Ice hockey star Kevin Fiala is fully on course for the playoffs with the L.A. Kings and talks in an interview about his first NHL season as a father, his new priorities and his love for Switzerland.
After a good three quarters of the regular season in the NHL, Kevin Fiala is in 6th place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Kings and is therefore on course for the playoffs. The Swiss is also one of his team's best scorers this season and has 25 goals and 20 assists to his name after 65 appearances. In this interview, the 28-year-old talks about his first season as a father and makes it clear what Switzerland means to him.
Kevin Fiala about ...
... the NHL season so far with the L.A. Kings
We're having a really strong season, from the start to today (...). But that doesn't mean anything yet. Now we still have the final spurt, then the playoffs. But it's good for our confidence. We have to continue like this.
... the Kings' strengths
We are a team. We all work together, we love each other - even off the ice. That helps us work together on the ice. We believe in ourselves and that's how we've won against many top teams.
... the devastating forest fires in Los Angeles
It's very sad for all the families who have lost their homes. Even people and animals lost their lives. The forest and nature that burned down. It's so sad and cruel.
... his love for Switzerland
If you look at the last 10 years, I was actually only in Sweden for the first 7 years - to train and do the extra step. Then I wanted to try out what it's like in Switzerland. And it was exactly the same: great. I fell in love with Switzerland all over again. It's home for me. I miss it and I miss my family and colleagues.
... his first NHL season as a father
The priorities have changed. It took time to adjust. But now I'm all in. Priority number 1 is my daughter. When I come home and see her smile - it's all about her (...). It wasn't so easy at the beginning, you might have wanted to do other things, but you just couldn't do that. It took time to get into it. But now I love it.
When things weren't going well before, I couldn't switch off easily. Now I quickly realized that field hockey is actually such a small part of life. If it's not going well, it doesn't really matter. I've learned this year - and I'm still learning - to separate field hockey and home. I've done that much better in the last few months.
