Forward Dominik Petr and defenseman Adam Belusko have worn their country’s sweaters on the international stage before. But there’s nothing quite like the World Juniors and both young men have a chance to add that tournament to their extensive international resumes.
Petr was invited to camp with Team Czechia for the upcoming tournament, one of 15 forwards invited to their selection camp. Belusko, meanwhile, is one of twelve defensemen invited to play for Slovakia.
“It’s exciting, it’s nice to get this news,” Petr said. “You always dream as a young kid of playing in the World Juniors and it’s really nice.”
“I’m super excited,” Belusko added. “I’m looking forward (to seeing) the guys, the coaches, everybody. I’m super excited.”
Belusko, who played much of the last two seasons with Team Slovakia U18 in his home country and has represented Slovakia internationally six times at major tournaments, already knows most of his potential teammates. He’s even served as an assistant captain at the World Under-18s and Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“I probably know everybody,” he said. “We’ve known each other for probably 15 years. It’s really good chemistry in there.”
While Petr has represented Czechia at both of those tournaments as well, his familiarity with the World Juniors comes from a source even closer to home. He watched it a lot as a kid because his father, Jakub, has been coaching at the U18 and U20 levels for decades now.
“Especially when my dad was coaching the World Juniors team, I spent pretty much every Christmas watching it,” Petr said.
Both players know the international game well, but also know the World Juniors will be a brand new challenge. It’s some of the fastest paced hockey on earth, and the spotlight shines brightly on the tournament.
“It’s a good experience to play against different countries,” Petr said. “The style of hockey is different in each country. That’s the main difference, I would say.”
“The Juniors will maybe be on a different level,” added Belusko. “It will be faster, a little bit harder.”
The Wheat Kings will play five more games between now and Boxing Day, when the tournament begins. Next up is a home game against the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, December 6.
