Jakub Rychlovsky describes his first season in the Detroit Red Wings organization as the toughest one of his hockey career.

“It was an extremely difficult season,” Rychlovsky told the Zimak podcast on the Czech website iSport.

Spending the entire 2024-25 campaign with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, the Czech winger was limited to 38 games due to injury. First, there was a groin issue. Later, a lower-body ailment requiring surgery brought a conclusion to his first North American pro season.

The rash of injuries only served to prolong the adjustment period for Rychlovsky.

Jakub Rychlovsky picks the upper right corner🎯@griffinshockey | #GRvsMIL pic.twitter.com/qFjYTJPJYg

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) November 17, 2024

“I probably expected that in the second half of the season, I would feel that I was starting to get used to it a little bit,” Rychlovsky said. “After all, hockey is different there, and you combine that with things like traveling, sleep, and all this is more complicated. I think that by then, I had figured out a little bit how it works.

“That’s when the blow came that I didn’t even expect. After the MRI in the New Year, it was just bad. The doctor told me it would require surgery. It was quite a shock for me and ended my season.”

Difficult Adjustment For Red Wings Prospect

Learning to play a different brand of hockey, while also seeking to assimilate into a new culture, was going to be challenging enough for Rychlovsky. His injury left him all alone in his adjustment, especially when the Griffins hit the road.

“When I was injured, you’re just alone in America,” Rychlovsky said. “You’re just a person who really spends time with the physiotherapists and in the apartment.

“It was a really hard time. I can say with complete honesty that it was the hardest time in my life so far.”

Even when healthy, Rychlovsky was struggling to deal with all of the adjustments going on in his life.

🚨 JAKUB RYCHLOVSKY 🚨 With a beautiful assist from Amadeus Lombardi

Griffins 1-0#LGRW #GoGRG pic.twitter.com/fYLP0Z0Yb8

— Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) November 7, 2024

“It was a huge change for me, playing three matches in three days, plus a five-hour trip and a bit of a bus ride,” Rychlovsky said. “Learning to sleep well, to eat well. Here in the Czech Republic, it was easy to find a routine. It took me a while to get used to that (in North America).”

On the ice in a foreign land, the game was also feeling foreign to Rychlovsky.

“I just have to focus on being faster, more agile, smarter,” Rychlovsky said. “To be a bigger badass. I have to bring that to the game.

“They were simply better in some areas. I found out that I need to be stronger and have more muscle.

“What the season showed me is what I need to be better at, and that’s what I’m trying to focus on.”

Red Wings See Potential In Rychlovsky

The leading goal scorer in the Czech Extraliga during the 2023-24 season, it was that output which convinced the Red Wings to sign Rychlovsky as a free agent. However, he would soon learn that what worked for him in the offensive zone in his homeland wasn’t clicking in the AHL.

“From the beginning, I think it was quite a problem for me,” Rychlovsky said. “If I were to throw it at the goal, I think it could lead to more goals, or maybe more assists.”

Hampered by injury, struggling to adjust to north-south, dump-and-chase North American hockey, Rychlovsky found himself enduring a crisis of confidence.

“You have those negative thoughts in your head, and you start to drown in it a little bit,” Rychlovsky said. “It was just a time of frustration, and I didn’t play the way I would like, the way I should.”

Ready To Battle For Spot

Amidst his struggles, Rychlovsky was contacted by some Czech clubs that he declines to name. They were offering to help him seek an exit strategy should he want to come home.

He would hear none of it.

“I always said thank you, that my head is still in America,” Rychlovsky explained. “I don’t want to punish anyone, like the season is over and I’m running away. Like I’m not thinking about coming back.”

Healthy and determined, Rychlovsky intends to come to training camp with the Red Wings and give the team a difficult decision to make.

“The numbers are mathematical,” he said. “I just go to camp and don’t worry about it. I’ll just go into games with a clear head and show them I have what it takes and that I can play.

“You’re fighting for the best league in the world, right?”