Hazze Sports sat down with PWHL Sirens KRISTÝNA KALTOUNKOVÁ and CASEY O’BRIEN and talked about the impact of the PWHL and building the success of the season.
Q: What feels like the biggest change in the league from a player's perspective?
O'BRIEN: I think the biggest change is the physicality. Obviously, not having hitting before the PWHL is a big change for anyone. And so definitely the transition from college to professional, we've had to adjust and learn how to play that style of game. But it's been really fun. And I think all of us rookies have adjusted pretty well.
KALTOUNKOVÁ: Yeah, I agree. I also think that a lot of people talk about the physicality, but scoring goals is also so difficult and so much harder in this league, too. Like, the goalies are all super good. So I would say that's another thing.
Q: So Casey, how would you describe the Sirens team identity so far?
O'BRIEN: I think our biggest thing, first and foremost, is our speed. We have a young, dynamic group, got a ton of new people, whether it was from the draft or from trades being made. So I think... We are just really dynamic. Usually, we're not going to be the bigger team on the ice, but we will be the faster team. And so we try to play to our identity, try to get pucks behind teams, beat them to them, and then just get shots on that. And obviously, you know, the last few games haven't gone in our favor, but know, we're still working those things out. We're still learning to click with our line mates because everything is pretty new. It's almost like a brand new team from last year. And so I think with time, like that's all going to come, and the goals will come, and so will the wins.
Q: Kalty, what stands out to you about the locker room when you take away the cameras and the outside noise?
KALTOUNKOVÁ: I feel like we have a very special group when it comes to our... just how interconnected we are. Like, I feel like we're all very good friends, and so just being connected off the ice helps us on the ice, and I mean, you can probably see that when the cameras are around, too. Like we celebrate the little things and each other's successes on the ice. But we also do that off the ice. But I think that's the biggest thing. That's just like when the cameras are away. That just shows how genuine that is. I feel like I was so used to being in my comfort zone at Colgate for five years. And so I think less about hockey. This is more about just being a person living in a new area, having to figure out housing and whatnot. And then on top of that, be a hockey player. So I think it's a few things altogether.
Q: For both of you, what's something you've learned about yourself this season that you really didn't know before?
O'BRIEN: Yeah, I think I guess I'll answer more from a hockey standpoint. Like when you're at college, you know, you're with the same people, you know, the teams, like obviously you get new freshmen, seniors graduate, but the teams aren't generally the same. And so you learn to have a lot of chemistry with your line mates, the people you're playing with. I kind of played, you know, with the same line mates for the past two years, and even before that, I was kind of the same. And so I think going to a new environment with different players, different skill sets that are coming from different leagues and different coaches,
Q: So, Kalty, what does a typical non-game day look like for you right now?
KALTOUNKOVÁ: A non-typical game day would be a lot of Netflix. We actually talked about this with Casey. A lot of Netflix, crazy anatomy. But I also like to just go shopping or something, just do something away from the ring. But yeah, not anything too exhausting because, you know, the games are so hard. They're up and down, they're physical. So any opportunity that you get to relax on a day off, it's...It's very nice. I also got a massage yesterday during our day off. That's also very popular in our game on our day off.
Q: Do we have a favorite Grey's character, or are we just seeing where we go with Grey's?
KALTOUNKOVÁ: I definitely have the least favorite, that's Izzy Stevens. My favorite would probably be that's a tough one. I do love Meredith. Don't, yeah, McSteamy is very attractive, but I don't like his personality, especially at the start.... I would say Meredith.
Q: Casey, is there one routine or habit you absolutely need to feel ready on game day?
