Jan Laco named European Player of the Month for April/May

07 Jun 2012 | Jon Rowson

After an incredible performance at the World Championships in Helsinki and Stockholm, the former HC Lev Poprad goaltender has been voted by you as the player of the month for April/May.

Despite a brief challenge from Team Norway forward Patrick Thoresen, there was only really one man in it for the prize of European Player of the Month for April and May. Goaltender Ján Laco, who played some of the best hockey of his career so far for Team Slovakia at the recent IIHF World Championships sauntered to victory, collecting 147 votes, well over seven times the amount of any other nominee.

Laco, who spent most of his career prior to 2011-2012 bouncing around the Slovak Extraliga playing for a number of different teams, really had a breakout year this season. He was originally pencilled in to be the backup goalie for HC Lev Poprad, behind Tomáš Duba, but while Duba faltered at the KHL level, Laco shone, and by the end of the season was starting the large majority of the games. Through 27 games, Laco had a .915 save percentage on a team which failed to make the playoffs.

However, it was the World Championships in May where Laco really made a name for himself. Head coach Vladimír Vůjtek had selected a group of three inexperienced goalies as part of Slovakia's roster, so the position of starting goalie truly was open, with HC Oceláři Třinec's Peter Hamerlík and Södertälje's Július Hudáček making up the trio of netminders. It was Hamerlík who began the tournament as the starter, as he played well in the 3:2 defeat against Canada. However, the coaching staff made the decision to go with Laco in the second game against Helsinki, where Laco made 22 saves in a 1:0 loss against Finland. Laco then started the next eight games, including the final against Russia, where he was eventually relieved from his duties in the third period as Russia put the Slovaks to the sword.

Slovakia relied heavily on Laco due to their defensive, counter attacking system, which meant he saw a whole lot of rubber. Aside from the final, in crucial games, Laco really turned on the style. He shutout the Swiss in the round robin stage, making 22 saves, before making 33 saves against Canada in the semi final. Arguably his best performance came in the semi final, where he stopped 36 shots as the Slovaks defeated their next door neighbours, the Czech Republic.

Laco finished the tournament with a 0.924 save percentage, and took the title of the best netminder at the World Championships, as well as featuring on the all-star team. The 30 year old left it late to make his debut on the world stage, but it seems that Slovakia might finally have a consistent starting netminder for when Jaroslav Halak is unavailable due to NHL commitments. Through his performances for HC Lev and Slovakia, Laco has earned himself a KHL contract for 2012-2013, but next year he will be playing out of Ukraine, as he has agreed a deal with KHL newcomers Donbass Donetsk.

Past winners

March 2012 - Jakob Silfverberg
February 2012 - Damien Brunner
January 2012 - Matt Hussey
December 2011 - Tommy Goebel
November 2011 - Robert Kristan
October 2011 - Jakub Petružálek
September 2011 - Tomas Zaborsky
April/May 2011- André Rankel
March 2011 - Martin Ruzicka
February 2011 - Petri Vehanen
January 2011 - Antti Pihlström
December 2010 - Jakub Stepanek

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