MSJ 2022: Slovakia will not play two preparatory matches before the championship (VIDEO)

RED DEER. The young Slovak hockey players have completed their first training session at the Junior World Championships in Red Deere, Canada. Upon arrival, they were in compliance with pandemic measures in a 48-hour isolation.

The only player who is still in quarantine is Servác Petrovský. New cases of coronavirus have appeared in his club Owen Sound Atack, so he still has to isolate himself on the basis of the measures there.

“Training suited everyone, as we weren’t on the ice for a few days. The guys who came from Europe also had a long way to go. It’s not easy to be quarantined for two or three days. That’s why it was nice that we moved our legs,” he said after training defender Samuel Kňažko for the portal hockeyslovakia.sk.

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Only the 19-year-old hockey player, who has won two junior championships, the Senior World Championships in Riga and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, had a minor injury, but he says everything is fine.

As part of the tightening of measures in the venue, the number of preparatory matches will certainly be reduced. There were originally eleven of them on the program, with each team having to play at least two before the start of the championship.

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The Slovaks were to join the Finns on December 20 and the Austrians a day later. At the moment, according to the information from the organizing committee, it is clear that it will not be possible to play both matches.

“It was a challenging decision that we considered in terms of coronavirus security. We understand that it is not easy for players, coaches, other members of the implementation team and fans, but our goal is to organize a safe and successful event.

We will take the necessary protective measures to hand over all medals on January 5, “said Scott Smith, President of the Canadian Hockey Federation, through the Slovak team.

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