Although few teams would deny their players the opportunity to don their national-team jersey, going from club to country can sometimes prove costly to the club.
Robin Sapousek of the Victoria Royals became a rare double medallist in the IIHF world junior hockey championship but not in the way he would have hoped. The Czech centre, a silver medallist last year in Halifax, had two goals and an assist in four round-robin games in this year’s world tournament before being injured and missing the medal round as the Czechs won bronze in Gothenburg, Sweden, this week.
The Royals said Friday that Sapousek has an upper-body injury and the club could not provide a timeline for return. A player who will be returning for the Royals’ road trip, beginning Saturday night in Regina against the Pats, is forward Casper Evensen Haugen after his Norway side was beaten by Germany in overtime in the relegation game of the world junior championship in Gothenburg.
The Royals (23-13-2) will travel nearly 5,000 kilometres on the grinding road swing. Saturday night’s opener is on the softer side against a Regina team (13-18-6) trying to find its footing in the post-Connor Bedard era. It is the first Royals meeting with the Pats since last season when the presence of Bedard sold out Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre with Island fans anxious to see the player who eventually went first overall in the 2023 NHL draft.
After Regina Saturday night, however, come some much more daunting situations for the Royals on the trip.
“We will be going into some tough rinks against elite teams,” said Victoria head coach James Patrick.
“Saskatoon and Moose Jaw have loaded up to take runs this year while Prince Albert and Brandon are a year away from making their runs.”
Moose Jaw got stronger this week by trading for Buffalo Sabres first-round draft pick Matthew Savoie, who will join the Warriors after he represented Canada at the world junior championship in Gothenburg. The Wenatchee Wild also shipped out another Canada world junior player, Arizona Coyotes first-round pick Conor Geekie, to the Swift Current Broncos for future WHL prospects draft picks. Patrick coached both Savoie and Geekie last season when the Wild were located in Winnipeg and known as the Ice.
The Royals are in Brandon on Tuesday to play the Wheat Kings (19-13-5), in Moose Jaw on Wednesday to meet Savoie and the Warriors (21-14-2), in Prince Albert next Friday to play the Raiders (17-17-2) and in Saskatoon next Saturday to meet the WHL league-leading-by-percentage Blades (25-8-3).
The Royals, the most improved team in the WHL after missing the playoffs the past two seasons and finishing last in the bubble season before that, have won nine of their last 11 games. This trip through the East Division will be a telling indication if the Royals are a legitimate threat to the rest of the WHL or just a mirage.
“I’ve liked our compete and our battle levels,” said Patrick.
“We’ll take the trip one game at a time.”
With a lot of people in the league watching the results with interest.
