Ethan Scheiner

“Jaroslav enjoyed the fun, but the simple fact was that he wanted to make a career in hockey. As a fan, he worshipped icon Vladimir Zabrodsky, the star of the 1940's world champion Czechoslovakia team, and had an autographed photo of the man with the inscription, "If you want to know more, you need to practice as if you know nothing." Those words would become Jaroslav's mantra for decades to come as he strove to be great. In part, it was simply that Jaroslav was in love with hockey. In part, it was that he had a fire burning inside that drove him to fight to win in any competition he faced. But there was something else. He had seen was the Communists did to his father: they had deemed the butcher replaceable and treated him accordingly. Jaroslav Jr. refused to allow such a thing to happen to himself. He would make himself indispensable. He would make himself too good to be denied.”
― Ethan Scheiner, Freedom to Win: A Cold War Story of the Courageous Hockey Team That Fought the Soviets for the Soul of Its People - and Olympic Gold