O'BRIEN: Yeah, I'm not like a super, I'm not a superstitious person. but, and this is going to sound really weird, but on game days, like on, whether it's like a bus ride to the rink or from driving or just like right when I get there, like I have to listen to like really sad music, you know, kind of, I have like the mindset, like you got to get like low to get high. And so, like, kind of just to chill out, bring my mood down almost. And then, you know, when it's time for puck drop, that's kind of when I, you know, get up and out of it and get a lot of energy. I've got like a whole playlist. think it's like eight hours. It's the most depressing music ever. But I think like one of my favorites, that's kind of like the transition period from what I'm like, sad to getting up is Traitor by Olivia Rodrigo.
Q: This one's for both of you and obviously New York Sirens. What's one New York habit you've picked up that surprised you?
O'BRIEN: Well, okay, I was born here. So I feel like I was almost born with it and you know going to high school and college in the Midwest I think I lost a little bit but it's Right back now like I think the walking fast and like being so impatient on the streets Like I feel like I'm speed walking everywhere I go, especially when you know, we train into the city I know in like Madison and in Minnesota where I went to college in high school like people are very patient, know, they wait to cross the street they wait for the light to change but like now that I'm back here, I feel like I'm back to my old ways of just being really impatient and trying to, know, skip people on the sidewalk and everything.
Q: Casey, if fans followed you around for a day off, what would surprise them the most?
O'BRIEN: I don't think anything would be too shocking. I'm a really big reader, so I think if fans were following me, they'd get pretty bored pretty fast because I kind of like to just dial it down when I'm not at the rink, pick up a good book, usually. I finish them within a couple of days. I just kind of sit in one spot and read for hours. The other thing would be going to see family or friends. My brother works in the city, and so any chance I can get on a weekend off day to go see him. My family lives only a couple of hours from here, too. So, like any chance that they can come in, I'll try to spend time with them. So nothing too crazy, but a lot of downtime reading and seeing my family.
Q: Do you have a favorite book that you're reading right now, or something you just finished? A DNF?
O'BRIEN: We have, so our team's book club just read The Housemaid. So I don't know if you guys have read it, but it's the movie's coming out too, which is kind of why we did it, but very big plot twists in that one. So I would recommend it was really good.
Q: You mentioned you were born in New York. I'm also a New Yorker. When was the time that you left when you went to the Midwest?
O'BRIEN: So my family lived in SoHo until I was nine years old. Then, one of the big reasons that drove the move was that both my parents went to New England prep schools. And so, you know, it's great there for like sports and academics. And my parents were actually having to pick my brother and me up from school every day, drive us out to New Jersey to a rink just to beat the traffic. And then we wait for hours until practice happened and then we drive back. Just a lot of commuting, a lot of time for them. And, you know, there aren't too many youth opportunities for women's hockey or hockey at all in the New York City market. And so then we lived in Boston, and I ended up making the decision to go to Shattuck St. Mary's when I was a sophomore in high school. Just, I really kind of wanted to be on the ice more. You know, they're on every single day. You have opportunities to do two-a-days, easy access to weight rooms, to video, and kind of everything you need. So that's like, I really knew that hockey is my passion. I want to be an Olympian. You know, I want to play to the highest level that I can. And so that was the right decision for me. And I also, at the time, had made the decision to commit to Wisconsin because it was kind of the same thing. I visited, you know, the program is legendary. They have so many Olympians, so many national champions. And so those both were the perfect fit. And I made, I think I decided to go to college actually before I made the decision to go to high school out there. So it was kind of funny; it was reversed.
Q: Who's got the best music taste or the control of the playlist in the locker room? Who's the DJ?
KALTOUNKOVÁ: Ally Simpson, a lot of times. I just feel like, yeah. Yeah, she has good taste. Sometimes it's a few songs being replayed a lot, especially some TikTok songs, but she's got me pumped up. And then when we're lifting, it's our strength coach who has very good taste,
O'BRIEN: Yeah, I think literally every day in the locker room it's Ally. And yeah, I like her music. Like I said, I'm on the sad music train, so not totally my vibe, but I do like it. And I think she gets the locker room going, so it's perfect.
Q: What is one thing that you both have learned about each other this season that fans may not notice directly, like on the ice?
