It’s the chance all clubs accept when they release their players for national-team duty. Injuries in the 2023 world junior championship taking place in Halifax and Moncton could change, if even slightly, the trajectory of the race in the sa国际传媒 Division of the Western Hockey League.
Chicago Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach of the Kelowna Rockets has been ruled out the rest of the way for sa国际传媒 and Samuel Honzak of the Vancouver Giants was injured last week while playing for Slovakia and had to be helped off the ice. Their return dates are not known.
Kelowna captain Dach would not have been with the Rockets tonight for their game in the Okanagan against the Victoria Royals, regardless. But his apparent shoulder injury in the final round-robin game against Sweden on New Year’s Eve was hard to watch as he crawled to the Canadian bench in obvious pain.
“It is a dream to represent your country and you support your players in that quest because it’s an important opportunity,” said Royals GM and head coach Dan Price.
“You can just as easily get injured in a regular WHL game.”
The Royals are represented at the world juniors by forward Robin Sapousek, who has an assist and is plus-2 in three games played in the tournament for Czechia, which has advanced to the semifinals.
“His role has grown as the world junior tournament has progressed,” said Price.
Sapousek, who is 18 and eligible also for the 2024 world juniors, was selected seventh overall by Victoria in the 2022 Canadian Hockey League import draft and began the season with the HC Karlovy Vary U-20 team before a call-up to the organization’s pro club in the Czech Extraliga. Sapousek is expected to make his Royals debut next week.
Up earlier could be another key player who has also yet to step on the ice this season for the Royals. Victoria captain Gannon Laroque, invited to the Canadian summer selection camp, could have been in the world junior tournament if not for surgery in July that has kept him out of play of any kind.
Blue-liner Laroque, signed to an NHL entry-level contract by the San Jose Sharks, is almost ready in his recovery arc and will be a game-time decision tonight, confirmed Price.
With two key additions imminent, could it be the Royals will stand pat at the WHL trade deadline Jan. 10 and go for the playoffs this season? They got burned by that approach last season when they hung on to 20-year-olds Tarun Fizer and Bailey Peach. Not only did Victoria not trade those two now-graduated assets to championship contending teams, but the Royals missed the playoffs on the last game of the regular season, so they missed out on both acquiring high WHL draft picks for the future and extra playoff dates for a double whammy that was costly on two levels. Lowly teams need to come out of the season with either one or the other. Last season’s scenario simply can’t happen again for the Victoria franchise.
“It’s all relative and situational,” said Price.
“We believed in our group [last season] and made the best decision at the time.”
And this season as the hours tick away to trade deadline?
“This time of year is always very fluid and things happen in real time,” said Price.
Victoria’s situation is not yet dire but it could be very soon as the club is essentially in a must-win situation every time out. The ninth-place Royals (8-24-4) are seven points adrift of the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference, which is held by the Rockets (12-18-3), who have obliged by losing five consecutive games to keep Victoria in the hunt. Victoria leads the season series 2-1-1. Kelowna, however, holds three games in hand on the Royals, making tonight a pivotal four-point swing game.
“We have had close, intense games against the Rockets this season,” said Price.
The Rockets, meanwhile, announced they have also signed a Czech forward taken in the 2022 CHL import draft. Kelowna selected Marek Rocak 43rd overall and he represented Czechia in the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup U-18 tournament last summer. The Rockets say he will arrive in Kelowna this week but it is unclear if he will play tonight.
