Czech captain Alena Mills scored twice when her team beat Germany 2-0 at the 2019 Women's Worlds in Espoo, Finland.
photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images
This month, Alena Mills expected to be shooting for an automatic qualification to the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Instead, the 29-year-old Czech captain finds herself swinging kettlebells in her apartment in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The 7 March cancellation of the 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Nova Scotia (Halifax and Truro) didn’t come as a total surprise to her.
“My husband Tom does a great job of keeping up on different media,” Mills told IIHF.com. “So he let me know when the first articles about different divisions being cancelled came out. Obviously, things were escalating with the coronavirus around the world. Because of that, I was getting the assumption that a cancellation may happen to us.”
There’s a mixture of pride and disappointment in the 172-cm, 79-kg forward’s voice when she looks back on 2019-20. It was her sixth season in the Russian Women’s Hockey League (WHL) and second with Agidel Ufa. Ufa, the 2013 World Junior host city, where John Gibson and Johnny Gaudreau led the U.S. to gold, is also a women’s hockey hotbed in Russia.
The two-time defending champions from the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan marched to the WHL final, but ultimately got swept by KRS Vanke Rays. It was especially tough to swallow since the China-based club – unable to play at home due to the COVID-19 situation – won three straight games on Ufa’s ice to earn its first WHL title.
The previous season was certainly more fun on multiple levels. Mills (nee Polenska) matched her WHL single-season high in goals (22) and had her second-most points ever (36) in her Agidel Ufa debut. Then she captained the Czech Republic to sixth place at the Women’s Worlds in Espoo, equalling its previous best-ever result in Kamloops (2016).
Envisioning what might have unfolded in Group B in Truro, Mills said: “We had a great year last year and we were going to build on it with the group we had. We were really confident about how we were going to do. We wanted to not only qualify for the Olympics, but also move into Group A at the Women’s Worlds. We had really high hopes. We won’t know until next year!”
Over time, coach Petr Novak’s players have been improving on the power play. The Czech team scored just one power play goal at the Women’s Worlds in 2017, but five last year in Espoo. What’s made the difference?
“I would say we’ve spent more time practicing it,” Mills said. “Also, our team has a good mix. We have some older players and some younger kids who have really capitalized on their NCAA experience or experience playing in Sweden or Russia. So we’re bringing together the best of a lot of good hockey countries.”
Natalie Mlynkova is one of the youngest and brightest Czech stars. Now 18, the shifty Zlin-born forward led the team with three goals at last year’s Women’s Worlds.
“I think she has a great future ahead of her and I’m happy to have her on my line,” Mills said. “I’m hoping that won’t change! I’m actually very fortunate to play with her and Klara Hymlarova. They definitely keep me going. Natalie is a fast player. She’s smart and competitive. She brings great energy to her play.”
In Espoo, Mills’ personal highlight was scoring both goals in the 2-0 win over Germany that gave the Czechs top spot in Group B. This year, one of her professional highlights was appearing for the second straight year in the WHL All-Star Game, held in conjunction with the KHL’s All-Star Week festivities. On 12 January at Moscow’s VTB Arena, Mills spiced up the shootout competition.
She has a reputation for riding her bike to practice, and Ufa captain Yekaterina Lebedeva joked that she should take one of her shootout attempts on a bike. So with the help of WHL organizers, Mills actually rustled up a miniature bike to do just that. Then she donned a mullet wig to celebrate a fellow Czech who ranks second all-time in NHL points and still plays professionally in his hometown of Kladno.
Mills elaborated on her inspiration: “About Jaromir Jagr, I was chatting with my husband: ‘He played in Russia. He played in the KHL All-Star Game.’ Then I found out they were hoping to bring him in for that all-star game. I wanted to pay tribute to him because he’s a great player, no matter where he’s played, whether it’s the NHL, Czech Republic or Russia.”