O'BRIEN: I think for me with Kalty is, know, when you watch her play, like she's gonna go and she's gonna...cause problems for their team. She's going to be really aggressive. She's going to throw hits. She's going to, you know, get in another team's head. And I think if you, when you look at a player like that, you know, you kind of would think like that's what their personality is like. And I think Kalty is kind of the opposite of, you know, her player personality is so different from her off-ice personality. Like, she's a really sweet human being. And so I think like, you know, you don't like, unless you like watching an interview or like actually get to know her, like, cause I didn't really know her at all before the draft and so like meeting her I was very confused because it wasn't the image of what I had in her head just knowing her her game on the ice.
KALTOUNKOVÁ: Yeah, thanks, Casey. That's very sweet. I get that on ice stuff a lot, but I would say about Casey, you know, saw her always on TV, ESPN+, or whatever. You know, obviously and everything. Like, just what a good hockey player. And then you never know sometimes, as it can get into people's heads. And I think Casey has done a really good job at kind of staying humble and being a great person and a great leader on and off the ice and leaving those personal accolades to the side a little bit, which obviously has got to fuel her. It's got to help her, you know, confidence. But I think there's a line that she just doesn't cross where it could get in her head, and she could be cocky because she has deserved. would have the right to be cocky, but she's just not. So I value that a lot about her. I also think she's such a hard worker, which, you know, sometimes people assume that if you score a lie, it just comes easily. I think she works so hard for everything that she gets rewarded for on the ice.
Q: You're a few weeks into the season now. How does this stretch feel compared to your opening week?
O'BRIEN: I think we're trying to almost take you know, the season, like five games at a time. And so, you know, we looked back at the first five games, and we met as a team. We talked about what, you know, went well, what we needed to improve on. And we kind of set goals for these next five games. And so, you know, we don't want to look too far ahead at, you know, the bigger picture. It's 30 game season. can feel like wanting, you know, only having played six right now. So right now we're just focused on the game in front of us. We're, you know, trying to focus on the process too and not the outs. Because usually when you're doing the little things right, the outcome tends to go in your favor. But even if it's not, we're proud of ourselves and our effort in the locker room. And so yeah, right now we're just kind of keeping it in the team, focused on what we talked about in our meetings, and I think we're gonna find success.
KALTOUNKOVÁ:Yeah, I think we're still learning about each other, about our identity and our team. Mean, we have established our identity, but I think it takes a little bit of time to get used to it and to actually fulfill all the pieces that fall into our identity. So I think we're still learning like we were at the start. I mean, some games haven't gotten our way. So we're definitely not a finished product. So I think it's all about learning. think that's. Same at the start of the season, middle of the season, and the end of the season because you always run into things, whether it's diversity or just any kind of things along the season that you have to learn a lot about yourself and then how to respond to that.
Q: Kalty, we have to ask, how is your hamster doing? And are there any new personality updates?
KALTOUNKOVÁ: Yeah, my hamster is good. My mom was on FaceTime with me the other day. She was showing me my spritz. She's great. I miss her so much. She's doing well. My cousin is taking good care of her because my cousin would never let anything happen to her. So I actually was like, you take her because I trust you the most. And then obviously I'm not. But I still think about the ways to get here, how to get her here. No, well, she's out of our home, so I haven't been too much in touch with her, but she was eating lettuce the other day when she was on FaceTime with me, so that was very cute.
Q: For anyone watching the Sirens or the PWHL for the first time, what's one thing you want them to understand about what this team means to you and why?
