Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Zboril Cut From Czech WJC Team

In a surprise move, Sea Dogs defenceman Jakub Zboril was among those cut from the Czech Republic’s world junior roster today.

Charlottetown Islanders forward Filip Chlapik, who is averaging over a point-per-game in his rookie season in the QMJHL, was also cut. It certainly sounds like politics came into play in the decision.
Zboril has seven goals and 14 assists in 30 games with Saint John this season. He was the fifth overall pick in this year’s CHL Import Draft and is projected to be a first round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by most scouting publications.

Not playing in the world juniors in front of a ton of scouts and media will no doubt hurt Zboril's draft status a bit. If there is any good news to come from this, it’s that he’ll be back playing with the Sea Dogs much sooner than expected. His presence is certainly needed on the team’s struggling power play.

It’ll also be interesting to see how the Czech’s perform at this year’s world juniors without Zboril and other CHLers. The Hockey News has predicted that they will win bronze.

The Czechs will be playing in Group B with Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark. Their first tournament game is on Boxing Day against Sweden.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

1 comment:

  1. Why punish the young men because they decide to play on North America ice for better competition and accelerate their chances to earn ....the bottom line for all these elite athletes....too bad but here's hoping he will continue to showcase his obvious talents against quality competition

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