Dmitry Yashkin will not participate in the national team’s preparation before the World Cup in Finland and will not fight for a start in the top events of the season. The management of Arizona, where he played in the NHL, on the recommendation of the club doctor, withdrew the approval to start the twenty-nine year old in the national team. Jaškin missed most of the season with a knee injury.
“Dmitrij himself really wants to fight for the world champion nomination. Even though he hasn’t played a competitive match since his injury in November, he is preparing individually and says he is 100 percent ready,” said general manager Petr Nedvěd.
After Arizona initially approved Jaškin’s start, the player was nominated for the Swedish Games. “On Monday, however, Coyotes’ representatives informed us that, based on a medical, they would not allow Dmitriy to start in the championship. NHL rules are in some ways non-negotiable and we must respect that,” Nedvěd added.
Vsetín’s proteges took part in the training process in the US and got ready on the ice in the last few days in Prague. “I’ve been training for a month and a half. Of course, it wasn’t the easiest in the first few days, but it’s getting better and better every day. I’ve been feeling great for the last two weeks, everything is fine. working as it should. That’s what why I decided to fly to Europe and show myself, ” said Jaškin in an interview for daily Sport.
According to the original plan, he was supposed to fly to Sweden with the national team on Wednesday for the fourth tournament of the Euro Hockey Tour series, where he wanted to convince coach Kari Jalonen to nominate him to the WC. Instead, striker Ondřej Beránek from Karlovy Vary was also called up to the team, having completed all the pre-World Cup preparatory camps with the national team.
Six players from the NHL could appear in the championships in Tampere and Helsinki. Goalkeeper Karel Vejmelka of Arizona, defenders Filip Hronek (Detroit) and Radim Šimek (San Jose) and forwards Jakub Vrána (Detroit), Dominik Simon (Anaheim) and Tomáš Hertl (San Jose) should join the team in stages.