KALTOUNKOVÁ: I want everyone to know that, you know, first of all, as a team, we appreciate our fans so much. I appreciate the fans so much, like always going out there and seeing the crowd that we play in front of. Like, it doesn't matter how many people it is, you know, it means the world, even if there were 10 people, but, you know, those 10 people mean so much. But I would just say it's such a privilege to be out there. Like, I really value just having the opportunity to dress up and play for the New York Sirens and to play for the best league in the world when it comes to women's hockey. And so it just really just really grateful, especially, you know, coming all the way from Europe and just having this opportunity.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, I think similarly, like, when we're out there, we're playing for so much more than ourselves, thinking back to when I was a little girl, and the Olympics was the dream, there was no professional league to even think about. when I got to meet players like Hilary Knight or Brianna Decker, that was the coolest thing ever to me. And then from then to now, hockey has given me my best friends. My teammates have become my sisters. It's taken me to so many cool places to travel, to Europe, to Japan, to Russia, everywhere. And then like... I think fans should know that we are playing for those little girls because we want to be the ones that they're looking up to who we can inspire them to pursue this or to pursue whatever they're passionate about and just know that anything is possible because when we were in their position, we didn't have this to dream about and look where we're at now. Even if it's not hockey, I want the message to get across, especially to the younger fans. You can make it happen. Doing what you love and like is gonna come because, especially in women's sports right now, there's such a wave, there's so much momentum, and I think it's gonna grow so much in the next few years.
Q: Looking ahead, when you reflect on this season later, what would make it feel like a success beyond the wins and the statistics?
O'BRIEN: I think, yeah, like you said, like beyond the wins, the statistics and like beyond any like accolades or awards, I think the biggest thing is like, I... would feel like this entire season was a success if I could look myself in the mirror at the end of it and know that I gave everything to my teammates for New York, for the fans to do everything I can to put us in a position to be successful both on and off the ice. I think it's going to be a success if we can look back and say like New York's got more fans than we did the year before, more attendance, more people who are into hockey, more youth players who are getting into the game. think the off-ice part of all of this is much more important than the on-ice.
KALTOUNKOVÁ:Yeah, I would say looking back and just, you know, reflecting on our team when it comes to culture, did we stick together? You know, did we pull through together? And then obviously, the last two seasons didn't go very well. So I think just making any sort of impact and improving, kind of. The season's or the team's reputation when it comes to winning would definitely be something that I would look at because it's like, did I make a big enough impact where we changed the trajectory of this team?
Q: If you could have a song to describe your past and a song to describe your future, what would they be? And they can be anything.
KALTOUNKOVÁ: I would say my past would be... Wait, I was just looking. Oh, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. My past would be That's So True, because it was also by Gracie Abrams. It's such a good song. Last year was very popular when I was in college during the fall semester. And I just think, I'm just like everything that happens, I'm like, so true. Good, bad, you know? It is what it is. And then I would say the future is Euphoria. It's a little less popular song. I don't know if you guys know it. And it's by, what is it? Oh yeah, Laureen. You can look it up. It's really good. It's from like the European music, whatever it is, competition. And so I would say that because I'm just, you know. I'm in a euphoria moment a lot. Like I'm enjoying my time with the Sirens, and I'm enjoying my time with the Czech national team. Like what, a year, you know, finishing up my college career at Colgate, being able to go to the draft and obviously Worlds, Worlds at home, and go to draft, you know, being picked by New York, and then obviously starting the season off, and then we have the Olympics coming up. So what a time, so just euphoria.
O'BRIEN: The one to describe my past would be You're Gonna Go Far by Noah Khan. Because I'm just thinking about it, looking back, everything that I dreamed about, everything that I wanted to do, is still, hasn't, still coming true. And just knowing that everything I did was to get to where I'm at now, and all the decisions I made to leave home and everything. So I think that one kind of describes it nicely. And then I'd say for the future, I'll say "Ready For It?" by Taylor Swift because you now in the P-dub there's expansion and everything like there's you know a lot of unknowns and you know trying out for the Olympic team things like that I think whatever is thrown my way and I think kind of all of our ways because we're still all figuring it out together like I'm gonna be ready for whatever comes and whatever happens and I'm excited about it.
A huge thank you to the New York Sirens Organization and Kristýna and Casey for their time, and good luck for the rest of the season.
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