Liam Kirk's ambition still burning bright as he embraces latest challenge at HC Litvinov

Having played an integral role in helping Great Britain earn promotion back to the top tier of the World Championships last May, Kirk’s intention - and expectation - was that he would be returning to North America for the final 12 months of the three-year entry-level deal he signed with the Arizona Coyotes back in 2021.

But he never got the chance. In September, the Coyotes placed the 24-year-old Maltby-born forward on unconditional waivers, ultimately a move which terminated his contract.

It prompted some frenzied activity on the former Sheffield Steelers’ forward’s behalf in order for him to find a new hockey home, one which quickly proved fruitful when he signed a one-year deal with HC Litvinov in Czechia’s top-tier Extraliga.

The move has proved rewarding and is the latest example of Kirk’s willingness to play outside of his comfort zone, having already proved successful when loaned by the Coyotes to Jukurit in Finland’s Liiga halfway through last season.

While there, Kirk posted seven goals and 12 assists in 25 games, the team’s season fading in the play-offs before he returned home to South Yorkshire ahead of the World Championships Division 1A tournament in Nottingham.

He continued his club form for his country as his three goals and seven assists helped secure an instant promotion for Pete Russell’s team back to the top tier, where they will again face-off against the world’s leading nations in Prague this May.

It’s a city Kirk will be more familiar with from his time with Litvinov, who currently sit fourth in the regular season standings, well-positioned for the play-offs.

It may not be where he originally hoped to be at this point in his career, but he is enjoying testing himself in one of the world’s top leagues.

“It definitely makes it a little bit more challenging (reaching the NHL)," said Kirk, “But my pathway has always been different. For me it was quite unprecedented with how it all happened last summer.

“At the end of the World Championships, in my mind I was going back to North America until I found out that I wasn’t.

“It kind of all happened very quickly and at that time it was late in the summer for a lot of European teams signing players, so it was quite a stressful time.

“But you see a lot of players have good seasons in Europe and get opportunities in North America, so it’s never over.

“I’m still only 23 - I’ve only really played pro hockey for three years and for one of them I was injured for a full season and in another I was bounced around three different teams.

“So I’m still getting my feet under me in terms of a pro hockey career, but I’m young and I’m hungry. For me, my own mindset at the moment is that I just want to get better every day and play good hockey. If I do that then anything can still happen because you see a lot of people do that.”

As in Jukurit, there was a period of adjustment for Kirk, in new surroundings where the majority of those around him spoke a different language.

But, as proved the case in Finland, he quickly set about making sure that his hockey did the talking, his 31 games so far producing 11 goals and eight assists.

He believes the Extraliga plays a more North American style of hockey than what he was used to in Finland, while boasting a similar quality, two of the country’s teams having this season reached the quarter-final stages of the Champions Hockey League with one, HC Vítkovice, through to the last four.

“When you look at it, over here it is a lot more gritty, more physical, more North-South hockey which is different to Finland, which was a lot more trap and controlled breakouts,” explained Kirk.

“In Finland, you probably had a little more time on the puck but it was a little bit more perimeter and more cycles, whereas here it’s just more North American which I’m obviously familiar with having played over there.

“There was a little adjustment at first having come from Finland but I’m enjoying it and it’s a new challenge.

“Any time you play in a top pro league in a new or different country and learn their style of hockey it adds to your game and you become more experienced, more rounded as a player.”

Having signed a one-year deal, Kirk has options for next season and, having been released from his Coyotes deal, more choice in where his career takes him next.

For now, though, given the summer of upheaval over his NHL aspirations, a period that also tragically saw the loss of two of his friends and former team-mates in Alex Graham and Mike Hammond, Kirk is just trying to “live in the moment.”

“The whole summer was stressful,” he added. “I’ve seen two friends pass away and that definitely puts things in perspective.

“Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow and it’s about taking things day by day and making sure sure I enjoy it. Keep improving and what will be will be after that as long as I can try to give myself the best opportunities.

“I’m not really thinking too much about next season right now, it’s just about enjoying my time in Litvinov and hopefully winning something with this team.

“It’s a great group of guys and the organisation has been really good to me from the moment I arrived. I just want to enjoy playing right now.”