Plenty of great players have inspired Mills. Playing against boys in her native Kutna Hora, she was a big Colorado Avalanche fan. She admired Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, and Milan Hejduk. Later, the skills of Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk caught her eye. And although she didn’t have many female role models, Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser – a 2019 IIHF Hall of Fame inductee and six-time Olympian – became one for her later.
She’s excited about the growth of professional women’s hockey in Russia: “The quality has increased. A lot of the teams have gotten better, compared to my first year here. There is a lot more attention from media. They created the All-Star Game. And our numbers on KHL TV increase every year. So Russia has done a great job of investing into women’s hockey and trying to grow it.”
Up until the recent shutdown, she was leading a globetrotting life. Training camp in Russia begins in July and the eight-team WHL schedule kicks off in September. There are also breaks for national team training camps in the Czech Republic and Euro Hockey Tour games.
In May or June, Mills likes to visit family and friends in her native country before heading to her husband’s native Alaska. They originally met in St. Petersburg, where Tom is an English teacher. Married for two years, the couple has been so busy that they haven’t slotted in a honeymoon yet, and their dream of visiting Japan is on hold due to the pandemic.
“Everyone thinks that I met Tom in college,” Mills said with a chuckle. It’s understandable since she came to the U.S. at age 15 to play high school hockey at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania. She then moved on to Brown University, where she got her degree in international relations and captained the Brown Bears in her senior year.
That experience also helped her secure work as an ice hockey manager with USA Sport and Study. She advises European teenagers who plan to play NCAA hockey.
“It’s great to stay in touch with a lot of those coaches I knew back in the day,” Mills said. “It’s always nice to catch up and hear about their programs and how they’ve been winning championships. I can help the kids, but I can also stay in touch with people who have affected my life in a tremendous way.”
With the Beijing Olympics less than two years away, she still has a chance to have a tremendous impact on the ice.
While the Czech men won the inaugural 1998 Olympic tournament in Nagano with Jagr and Dominik Hasek leading the way, no Czech women’s hockey team has ever gone to the Winter Games.
“I’m hoping we qualify!” Mills said. “That’s been our goal forever. I don’t know what it’s going to be like with the ranking now, but I do believe we might have to play a qualification. Regardless, we just want to get there. It would be a dream come true for myself and my teammates.”
The 7 March cancellation of the 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Nova Scotia (Halifax and Truro) didn’t come as a total surprise to her.
“My husband Tom does a great job of keeping up on different media,” Mills told IIHF.com. “So he let me know when the first articles about different divisions being cancelled came out. Obviously, things were escalating with the coronavirus around the world. Because of that, I was getting the assumption that a cancellation may happen to us.”
There’s a mixture of pride and disappointment in the 172-cm, 79-kg forward’s voice when she looks back on 2019-20. It was her sixth season in the Russian Women’s Hockey League (WHL) and second with Agidel Ufa. Ufa, the 2013 World Junior host city, where John Gibson and Johnny Gaudreau led the U.S. to gold, is also a women’s hockey hotbed in Russia.
The two-time defending champions from the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan marched to the WHL final, but ultimately got swept by KRS Vanke Rays. It was especially tough to swallow since the China-based club – unable to play at home due to the COVID-19 situation – won three straight games on Ufa’s ice to earn its first WHL title.
The previous season was certainly more fun on multiple levels. Mills (nee Polenska) matched her WHL single-season high in goals (22) and had her second-most points ever (36) in her Agidel Ufa debut. Then she captained the Czech Republic to sixth place at the Women’s Worlds in Espoo, equalling its previous best-ever result in Kamloops (2016).
Envisioning what might have unfolded in Group B in Truro, Mills said: “We had a great year last year and we were going to build on it with the group we had. We were really confident about how we were going to do. We wanted to not only qualify for the Olympics, but also move into Group A at the Women’s Worlds. We had really high hopes. We won’t know until next year!”
Over time, coach Petr Novak’s players have been improving on the power play. The Czech team scored just one power play goal at the Women’s Worlds in 2017, but five last year in Espoo. What’s made the difference?
