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Lukas Jasek Spurned From Czech U20 Camp
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J.D. Burke
Jul 23, 2015, 14:29 EDTUpdated:
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With little hockey related news left this summer, the Czech Republic were quick to steal the spotlight, announcing their list of invitees for their U20 junior development camp. The event is slated to be held in Calgary, between August 1-6 and should figure to have a large impact on the formation of their roster for the World Junior Championships this winter. It will include a series of practices and exhibition matches and feature the Canadian and Russian juniors as well.
These camps usually come with their fair share of surprises, and one such occasion this year will be the absence of Lukas Jasek, who was left off the list of invitees to the Czech camp.
It’s a peculiar move to be sure, especially given Jasek’s history within the Czech system. Lets try and figure out what it all means on the other side of the jump.
Jasek was a sixth-round selection by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Czech utility forward was slated to go as high as the second or third-round, but for reasons that escape most, his stock fell precipitously in the lead-up to the draft. Scouts fawned over Jasek’s two-way ability and puck skills, but seemed to share concerns over his strength – a common refrain for players in that age group. 
Here’s Bill Placzek from www.DraftSite.com
A high energy player who can really shoot the puck. Has very good acceleration and fluid stride. Gets to the loose pucks and has good instincts where to go with it. Long term project who needs to build strength. His puck smarts alone will garnish him consideration.
Based on Jasek’s high production in Czech Jr. competition, along with his 27-games playing against men in the Czech league, he is a favourite of the Prospect Cohort Success model. By this model, Jasek has a roughly 28% chance of playing in 200-games at the NHL level. Though it’s extremely unlikely Jasek reaches this level, his closest comparable to make the NHL is none other than Henrik Sedin – to the shock of absolutely nobody, Daniel is also on this list.
Given Jasek’s sixth-round pedigree, his omission from the Czech camp won’t draw a wealth of attention from the media. By that same token, it’s a highly curious move given his performance within the Czech Republic’s junior and men’s leagues, to go along with his very impressive showing at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament last season – for perspective, Jasek’s seven points were just one less than Canucks first-rounder, Brock Boeser.
Jasek’s rap-sheet would suggest that he’s a sure bet to provide the Czech Jr. squad with efficient and consistent offensive production, which is considerably more than one can say about some of the seven 2016, first-time draft eligible forwards invited ahead of him. 
In a vacuum, this move is hardly concerning in the slightest. Junior teams seem to be increasingly based on the politics of the pieces involved the further East one travels – Russia leaving Nikita Scherbak off their roster rings a bell. It’s also worth noting that Jasek could still land on the Czech U20 roster by the time the tournament rolls around in winter. Another possibility is that Jasek aims to make the Czech World Championship roster for next spring’s tournament.
Looking at the bigger picture, though, one can’t help but notice the trend of exclusion that’s followed Jasek these last few months. Corey Pronman, a highly respected scout for ESPN, had Jasek ranked as highly as 76th overall in his final rankings. Yet he remained available for the Canucks selection, at 174th overall. Jasek was also glossed over in the 2015 CHL Import Draft.
A recurring theme within the players invited to the Czech camp is that many of them are slated to play in North America next season. Canucks Army’s own Josh Weissbock went to task, contacting Cory Pronman regarding the snub. Pronman had this to say…
“The invitees are almost exclusively 17-year old’s and players committed to North America for next season. There is the odd top prospect, but this roster won’t be overly reflective of the team they bring to Helsinki in December. Jasek should figure into the Czech’s plans, likely in a bottom-six role. I would try not to overthink this.”
One of my sources also suggested that the Czech’s didn’t see a point in inviting Jasek, as his team in Czech Elite League will be playing their first pre-season game as soon as next Thursday. By that same token, Michael Spacek is currently slated to play in the Czech Republic next season as well, and was still dealt the courtesy of an invite – although, Spacek was taken by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2015 CHL Import Draft.
Jasek not getting so much as an invite is a little bizarre if anything, but hardly reason to be concerned. It’s a weird play by the Czechs, but for some added perspective, they didn’t even ice Jakub Zboril on their U20 roster last season, so they’re more than capable of some wonky decision making. 

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