Donat Szita and the Hungarian U20 national team look to turn heads at the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division I Group A in France where six teams battle for promotion to the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Canada.

For Szita it’s not the first stint with the U20 national team but the first time to play at that level. Two years ago the Hungarians played two tiers below in the Division II Group A.

“This is different now. Right now I am one of the oldest guys, two years ago I was the youngest one. Of course things have changed, I play in a different league now and I have improved as a player. I was role player two years ago, now I am one of the leaders,” says Szita.

Last season didn't exactly go the way he expected it. Szita was hoping to not only be a stable member of Fehervar Titanok, the farm team of Fehervar AV19, which plays in the Hungarian-Romanian MOL Liga but also to make his debut in the Austrian-based EBEL. He was also hoping to have a strong U20 World Championships on home ice. Last year’s U20 Division I Group B tournament was held in the capital of Budapest.

As he was preparing for a strong 2016/17 season, Szita was informed that he had picked up an injury that not only would delay the start of the season but would most likely make him miss the entire season. “During that summer I overworked my leg and the muscle had ripped off a cartilage in my hip, I was pretty much injured from August through February,” said Szita. “It was hard to realize what happened. I tried to have a positive spin on everything and to work hard both mentally and physically to get back the quickest and as fast as I could.”

It is hard for a young player to deal with going from thinking he will have a breakout season to then possibly missing his entire season. However, he did the most he could with his time. He did not only concentrate on his studies but he also tried his hand in coaching. Glen Williamson, the head coach of the Hungarian U18 national team and the director of the youth development program, invited Szita to be a guest coach for a number of age groups. “It was very interesting to see everything from the other side, I was very happy that Glen Williamson had asked me to be a guest coach for a number of youth mini camps and training camps throughout the year. I could see how things worked and it was very useful for me as well. I could see how the entire process works and what the coaches look for when they put the team together. I would like to work as a coach once I finish up my playing career. I had already experienced everything what the kids were going through who I was working with.”

At the last year’s IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division I Group B Szita missed out but saw his friends and teammates earn promotion to the Division I Group A the year after he had been part of the team that had gone up to Division I Group B.

“Last year I missed the U20 World Championship Division I Group B that were held in Budapest, however, if feel that me being called into the senior national team camp at the end of the year made up for this. I also played on the U25 national team as well. I think that every World Championship is a big event, this will be my last World Championship as a junior so I want to play well and finish on a high note,” said Szita.

Szita worked hard both on and off the ice to get back in game shape. He got his big break at the end of the season as he was able to step on the ice at the end of the season. He ended up playing the end of the season not only in the MOL Liga and the playoffs but also made his EBEL debut.

“At the World Championship we would like to play to the best of our abilities. We have not really met up against most of the teams that we are facing but we will be prepared for them. We are not the favourites but we want to be a surprise team at the tournament.”

This season he has been playing both with the top team and the farm team, and is a first-line player with the U20 national team, which as a newcomer managed to keep up with Latvia, France and Kazakhstan but didn’t get a win in the first three games. They were closest against host France with a 3-2 lead after two periods but the French tied it up late in the game and won in overtime.

Now Hungary will play for survival in the remaining games against Germany and Austria.

SZABOLCS SZAVODSZKY