The Pens will open this season’s quest for the Cup playing the Nashville Predators in Tokyo, Japan. In Japanese, "domo arigato" means thank you. In Czech, the word "robota" means labor and is the root word for the term robot.

Jaromir Jagr could hardly be described as a robot but there is no denying he is a laborer. His work ethic is second to none - even now at the apex of his career, he is often the last player to leave the ice at practice.In his book about his life so far, Jagr described his unbelievable workouts that developed those strong leg muscles that are so important to his game. But that didn’t satisfy him. He felt that improving his
upperbody strength could only improve his play. He worked in the weight room and worked and worked. Now defenseman on opposing teams often say Jagr is the strongest player they go up against. He is extremely hard to knock down; he is rarely off his feet during a game. He shields the puck from defenders as well as anyone, again partly because of his strength. Opponents find themselves flicked away, as though Jagr was swatting at a fly. Then he turns on the jets and leaves the other player in the dust.

In the playoffs when the benches are shortened, Jagr works harder still, sometimes double-shifting. In the playoffs two seasons ago, Jagr played some of the most inspired hockey of his career. Even though he was playing with a torn groin muscle, he never showed it on the ice. He gritted it out, working as hard as ever, but after the shift he would limp to the bench, wincing with pain. He took acupuncture treatments between games, but never lost his drive or his scoring touch. His coach, Kevin Constantine, described Jagr’s performance as the most courageous he’d ever seen.

Jaromir has always believed that his work ethic was important to his success.
From the time he was a boy, he worked hard on his hockey skills and worked hard for his father. On October 7, in Japan, Pens fans can say to Jagr, "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto". Thanks for all your hard work.