Boston Bruins forward David Krejci will be missing the World Cup of Hockey.
David Krejci was hoping to attend this year’s World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. The Boston Bruins forward was hoping to 100 percent in time for the tournament. Over 150 NHL players are taking part in this year’s event, including several of his brother Bruins.
The news broke via social media and from a source inside the Czech Republic.
Injury will prevent David Krejci from the World Cup participation ! -Czech GM Martin Rucinsky just confirmed !
— Zdenek Matejovsky (@zedmat) September 2, 2016
Naturally, David Krejci is disappointed on missing out on an international competition. It would have been good to see a little preview on how well the chemistry between fellow Czech David Pastrnak and Krejci has progressed in the offseason. Still, the 30-year old forward is happy with the progress he has made since his surgery in April.
“It’s another day closer. I did a little bit more stuff today and I’m obviously already on the ice, so I’m kind of getting there. This injury takes time, but I like where I’m at right now,” said Krejci, who has been battling a series of injuries over the last few seasons.
“Every day is a step closer. I’m excited for tomorrow. If you asked me a long time ago then I would have said ‘yes’, but right now I just want to get to 100 percent.
“If I’m ready then that would be awesome, but if not then I have to do what I have to do to be 100 percent. I’m in contact with the national team coach, and we talk pretty every week. They’re asking about my updates, so they know what’s going on. I’m sure they have some backup plan if it’s not going to work out. We’ll see what happens.”
Like many of you, I’m also a fan of David Krejci. It’s certainly disappointing to see him miss out on this opportunity. It would have been a great way to show the Bruins (and possibly other teams) that he’s ready for the 2016-17 season.
As a Boston Bruins fan, this is a good thing. The last thing we need is to have one of our top-six centers to aggravate his injury and miss game time at the start of the season. Krejci is slated to start opening night (likely with Pastrnak and Matt Beleskey) at the moment, and the B’s (who are still in possession of an underwhelming defensive core) will certainly need his offense in every game this season.