(Photo Credit: Steven Senne/AP)
By Joe Chrzanowski | Follow Me on Twitter @jchrz19
Jakub Lauko, the Bruins 2018 3rd Round pick (77th Overall), was super-excited about the prospect of playing before his native Czech crowd in the 2020 World Junior Championships. That excitement lasted all of one shift as Lauko was injured 53 seconds into the first game versus Russia. The CZE team held on for a 4-3 upset, but after the game, it was reported that Lauko had suffered an MCL injury and was done for the remainder of the tournament.
@NHLBruins prospect Jakub Lauko after MRI from U20 Worlds: It looks like I will miss couple of weeks. Big disapointment. Would like to stay here with the (Czech) team if my club lets me… pic.twitter.com/sgz36A03Xh
— Michael Langr (@MichaelLangr) December 27, 2019
Details were lacking about the severity of the injury, and are still not crystal clear, but Lauko apparently underwent an MRI this morning. Lauko himself told Czech NHL,com hockey reporter Michael Langr , “it looks like I will miss a couple of weeks”. This is good news for Bruins fans and would indicate that the injury is a Grade 1 tear, which normally requires anywhere from a few days to a week and a half off before the player can return to hockey activities.
While it is a postive development if Lauko only misses a couple of weeks, it would be a bitter pill for him to swallow. He had been playing well in his first professional year for the Bruins AHL affiliate in Providence (4g/4a, 20 PIM’s, +4, in 18 games), but suffered an “upper-body injury” in a game against Utica on Decemeber 7th, and not played since. There was some question of whether or not he would be healthy enough to play for the Czech Republic, but he cleared last week.
Lauko’s injury would be a big loss for the Czech team. He was a returning member of the 2019 WJC team (1g/1a in 5 games) and was being counted on for scoring and leadership.
Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 159 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
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