Gabriel Szturc invited to Czechia’s 2022 World Junior Selection Camp
Kelowna Rockets forward Gabriel Szturc has been named to Czechia’s selection camp for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The 34-man roster, which was shared last week, also included Rockets forward Pavel Novak. Novak announced on Friday that he will be stepping away from hockey for this season following a diagnosis. In his statement, Novak shared that he has been diagnosed with an oncological disease.
The camp is set to place from July 11-15.
Szturc missed just one game this past season, through 67 games the Cesky Tesin, CZE product only posted six penalty minutes.
Selected 44th overall in the first round of the 2021 CHL Import Draft, Szturc posted 41 points (16G, 25A) and a +12 plis/minus rating in his first season with the Rockets.
The 2022 tournament was originally scheduled to be played over the holiday season in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta. , but it was cancelled on Dec. 29 – after just four days of competition – due to COVID-19.
The International Ice Hockey Federation rescheduled the 2022 World Junior Championship set for Aug. 9-20 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta. It will be the first time since 1988 that all World Juniors games will be held at one venue with fans in attendance.
Canada, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia and Latvia will play in Group A while the United States, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Austria will compete in Group B. The top-four teams of each group will make the quarter-finals.
The tournament will start from the beginning and results from December 2021 will not count towards the standings. The same age group (players born 2002 or later) will be eligible. There will be no relegated team and the setup of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship will be discussed at a later stage.
Czechia announced its 34-man World Juniors camp roster.
A young team with 25 players eligible for 2023 WJC.
Notable omissions: Jakub Kos (FLA), Jakub Konečný (BUF), Josef Koláček, Michael Krutil (CHI), Jakub Málek (NJD). pic.twitter.com/6jMf9FBeh0
— Czech Prospects (@CZprospects) June 22, 2022