“I would say we’ve spent more time practicing it,” Mills said. “Also, our team has a good mix. We have some older players and some younger kids who have really capitalized on their NCAA experience or experience playing in Sweden or Russia. So we’re bringing together the best of a lot of good hockey countries.”
Natalie Mlynkova is one of the youngest and brightest Czech stars. Now 18, the shifty Zlin-born forward led the team with three goals at last year’s Women’s Worlds.
“I think she has a great future ahead of her and I’m happy to have her on my line,” Mills said. “I’m hoping that won’t change! I’m actually very fortunate to play with her and Klara Hymlarova. They definitely keep me going. Natalie is a fast player. She’s smart and competitive. She brings great energy to her play.”
In Espoo, Mills’ personal highlight was scoring both goals in the 2-0 win over Germany that gave the Czechs top spot in Group B. This year, one of her professional highlights was appearing for the second straight year in the WHL All-Star Game, held in conjunction with the KHL’s All-Star Week festivities. On 12 January at Moscow’s VTB Arena, Mills spiced up the shootout competition.
She has a reputation for riding her bike to practice, and Ufa captain Yekaterina Lebedeva joked that she should take one of her shootout attempts on a bike. So with the help of WHL organizers, Mills actually rustled up a miniature bike to do just that. Then she donned a mullet wig to celebrate a fellow Czech who ranks second all-time in NHL points and still plays professionally in his hometown of Kladno.
Mills elaborated on her inspiration: “About Jaromir Jagr, I was chatting with my husband: ‘He played in Russia. He played in the KHL All-Star Game.’ Then I found out they were hoping to bring him in for that all-star game. I wanted to pay tribute to him because he’s a great player, no matter where he’s played, whether it’s the NHL, Czech Republic or Russia.”
Plenty of great players have inspired Mills. Playing against boys in her native Kutna Hora, she was a big Colorado Avalanche fan. She admired Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, and Milan Hejduk. Later, the skills of Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk caught her eye. And although she didn’t have many female role models, Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser – a 2019 IIHF Hall of Fame inductee and six-time Olympian – became one for her later.
She’s excited about the growth of professional women’s hockey in Russia: “The quality has increased. A lot of the teams have gotten better, compared to my first year here. There is a lot more attention from media. They created the All-Star Game. And our numbers on KHL TV increase every year. So Russia has done a great job of investing into women’s hockey and trying to grow it.”
Up until the recent shutdown, she was leading a globetrotting life. Training camp in Russia begins in July and the eight-team WHL schedule kicks off in September. There are also breaks for national team training camps in the Czech Republic and Euro Hockey Tour games.
In May or June, Mills likes to visit family and friends in her native country before heading to her husband’s native Alaska. They originally met in St. Petersburg, where Tom is an English teacher. Married for two years, the couple has been so busy that they haven’t slotted in a honeymoon yet, and their dream of visiting Japan is on hold due to the pandemic.
“Everyone thinks that I met Tom in college,” Mills said with a chuckle. It’s understandable since she came to the U.S. at age 15 to play high school hockey at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania. She then moved on to Brown University, where she got her degree in international relations and captained the Brown Bears in her senior year.
That experience also helped her secure work as an ice hockey manager with USA Sport and Study. She advises European teenagers who plan to play NCAA hockey.
“It’s great to stay in touch with a lot of those coaches I knew back in the day,” Mills said. “It’s always nice to catch up and hear about their programs and how they’ve been winning championships. I can help the kids, but I can also stay in touch with people who have affected my life in a tremendous way.”
With the Beijing Olympics less than two years away, she still has a chance to have a tremendous impact on the ice.
While the Czech men won the inaugural 1998 Olympic tournament in Nagano with Jagr and Dominik Hasek leading the way, no Czech women’s hockey team has ever gone to the Winter Games.
“I’m hoping we qualify!” Mills said. “That’s been our goal forever. I don’t know what it’s going to be like with the ranking now, but I do believe we might have to play a qualification. Regardless, we just want to get there. It would be a dream come true for myself and my teammates.”