A total of six OHL players have been named to Czechia’s preliminary roster for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship that takes place from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Returning to defend last year’s silver medal finish are Vegas Golden Knights prospect Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit), and Seattle Kraken draftee Eduard Sale (Barrie Colts) up front while Ottawa Senators selection Tomas Hamara (Brantford Bulldogs) is back on the blueline. Looking to crack the World Junior roster for the first time are forwards Simon Slavicek (Flint Firebirds) and Adam Zidlicky (Mississauga Steelheads) along with goaltender and Carolina Hurricanes prospect Jakub Vondras (Sudbury Wolves).
Sapovaliv will likely be leaned on heavily by Czechia after he was named one of their top-three players of the tournament last year, finishing with seven assists in as many games.
Czechia will compete in Group B alongside the United States, Slovakia, Switzerland and Norway. They open their tournament on Boxing Day against neighbouring Slovakia.
The Czechs earned their first medal at the World Juniors since 2005 last year, falling to Canada in the gold medal game.
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