Medicine Hat Tigers forward Lukas Svejkovsky celebrates after scoring a goal in a Western Hockey League game against the Regina Pats on Saturday, Feb. 29 at the Canalta Centre. Svejkovsky was recently named to Team USA's World Junior Summer Showcase roster.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Lukas Svejkovsky earned quite the feather in his cap on Tuesday afternoon.
The 18-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers forward was one of just three Western Hockey League players selected to compete with Team USA at the World Junior Summer Showcase, July 24 to Aug. 1 in Plymouth, Mich.
It’s a chance for the Point Roberts, Wash. product to earn a spot on his country’s roster at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. It’s also the first sign of a return to hockey since a global pandemic wiped the 2019-20 WHL season off the calendar more than three months ago.
“Now I’ve kind of got a date to look forward, getting back to the ice,” said Svejkovsky. “I couldn’t be more excited. I’m really looking forward to it.”
It will be the second time Svejkovsky – son of former Czech NHLer Jaroslav Svejkovsky – will have the chance to represent the United States after winning the U17 Five Nations Tournament in 2017, which took place in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
“That was a fun experience,” he said. “With my dad being from Czech, I had a lot of friends and family at the tournament so that was super fun.”
Svejkovsky joined the Tigers in a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Giants on Dec. 7, 2019. The 5-foot-9, 158-pound right-winger quickly worked his way into a top-six role and closed out the shortened campaign with 13 goals and 15 assists over 34 games in Medicine Hat.
“Right off the bat after I got traded here I got a lot of opportunity from the coaching staff, and I just love the guys here. They were just so great to me after I got traded,” said Svejkovsky. “Willie (Desjardins) believes that every guy has got to work for their role on the team, so I just had to put my head down and work as hard as I can – off the ice, in practice and in the rink. I think that’s what’s so great about our team, just our work ethic.”
Team USA operates a national junior development program for under-17 and under-18 players, which tends to lead to few Canadian Hockey League players earning invitations to selection camps and showcases, let alone the big tournaments themselves. The last Tiger to earn a trip to the World Junior Summer Showcase with Team USA was Max Gerlach – now competing for Ticino Rockets in the Swiss League.
“It’s a huge honour,” said Svejkovsky. “It’s what every player looks forward to, getting that call from your country to be able to have the chance to represent them. When it comes to that, I don’t think there’s a bigger honour.”
Hailing from Point Roberts – a pene-exclave landlocked to Canada rather than the United States – Svejkovsky says he all but grew up in Canada, but still always cheered for the red white and blue. As a result, he often found himself as the only fan sporting stars and stripes when he sat down to watch the juniors as a child.
“Going to school in Canada and playing most of my hockey in Canada as well, the majority of my friends are definitely Canadian. Every Christmas, I remember I would be with my buddies watching the world juniors and whenever it was Canada against the U.S., I’d be the only one in the house cheering for America. All my friends would be cheering for Canada,” he said. “It’s pretty cool to get the opportunity to try out for that team. Obviously I’m American by heart, even though I’ve lived in Canada and played hockey in Canada for a lot of my career.”
