PRAGUE, Czech Republic – The Czech Republic will have to do without Jaromir Jagr at the World Cup of Hockey in September.
Jagr retired from the national team after last year’s world championship, and was not included in the first 16 players for the Czech’s World Cup squad announced March 2.
But Czech Republic general manager Martin Rucinsky and coach Josef Jandac hoped the 44-year-old Jagr would change his view after yet another productive NHL season. Jagr led the Florida Panthers with 66 points (27 goals, 39 assists) in 79 games in the regular season and added two assists in the playoffs.
“We gave him time to decide,” Jandac said about Jagr, who was left off the final 23-man roster announced Friday.
Russia bulked up its backline with three NHL based defenceman when it announced its final roster.
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Alexei Emelin of the Montreal Canadiens, Alexey Marchenko of the Detroit Red Wings and Nikita Zaitsev, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs this month, are the only NHL players of the seven added Friday to the Russian team.
The remaining four, forwards Evgeny Dadonov, Vadim Shipachyov and Ivan Telegin, and defenceman Slava Voynov, play in the KHL.
“We’ve got experienced veterans who bring the team together – Pavel Datsyuk and Andrei Markov – and also a big group of players aged 25 and under,” Russian Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak said.
After Jagr’s refusal, Jandac added four forwards to the squad, including Ales Hemsky and Radek Faksa of the Dallas Stars, Milan Michalek of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Dmitrij Jaskin of the St. Louis Blues.
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Defencemen Zbynek Michalek, Jakub Nakladal and Michal Jordan complete the squad.
Earlier Friday, forward Patrik Laine was among the seven players added to Finland’s roster.
The 18-year-old Laine helped Finland claim silver at the world championships in Russia with seven goals and 12 points and was voted the tournament’s MVP.
Laine, a No. 1 draft pick contender, won the top Finnish league with Tappara Tampere this season. The draft is scheduled for June 24-25.
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Laine will team up with another 18-year-old forward, Carolina Hurricanes prospect Sebastian Aho, with whom he won the 2016 world junior championship.
The other five players who join the preliminary roster of 16 announced in March include Minnesoa forward Erik Haula, Chicago minor-league defencemen Ville Pokka, Sami Lepisto and Dallas’ Jyrki Jokipakka, and goaltender Mikko Koskinen, the best goalie at the 2016 worlds.
The World Cup runs from Sept. 17 through Oct. 1.
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