Ottawa Senators not sending Mika Zibanejad for WJC frustrates Sweden -NHL Update
The World Junior Championships is one of the most looked forward to events by hockey rookies from all around the globe, especially of those teams who send their top prospects to go and represent their country.
Not sending Mika Zibanejad to the World Junior Champions, the Ottawa Senators have certainly saddened Sweden over the situation as they looked forward to having the 19-year-old forward help them in playing against some of the best hockey has to offer from
around the world.
“It’s pretty d**n sad to me that Canadians in Ottawa’s management will sit and decide about the Swedish junior national team,” said Sweden national team coach, Roger Ronnberg, according to Ottawa Sun. “Europeans always have to be on our backs for them over
there and that they can dictate and decide about these tournaments.”
Zibanejad was picked up by the Ottawa Senators as the sixth overall back in round-one of the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) and has played in nine major league games with Ottawa up until now. He has one assist to his name and spent the remaining time
in the minor leagues.
In recent updates, the Ottawa Senators decided to keep their top prospect in North America, more specifically with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates, the Binghamton Senators. The move is seen as one that would improve his overall playing capabilities
and allow playing with more experience players instead of just youngsters in the World Junior Championships.
He is also currently under contract with the Ottawa Senators, which have him locked on to a three-year, entry-level deal worth a total of $2.775 million, making him a restricted free agent post the 2014-2015 NHL regular season.
“It’s hard to please both sides. I’m under contract with Ottawa and I respect their decision,” said Zibanejad. “But at the same (time), anybody who has the chance to go play at the junior worlds wants to play.”
For now, the Ottawa Senators have decided to keep the youngster and native of Stockholm, Sweden, in Canada, but changes may be made soon enough to allow Sweden to use their youngster on the team.
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