More than half a dozen players drop out of the World Junior Championships

Like everything else in 2020, it looks like we'll get a sub-par version of this usually fantastic tournament.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
More than half a dozen players drop out of the World Junior Championships
Zuma Press

The puck is set to drop on the 2021 World Junior Championships on Christmas Day and... well let's just say that this year's tournament doesn't have quite the lustre as past incarnations.

 With the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils both announcing that 1st overall selections Alexis Lafreniere and Jack Hughes will NOT be participating this time around, the tournament takes a big, big, BIG hit in terms of star power. Sure top picks like Kirby Dach, Cole Caufield and Yaroslav Askarov are expected to play big rules for their teams, but to be frank they just don't have the star power that guys like Lafreniere and Hughes carry.  

While guys like Lafreniere and Hughes are sitting out in preparation for the 2021 NHL season, there are also several players who are forced to sit out due to positive COVID-19 cases. was announced over the weekend that top 2021 prospect William Eklund would not be joining Sweden at the World Juniors after it was revealed that the young Swede has tested positive for the virus. Eklund was having what was in many ways a breakout season in the Swedish Elite league and again many were hoping to see him compete at the upcoming international tournament. Ditto for New York Rangers draft pick Karl Henriksson who describes his positive test result as a "total shock."

Sweden will not be the only team impacted by the virus however, with reports today that  forward Robert Mastrosimone, defenseman Alex Vlasic, and goaltender Drew Commesso, all of whom play for Boston University, have all pulled out of Team USA's training camp for the World Juniors as a result of reasons related to COVID. It is unclear if these players tested positive or if they merely came into contact with others who could have potentially been infected, but either way they are out as well.

Lightning prospect Maxime Cajkovic has also dropped out of the tournament, he was slated to potentially captain Slovakia's team at the tournament, but in his case the situation is much more concerning. Cajkovic was reportedly kicked off the team, this despite scoring twice in a scrimmage, because of repeated cheap shots delivered to his own teammates.

Unfortunately I suspect that we may hear more news in this vein over the coming days. It may turn out to have been a wise decision to keep Hughes and Lafreniere out of this tournament. 

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