Lukas Vartovnik: Background History
The main factor in Lukas Vartovnik's decision to play organized hockey was his father. Though not a former player, the elder Vartovnik is a lifelong fan and began taking his son to games at the age of four.
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"I hail from a sports family, but no one ever played hockey." according to Lukas. "My parents wanted me to play some sport, though, and when I chose to play hockey, they supported me a lot in my beginnings."
So in 1993, Vartovnik entered the first-grade team in his native city Gelnica, Slovakia, and started to learn the basic skills of the game.
His eagerness to prove that he is suited to play hockey and a natural gift for sports paid immediate dividends as Vartovnik was soon outclassing his peers during on-ice sessions of the Gelnica entry level team. He could outskate a majority of the defensemen and was slotted to play forward because of his offensive prowess.
"I didn't have a problem with it. The coaches have put me on the forward position and I started to like it."
Lukas performed for his hometown team for three seasons. When he was seven years old, he joined the developmental system of nearby Spisska Nova Ves, a team with a long tradition of raising hockey talent. There, Vartovnik could take advantage of an experienced coaching staff while facing stiffer competition.
Center Of Attention
Performing at center suited Vartovnik well as he could make better use of his vision and creativity, and wasn't tied up so much with defensive work. He made a smooth transition and was soon taking the scoring charts by storm.
As he made his way through each age category, his offensive talent flourished. It was head coach of the Spisska Nova Ves fifth-grade team, Jan Novak, who initially felt that Vartovnik could blossom into a very good player and dedicated himself to the youngster's development.
After the next season, under head coach Ivan Jetc, it was obvious that Vartovnik wasn't being challenged playing against his peers and was therefore promoted to the older age group. The move allowed him to showcase his skills against more physically-mature players and maintained a steady development course.
While performing for the Spisska Nova Ves eighth-grade team, Vartovnik made his first trip to North America. He was nominated by his team coaches to take part in an international pee-wee tournament, played in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as a member of a special squad made up of the top 1989-born players from Slovakia.
"It was an interesting experience for me. I got along with the play on the smaller ice surfaces well, I don't mind where the game is played. The matchups against Canadian teams were something different than the games I experienced before."
The Canadian experience sparked Vartovnik's offense. He emerged as a consistent scorer back home despite being an underager, and even ended up leading the team in scoring - the first individual achievement in his young career.
However, Vartovnik's best season on the pee-wee level came in the ninth grade, achieving both individual and team success during the championship tournament of the best Slovak ninth-graders. Spisska Nova Ves captured bronze medals in the end, making a successful end to their youth-level careers.
On an individual note, Vartovnik also made his debut in the Slovak midget Extraleague as an underager. This achievement is even more significant considering the fact that the Slovak midget Extraleague is unlike the Czech Republic which is an under-18 league with rosters usually consisting of 16 or 17-year-olds. But coach Jan Novak, Vartovnik's tutor in the fifth grade and now in charge of the midget team, wasn't reluctant to audition Vartovnik, who responded with maturity beyond his age and even maintained a spot on the squad.
At that time, he was being talked about as one of the most talented kids in his region.
Leaving Home
As Vartovnik grew in age, it was time for new challenges in order to avoid stagnation and sustain a steady upward path. Having already experienced playing at the Slovak elite midget level, he agreed with his parents on a difficult move for such a young player. He left home and headed west to perform in the Czech Republic.
Often the eastern-based Czech teams also scour for talent in their neighbour country. Vartovnik felt that the move to a better youth development system would enable him to mature as a player and as a person. With no language barrier to deal with, the transition was smooth for Vartovnik, who accepted an offer from the Czech team HC Hame Zlin in the end.
Vartovnik arrived in Zlin in the summer of 2004 and joined the camp of the midget team, coached by experienced youth expert Zdenek Cech. The transition was seamless as Vartovnik took advantage of his quickness and chippy style to wreak havoc among opponents, finishing camp by winning a spot as second-line center.
He was red-hot to start, clicking particularly well with offensive defenseman Michal Cerny, and kept a steady point-per game pace. Displaying excellent poise while in scoring areas, he made use of his skill-set to emerge as Zlin's sniper for the first three quarters of the season, his goalscoring tailing off at the end.
His playoff showing was spoiled by an injury suffered at the end of the regular season (bruised shoulder) which limited him to just two playoff contests. Overall in 48 games for the Zlin midgets, Vartovnik amassed 40 points including 24 goals and 16 assists, along with a plus-10 rating and 44 PIM's.
In Zlin, Vartovnik only had to give up on his favorite jersey number 88, which he had worn his entire career. "I was born on March 8th, so the number 8 started to be my favorite one. When I can choose a jersey number, I always take one where the digit 8 is involved."
A lifelong Colorado Avalanche fan because of their star presence, Vartovnik began his international career in 2004-05 with the Slovak Under-16 team. Thanks to his skill level and achievements, he was a lock to make the team and was even voted captain. He took part in all international tournaments that year, including a pair of three-game series against the U-16 Czech team, another three-game series against U-16 Switzerland, plus one tournament among the national U-16 teams of Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany and Finland.
His best performance came in the final three-game series against the U-16 Czech's in April, where he ruled with a spirited offensive showing and was the most dominant player of the tournament. On the international stage, Vartovnik creates a lethal duo with Jozef Molnar from Presov, his favorite linemate.
Nicknamed 'Varta' from his surname, Lukas Vartovnik was promoted to the junior team as an underager in 2005-2006. His coach from the midget level, Zdenek Cech, was named the junior head coach and took his talented Slovak with him.
