HRADEC KRALOVE, Czech Republic – When Alexander Medvedev has something on his mind he doesn’t rest until he has accomplished it. The KHL President has been aiming for a 30-team pan-European league although the project has not seen daylight yet.

To date the league is spread over the former Soviet region with non-Russian teams from Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan participating. The real breakthrough would come with the addition of teams from the West.

But realizing that has proven difficult for Medvedev. The KHL has been flirting a lot, received some kisses here and there, but in the end always ended up empty-handed.

The list of sometimes secret dates is quite long. German clubs Kölner Haie and Eisbären Berlin reportedly withdrew their interest. The same applied to Austrian Continental Cup winner Red Bull Salzburg and Finland’s Kärpät Oulu.

There was better news coming from Sweden where several team owners were apparently unhappy with playing in the Elitserien, but also these teams decided to stay put until 2012 at least. Talks with second-tier team AIK Stockholm were successful, but the Swedish Ice Hockey Association blocked the move in February. Last season Czech Extraliga champions Karlovy Vary had to withdraw its KHL plans due to lack of funding.

Persistence seems to pay off though.

On Friday a letter of intent was signed between the KHL and Czech team Hradec Kralove about joining the league as of the 2010-11 season.

This season Hradec Kralove finished fourth in the Czech second-tier league and advanced to the semi-finals. The last decade the team has not been active on the highest level and the most eye-catching name on the current roster is probably Daniel Volrab, a former fourth-round draft pick by the Dallas Stars.

Will the local faithfuls in the stands see the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Yashin or perhaps even Ilya Kovalchuk next season?

It seems rather unlikely such a team can make the transition to the KHL especially after previous efforts by more recognized teams have failed. Their plans have been tagged as “Napoleonic” by a Russian newspaper. Nevertheless, there are reasons to take this attempt seriously.

Big things are moving ahead though for the city that co-hosted the 2002 World U20 Championship.

First and foremost, unlike in Karlovy Vary one year before, the financial restrictions set up by the KHL are not considered a problem in Hradec Kralove. The team management is already said to have lined up several big local sponsors and is currently working hard on getting some additional funding from foreign sponsors to make the April 1 deadline.

Secondly, Hradec Kralove will not leave the Czech league. A new team will be created and named Hradec Kralove Lions. A move away from the domestic league has proven to be a huge stumbling block in many previous attempts to lure a foreign team into the KHL. With an okay from the league, the federation and a supporting local city council another hurdle is taken away.

Their current 7,700-seat CEZ Stadion does not require a complete overhaul to meet the KHL standards. According to city mayor Martin Soukup, the arena only needs to have some improvements in the media facilities and dressing rooms. Also a room for video replays should be built, but all these requirements are not different to those from the highest Czech league, Soukup said.

Also Hradec Kralove’s location is considered favourable. The city is connected with the Czech Capital Prague via a highway and the city has got its own airport.

Finally, the KHL will do almost anything it can do within its powers to make the move perfect, including financial support. It would be a milestone for the league - or yet another failure in its quest to lure foreign clubs.

Notebook:

• From a managerial point, the Hradec Kralove Lions are represented by two former players; David Pospisil and Otakar Janecky. The latter is well known in Finland after having played in the SM-liiga for almost a decade during the 90s. Both Pospisil and Janecky will play an important role in acquiring a strong team for next season.
• The Lions will be working with the largest budget in Czech sports. The rumoured figure is € 15 million. This would be 25 per cent more than the country’s most expensive sports team, the football team of Sparta Prague.
• An entry in the KHL would mean Hradec Kralove finally can ‘overpower’ their neighbours and rivals from Pardubice in sports. Currently, no Hradec Kralove sports team plays at the domestic elite level other than the basketball team, opposed to ‘big brother’ Pardubice that has had a fair share of success in various sports including hockey.
• Despite all the KHL news, Hradec Kralove is still fully involved in the race for a promotion to the Extraliga. On Monday they will start the series against top-seeded Usti nad Labem that dropped out the Extraliga last season, but dominated the second-tier league this year with just six losses in 46 games.

JOERI LOONEN