'Dream come true' | Maudr and the Czech-Slovakia Sabres fan club experience Buffalo for the first time 

Viktor Maudr sat in the stands inside KeyBank Center ahead of the Buffalo Sabres’ game against the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 9 and thought back to when he was around five years old, when he began watching his older brother play NHL 99 on PC. While he wasn’t allowed to play along, Maudr would frequently bring his brother food so he had an excuse to sit and watch the games alongside him.

The young boy from Czechia didn’t understand the significance of players like Dominik Hasek, but instead paid special attention to each team’s jersey and logo. One jersey in particular stood out among all the rest: the Sabres’ goathead jersey.

“I fell in love with the logo and the jerseys and that’s really what got me in as a Sabres fan,” Maudr said.

Maudr’s fandom grew over the ensuing years as he became more familiar with the players and the voice of the Sabres, legendary play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret. Once he turned 13, Maudr often woke up at 1 a.m. on school nights just to hear RJ’s voice over the airwaves.

The teenager didn’t always understand what RJ was saying, knowing limited English at the time, but he knew the voice and emotion was like nothing he had ever heard before. He immersed himself in RJ’s greatest calls and went through whatever means necessary to follow along each night.

The experience inspired Maudr to pursue a career in broadcasting and motivated him to connect with other displaced Sabres fans in his area. He decided to start a Buffalo Sabres fan club page on Facebook to find fans throughout Czechia and Slovakia.

What originally started out as a page for him and his friends quickly grew into so much more. Maudr set up a meet and greet in 2015 for the six members of the club, even recruiting his girlfriend at the time to join in so it would look like they had more people. By 2018, the Czech-Slovakia fan club grew to 24 people, with new fans joining each year.

“First we started out in just a small pub, but then when more people were coming, we decided to make it in a bar,” he said. “It’s a fun time. Everyone gets drunk, we yell at each other, and usually we play floorball beforehand, which is similar to hockey.”

The fan club made its way to Sweden in 2019 to see the Sabres play live for the first time as part of the NHL Global Series. The group cheered on the team with special chants and came prepared with its own drum. It was then that Maudr suggested the club plan a trip to Buffalo to experience the hometown atmosphere.

As Maudr looked around the arena before the Sabres took the ice against the Kraken, he was overcome with emotions while surrounded by more than a dozen members of the fan club who were making their dream a reality after saving up money for almost five years.

“There were so many emotions,” he said. “Like, I was crying there for five minutes. Everyone was smiling at me like, ‘What are you doing?’ But it’s my dream come true. So, I was just there sitting, crying, and it was perfect.”

For the next two weeks, Maudr and the Czech-Slovakia fan club experienced all Buffalo had to offer during the Sabres’ six-game homestand, including three wins, two shutouts, a Sabres practice, a snowstorm, a Buffalo Bills Wild Card game, and so much more.

They sported white, fuzzy hats with Buffalo horns while filling the streets and arena with cheers and chants. The fan club even greeted the players after practice with personalized chants and had the opportunity to get autographs.

“I thought the guys were pretty happy to see us,” Maudr said. “You could see the smiles; you could see that they knew there was some crazy group from Europe cheering for them.”

Maudr’s favorite memory came when he had the chance to spend time with Sabres play-by-play announcer Dan Dunleavy in the broadcast booth where Jeanneret used to call games from.

“It was just so great to be there, to see the place where RJ was,” he said. “Dan is doing a heck of a job and is on his way to becoming a Sabres legend too, but RJ was my role model growing up.”

Maudr was reminded of the sleepless nights he had as a kid staying up and listening to RJ. It was what made him decide to pursue a broadcasting career of his own, having been inspired by Jeanneret to chase his dreams.

“That voice made me fall in love with him,” Maudr said. “And it told me like, ‘I want to do this job.’ I love hockey. I wanted to be like him.”

Maudr received a journalism degree from his university and made it a point to build up as many connections and contacts as possible so that he could one day be like RJ. His dream came true when he became a full-time commentator, providing play-by-play for hockey and soccer for O2 TV in Czechia. He had decided that although it is not as common to hear loud and emotional commentary in Czechia, he would continue to do things the RJ way and portray emotion through his voice and words. 

“It’s all because of him,” Maudr said. “I’m being myself because of RJ because he was such a great role model to me. … I’m totally proud of it. I can be at the games, and I can say it’s a job. It’s a dream come true. And I get paid for it. It’s perfect.”

Standing alongside Dunleavy in the broadcast booth, only one thing was missing: RJ.

“I’m so sad that I couldn’t have met him in person because you know he was a role model to me,” Maudr said while choking back tears.

“I remember when I was driving to my work and there was a message that RJ passed away. And I just had to stop the car and wait for about an hour in the car and was just sitting and listening. The worst part was that I knew that I will never be able to thank him in person for everything he did for me.”

Throughout their stay in Buffalo, the fan club made sure to have a drink in honor of the late Sabres play-by-play announcer.

On their last night together as a group before nine of them departed, the Czech-Slovakia fan club got to witness goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen extend his shutout streak to two games while watching themselves chant his name over the video board. The club stood together in unison and chanted, “Thank you, Sabres!” while giving away their signature hats to kids throughout the arena. They then ended the evening by meeting the person who sparked their fandom, Hasek.

“We are already planning [our next trip],” Maudr said. “When we were here and we feel the emotions, we kind of were sitting together and said, ‘Hey, we need to come back.’ I think in four or five years, Buffalo will have us back.”