Capitals Prospect Martin Hugo Has Will Participate In Czech National U20 Team Camp In Advance Of 2021 World Junior Championship

Photo: Martin Voltr

Washington Capitals defensive prospect Martin Hugo Has returns to the ice this week when he joins the Team Czech Republic U20 Team for camp at Kalich Arena in Litoměřice. The camp is in advance of this year’s World Junior Championship which will begin at the end of December in Edmonton, Alberta.

The U20 team would normally take part in a tournament of four countries in Sweden this week, but the tournament was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least 10 of the Czech U20 players will join the Czech National Team to participate in the Karjala Cup, and the rest of the group, including Martin Hugo Has, will meet on Wednesday evening at the Kalich Arena in Litoměřice. The U20 team will train there twice a day until Sunday.

A total of 25 hockey players will head to the training camp. Among them the recently drafted Jan Bednář and Michael Krutil, and will also include four participants from last year’s World Junior Championship – goalkeeper Nick Malík and defenders Karel Klikorka , Radek Kučeřík and Martin Hugo Haš. The other six are in Karjala right now.

Czech coaches Karel Mlejnek, David Bruk and Pavel Trnka will ultimately select three goalkeepers and 22 players over the next six weeks to join the U20 team in Edmonton.[The IIHF will allow teams to enter two more hockey players on the roster than usual.]

The Team Czech U20 Camp invitees include:

Goalkeepers (3):
Nick Malík (Frýdek-Místek), Šimon Zajíček (Litvínov), Jan Bednář (Karlovy Vary).

Defenders (8):
Michael Krutil , Ondřej Baláž , Jan Mlčák (all Litoměřice), Karel Klikorka(Mladá Boleslav), Radek Kučeřík (Přerov), Martin Hugo Haš (Guelph, OHL), Jiří Suhrada (Zlín), Adam Rutar (Olomouc) ).

Forwards (14):
Matěj Toman , David Jindra (both Litoměřice), Adam Najman , Jakub Rychlovský (both Liberec), Jonáš Peterek (Frýdek-Místek), Martin Lang , Filip Přikryl (both Plzeň), Marcel Barinka (Halifax, QMJHL) , Ondřej Pšenička (Waterloo, USHL), Martin Beránek (České Budějovice), Michal Gut(Sokolov), David Vitouch (Sparta Prague), Tobiáš Handl (Olomouc), Ivan Ivan (Cape Breton, QMJHL).

Hugo Has scored a goal and picked up two assists in the Czech Republic’s second game of the 2020 World Junior Tournament in the Czech Republic last year.

Team Canada’s selection camp for the tournament will begin on November 16 in Red Deer, Alberta, and last 28 days. Connor McMichael and this year’s top draft pick Hendrix Lapierre have been invited from the Capitals. This will be the second camp for McMichael and the first for Lapierre.

The opening day schedule for the 2021 tournament includes Team USA facing Team Russia on December 25. Team Canada’s first game is, as always, on Boxing Day when they face Germany. Team Czech Republic will open the tournament on December 26 against Team Sweden.