Warriors Mateychuk, Rysavy set to take ice at World U-18 Hockey Championship
)With the number of unknowns surrounding the ongoing pandemic, even seeing a roster finalized for an international tournament can be a victory.
For a pair of Moose Jaw Warriors, that tiniest of wins saw them taking the ice in the World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Plano and Frisco, Texas that began on April 27.
Both Team Canada defenceman Denton Mateychuk and Team Czech Republic forward Martin Rysavy have cleared COVID-19 protocols for their teams and have officially been named to their respective rosters. Mateychuk was a late addition to Team Canada, joining the team on Apr. 12 after Winnipeg Ice defenceman Carson Lambos was unable to participate due to injury. His selection came for good reason, too -- the 16-year-old Winnipeg product emerged as one of the top young defenceman in the Western Hockey League East Division Hub prior to entering quarantine after six games. Despite being one of the youngest players on the team, Mateychuk had two goals and nine points in 16 games while showing a level of defensive skill far higher than one would expect from someone his age.
Canada plays their first round robin game on April 27 against Sweden before taking on Latvia on April 28, Switzerland on April 30 and Belarus on May 1 to close out preliminary round play.
The World U18 tournament will mark Mateychuk’s first international assignment.
For Rysavy, the event will be his second national team appearance after he put up three goals and five points while captaining the Czech Republic to bronze at the World Hockey Challenge U-17 tournament in the fall of 2019.
Rysavy was the Warriors’ first-round pick in the 2020 Import Draft and would have suited up for Moose Jaw had import players been allowed to come over this season. Instead, he played for HC Prerov in the second division of Czech professional hockey and has put up three goals and nine points in 19 games.
The Czech Republic faces Germany in their first game on April 26 followed by Finland on April 28, the United States on April 29 and Russian on May 1.
You can follow the tournament online at iihf.com/en/ events/2021/wm18.