last season skating in the Swedish junior leagues. The returns Monday were encouraging. The big-bodied blue liner moved the puck cleanly during drills while also wiring a few shots home from the point. Another year in Sweden awaits, but Blanar is excited to join the same organization as Pastrnak, his favorite player. 'I followed him a lot,' Blanar said of Pastrnak, who himself spent two years in Sweden before turning pro. 'It's always been a dream of mine to play in Boston. No. 7 overall draft pick James Hagens joined the other prospective Bruins at development camp. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe Loose pucks Count Zellers among those who are Oskar Jellvik did not make the trek from Sweden as he recovers from an upper-body injury. 'He's tracking fine,' McQuaid said … Dean Letourneau , Advertisement Conor Ryan can be reached at
Daily Maverick
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Evacuees from Israel arrive in Slovakia and Czech Republic
Another Central European country, Poland, said on Tuesday that the evacuation of Poles from Israel was planned for Wednesday and Thursday. Slovak authorities said the first evacuation flight with 73 people, including 25 Slovak tourists and five family members of Slovak diplomats working in Tel Aviv, had arrived in the capital Bratislava late on Monday. Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said Slovakia had also helped bring citizens of other countries to Europe, including 15 Poles, mainly children, 14 Czechs, nine Austrians, two Slovenians and one citizen each of Estonia, Spain and Malaysia. 'Our partners are contacting us and we are preparing another flight on Tuesday, which should include citizens of the Slovak Republic, as well as citizens of the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, and France,' Blanar said. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Slovakia had helped evacuate seven Hungarians. Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said that a flight with 66 people evacuated from Israel had landed near Prague. Poland said on Monday that it was organising the evacuation of around 200 of its citizens from Israel via Jordan. On Tuesday, the Polish foreign ministry said it planned to use two planes from Egypt and Jordan for the evacuation, the first of which would take off on Wednesday. 'The plane from Sharm el-Sheikh will take off first, the one from Amman will take off second, most likely on Thursday morning,' said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Henryka Moscicka-Dendys. 'We want to service this connection with a military plane, because we see that there are not as many people willing to evacuate as it might seem.'
Russia Today
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU country urges Global South to play role in Ukraine conflict resolution
Major non-Western powers could play a vital role in European security after the Ukraine conflict, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar has said in an interview with RT. 'Countries of the Global South should be one part of these [Ukrainian] security guarantees,' the minister stated on Tuesday, speaking on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue, a conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics in New Delhi. 'Countries like China, Brazil, also India, introduced some peace proposals, and they want to be involved in this.' In contrast to some other members of the EU, Slovakia does not believe that the Ukraine conflict can be resolved in Kiev's favor through ongoing military support, Blanar explained. Consequently, Bratislava supports the new approach adopted by US President Donald Trump, who is pursuing the restoration of dialogue with Russia and an end to the hostilities through compromise. According to Blanar, Slovakia views peace in Ukraine as an outcome that would benefit the entire world, meaning 'all the stakeholders, like India, and China, and Brazil, the Global South, and also the countries of the European Union, should be around the table and securing this peace for the future.' Moscow perceives the EU to be an obstacle to resolving the Ukraine conflict, citing the bloc's pledge to continue supplies of weapons to Kiev and its resistance to making any concessions to Russia.
Russia Today
13-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Ukraine purchasing Russian gas from EU
Ukraine has been purchasing Russian gas via EU energy companies, Slovakia's minister of foreign and European affairs, Juraj Blanar, stated on Wednesday. Kiev recently refused to renew a contract to transit Russian gas through its territory. Blanar was commenting on a recent media report by the local broadcaster STVR that alleged that Slovakia was supplying Russian gas to Ukraine. The Slovak minister blasted the report as 'false and manipulative.' 'The truth is that Russian gas, which Ukraine purchased from abroad, flows to Ukraine through Slovak territory,' Blanar stated in a Facebook post. 'Even an average educated person can see the huge difference between this reality and the misleading headline,' he wrote. Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova has also denied the report, claiming that Czech and German companies have been supplying Kiev with Russian gas that merely passes through the Slovak system. According to Slovak media outlets, reverse flows to Ukraine – estimated at 17 million cubic meters daily – started on February 6. Most of the imports reportedly go through the Hungarian, Slovak and Polish gas transportation infrastructure. On Monday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that Slovakia has started receiving Russian natural gas via the TurkStream pipeline, averting an energy crisis in the country after Kiev halted transit. Fico also confirmed that Ukraine was receiving gas from foreign suppliers, without which he said the country 'would freeze.' READ MORE: Russian gas exports via key Black Sea pipeline hit historic high – Reuters He emphasized that Slovakia was not involved in those supplies, which, according to the Slovak prime minister, have pushed European gas prices even higher. Fico, however, argued that Slovakia has 'a moral right to consider measures such as stopping foreign gas deliveries to Ukraine,' while the EU 'is making a fool of itself.' The prime minister previously accused Zelensky of exacerbating Slovakia's energy crisis and undermining EU interests. TurkStream, a crucial energy corridor for transporting gas from Russia to Türkiye under the Black Sea, has become the main route for Russian gas to reach southern and southeastern Europe following Kiev's refusal to renew the transit deal with Moscow. The decision forced Slovakia and several other EU states to seek alternative supply routes. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky defended the decision, arguing that halting Russian gas transit would deprive Moscow of crucial energy revenues. However, Slovakia and Hungary accused Kiev of deliberately triggering an energy crisis for political leverage. Despite the developments, Moscow has reiterated its commitment to maintaining stable gas supplies via TurkStream, ensuring continued energy security for the countries that depend on it. Data analyzed by Reuters shows that deliveries of Russian natural gas via the TurkStream pipeline have reached a historic high, exceeding 50 million cubic meters per day in January. The figure marked a 27% year-on-year increase.
