Thanks to the Montreal Canadiens getting bounced from the playoffs, a pair of countries are getting reinforcements for the IIHF World Championships.
Alex Galchenyuk (Team USA) and Tomas Plekanec (Czech Republic) are off to Finland and Sweden to join their countries for the remainder of the annual tournament. The timing is good as the preliminary round ends on Tuesday.
Galchenyuk’s rookie season with Montreal was more than solid as he was tied for fourth in rookie scoring with Calder finalist Brandon Saad. He joins the American squad that sits in second place in their group and features his World Junior Championship gold medal teammate Danny Kristo.
Plekanec’s Czech squad is in fourth place in their group. He’s been a top performer for them in the past and they’ll welcome his arrival.