The Viceroy Saskatchewan native spent his junior seasons playing for Weyburn of the SJHL before moving on to American International College where he was the leading scorer in his team. After graduation he spent the next couple of seasons in the minor leagues, he was teammates with Hungarian national team defenceman Jesse Dudás in Corpus Christi of the CHL. Tendler would later move on to England where he played four seasons in Hull and one in Coventry, among his teammates he played with former NHL players Drew Bannister and Steve Goertzen as well as players who would spend time in the MOL League such as Rory Rawlyk, Tomas Valecko and Vladimir Nikiforov. This is Tendler’s second season with Ferencváros, he has been his team's leading scorer in both seasons. By the sound of it he and his family has had a great time living in Budapest.
It looked as things were going pretty well for you and your linemates, Dubek and Rafaj this past match week, how did it feel for you?
We knew Galati was beyond of a long trip so we wanted to jump all over them, Coach Lundqvist shook the lines up a bit, I was with Rafaj and Dubek and Sumi was on an other line, we had two good scoring lines int his way. We created a lot of chances and their goalie made a number of great saves. Once we were up 4-0 I think they just deflated, they might have been thinking it will be hard to score five goals on the road.
How did you continue this momentum against Brasov, a deeper team and because of some technical issues you had to play in the Tüskecsarnok instead of at home?
We actually played a full sixty minutes and the team came together when we needed to, we picked up the three points which was huge. We got a call that our game might be cancelled and then they told us that the game would be at 12:30 at the MAC rink, most of us hadn’t played at 12:30 since we were ten years old. It worked out well for us since most of the season we had been practicing at that time, we were joking that no one can beat us in our home rink. We just had a good vibe going before the game. It was nice having Peter Sevela back in the net, there was a feeling of playoff hockey, things just worked out for us and next thing you know we were up by four goals.
How will you be able to continue this throughout at the last few games of the season and into the playoffs where you will be facing a strong team such as DVTK, MAC or UTE?
We have something going and we would like to continue this in the playoffs, we would like to not allow many goals and continue scoring as we have all season. Once a team starts rolling anything can happen, Sevela is back in the net, we don’t know who we will play but it doesn't matter, we know it will be a challenge. We all know anything can happen in the playoffs, we need to take bodies, block shots, get the puck deep, crash the net and work on all the small things. This year it will be a seven game series which is different from last year and we know anything can happen.
I started last season in Germany but came halfway through the year, we have really enjoyed it here, we had our second child here so have really enjoyed it. I get along with Coach Lindqvist and I knew Juha Hietamaki was coming back for another season. I thought it might not be a good idea to come back if everything was working out well. We are having a great time this year. We have had some ups and downs this year but we have pretty much made the playoffs and i have really enjoyed the city.
You have spent five season in England and part of one in Germany, what advice would you give a North American player about coming to play in Europe?
It depends on what they want, if they think they still have a shot at the NHL they should stay there, but if you are in the ECHL for a third or fourth year it's a good idea to come over here. It is tough over there, not that many roster spots and everyone is grinding for a spot. No matter how well you are playing it doesn't mean you will play the next season. It is a great opportunity to come over to Europe, travel and to play the sport that you love. It has been a great experience and I don’t regret what I have done. When I go home my friends are telling me that I am living the dream, but I tell them they have some good things going as well. I don’t have anything stable since my family and I are always traveling. In the end I always decided to play another year. Everything always works out well, since the teams really take care of you more.
