Boston Bruins: Jakub Lauko set for World Juniors with Czech Republic
By jc
After a scary injury, Jakub Lauko recovered in time to join the Czech Republic at the 2020 World Junior Championship.
The Boston Bruins will have another talented prospect participate in the 2020 World Junior Championship later this month. Jakub Lauko is set to leave Providence for a few weeks to play for the Czech Republic.
https://twitter.com/jakub_lauko/status/1206994894117576704
There was some question as to whether or not Lauko would play in the tournament after he suffered a scary upper body injury a couple weeks back. Fortunately, Lauko recovered in time.
The tournament should be extra special for Lauko given that the Czech Republic is the host country. He’ll get the chance to represent his country in front of the home fans, something some players never get the chance to do.
This will be the third time Lauko participates in the World Juniors. In his previous two appearances, he has a combined two goals and one assist in 11 games.
As long as he’s healthy, Lauko is ready to make an even bigger impact for the Czech Republic. He’s one of the team’s best and most experienced forwards, so he’s likely to see a lot of ice time.
Bruins hope Lauko can use the WJC as a stepping stone
From the Bruins’ perspective, they obviously want to see Lauko go in and dominate the tournament. His personal success aside, Boston wants Lauko to use this tournament as a stepping stone for the rest of the season.
Lauko had an impressive preseason for Boston, and he more than demonstrated his top-six potential. The Bruins hoped and expected him further his development strong season down in Providence.
However, Lauko got off to an up-and-down start, and then he suffered an injury that forced him to miss some time. As such, he only has four goals and four assists in 18 games this year.
The goal now is for Lauko to rise up and really find his game at the World Juniors. Then, he’ll carry that over to Providence to finish the second half of the season better than he started the first.
If you remember, David Pastrnak did something similar, albeit with Boston instead of Providence. After an injury, Pastrnak ripped up the World Juniors, and he never looked back upon his return to Boston. A few years later, he leads the NHL in goals.
Nobody expects Lauko to turn into one of the league’s top scorers, but he definitely has the potential to be a big part of Boston’s future forward group. This year’s World Juniors is a great chance for him to demonstrate that.
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The 2020 World Junior Championship starts on December 26. Lauko and his Czech Republic teammates will take on some of the world’s most talented young players, including Bruins prospects from the United States.