Release from 13.01.2022

Guillaume Leclerc - central part in Ljubljana's offense

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Guillaume Leclerc is one of the players who have been responsible for HK SŽ Olimpija's sporting success since the beginning of the season. While the Slovenians were at the top of the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League standings for weeks, the 25-year-old also led the scorers' standings until recently. In the interview, the Frenchman talks about his strengths, the season so far and the chances of winning the championship.

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For many weeks, HK SŽ Olimpija led the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League standings. The Slovenians are currently in fourth place and on course for the playoffs, but the league newcomer's engine has stuttered badly in recent games. Ljubljana have just won two of their last ten games, only Dornbirn, Innsbruck and Linz have had weaker results in this period. "Obviously we had a good start. We found success early on the season and it helped us to create our identity. We are facing a few challenges lately, but I'm excited to see what we can do to get better," Guillaume Leclerc explains in the interview.

About the league and the season so far:


With 36 points (13G, 23A) from 30 games, the 25-year-old Frenchman has played a big part in the league newcomer's success so far. After leading the scorers' standings for weeks, Leclerc was only pushed out of first place by Vienna forward Nicolai Meyer shortly before the turn of the year. Leclerc knew the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League before his engagement in Ljubljana from a tryout in Dornbirn last summer. However, the centre returned to France before the start of the 2020 season. He is currently impressing in an offensive line with Nik Simsic and Wade Murphy, who together have already produced 71 scoring points. "We are doing simple stuff, working the right way in the offensive zone. I try to be really good on the boards and steal those pucks from the opponent in the offensive zone. Then i try to create chances," describes Leclerc, who was also almost always a point-per-game scorer in his last stops.

About Olimpija's first offensive line and his style of play:


That the Frenchman found his way to Ljubljana is mainly thanks to head coach Mitja Sivic. He himself coached in the French Ligue Magnus for several years. Although they were not in the same team, the successes left an impression on both sides. "Mitja called me in the summer and explained what he would expect from me. He also said that we would take the role of the underdog - similar to the one with his French team. It gave me confidence, I definitely got lot of support from him," says Leclerc.

About the contact with head coach Mitja Sivic and playing with his older brother Nicolas:


Besides stations in Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and also North America, Leclerc also spent three pro seasons in his native France. He even won the national title with Grenoble in 2018/19. A success that the 25-year-old also believes is possible with Olimpija. "First of all, we have to find our game again. Basically, everything is possible, you just have to believe in it. In every successful team I have played for so far, we were believing that we could win the last game of the season. That's what you need on every practice and on every game. If we can do that, we have a chance".

On the challenges of a long basic round and a possible title win:


HK SŽ Olimpija plays at Moser Medical Graz99ers in their first game of the new year on Friday. The Slovenians clearly won the first three season meetings. The game will be shown in the pay-per-view stream on live.ice.hockey from 19.05. 

Photo: HKO/Sportida