Boston Bruins: Prospect Jakub Lauko stretchered off; is on the mend

There was a scary moment for Boston Bruins prospect Jakub Lauko on the weekend as he was stretchered from the ice during the Providence Bruins’ Saturday fixture.

Thankfully for the Boston Bruins and Jakub Lauko, the cause of his collapsing to the ice wasn’t overly sinister. While it was bad enough to stretcher him off, he was able to give a thumbs up as he left and also was seen walking within the arena later that day.

Although there’s been nothing official that we’ve seen, it appears it wasn’t an intentional elbowing motion by the opposing player Justin Bailey, but rather Jakub Lauko ran into said elbow.

Also, not official is the fact that Lauko was diagnosed with a concussion and as such, is possibly now a doubt to make the Czech Republic World Juniors roster. The Boston Bruins would likely prevent him from playing if they saw it as a health risk.

This is particularly unfortunate for the young winger as he’s been reported to light up any time people start talking about World Juniors, no doubt in part due to it being hosted in his home country – it represents a chance to catch up with family and friends for him, as much as it does to compete at one of the highest levels for someone his age.

We spoke at the start of the season how Jakub Lauko had made a great impression during the Boston Bruins training camp, as well as rating him among the top five prospects to get excited about. Safe to say, we think he’s the real deal.

In his first professional season in the American Hockey League, he has adapted well and has been rewarded with 4 goals and 4 assists through his 18 games. Given he produced at just under a point-per-game pace in the QMJHL last year, he’s not doing half-bad in a much more competitive league.

Whilst a concussion may prove a bit of a setback, especially if it leads to missing his home World Juniors, it’s just another step on the path to the Boston Bruins NHL roster for Jakub Lauko. We have no doubt that we’ll be seeing him in ‘the show’ one day.

With any luck, the medical staff are able to clear him in time to play for the Czech Republic, that’s the biggest hope right now. Thankfully, his on-ice collapse looks far scarier than the seeming actual outcome of it.

Either way, fingers crossed that Jakub Lauko is back fighting fit and healthy in the next week or so.