Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Trust In Manny Legace

10/01/2019 at 8:17am EDT

from Jeff Svoboda of BlueJackets.com,

As his summer was slipping away, Elvis Merzlikins could have continued to spend August at his home in Lugano, Switzerland, with picturesque Lake Lugano on one side and the rugged, beautiful Alps on the other.

Or he could have flown to Detroit, a fine Midwestern city in its own right but not exactly overflowing with lakefront palm trees or mountain vistas....

...Merzlikins and Legace were doing a similar form of friendship building on the human side. Trust is perhaps the hardest earned but most important quality in Merzlikins' life, and the goaltender admitted when he first met Legace, it simply wasn't there.

After the time in Detroit over the late summer, it was a totally different feel.

"I started to trust him the last two weeks at his home when I was there," Merzlikins said when he arrived in Columbus this fall. "Now I'm trusting him 100 percent. He's one of my best friends here that I have. I think it's important to build a relationship because this person knows when to push you and when to leave you alone and maybe give you a rest.

"I think this is really important. I had this kind of relationship with my ex-goalie coaches, and it worked really well so I'm happy."

more

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by TreKronor in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mistakes Magnified - 17 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry A Good Point But Not Enough - 20 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mistakes Magnified - 29 minutes ago
Comment by TreKronor in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Still In It For Bubble Teams In The East - 1 hour ago
Comment by EthrDemon in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Still In It For Bubble Teams In The East - 7 hours ago