Red Wings Vrana Okay After Scary Hit In World Tourney

For a time on Thursday, it was appearing as though Detroit Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana was in serious trouble.

Crushed into the boards by Latvia’s Oskars Batna during the second period of a game at the IIHF World Championship, Czechia’s Vrana stuggled to regain his feet. Upon rising, he was left hobbling to the bench, favoring his left knee.

Vrana went straight to the dressing room. However, the good news was that he was able to return to action in time for the third period.

Jakub Vrana limped back to the bench after this kneeing incident. Oskars Batna laid the hit. #IIHFworlds pic.twitter.com/hj2AQzxXWe

— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisTHN) May 19, 2022

The better news is that Vrana is looking good to go as the 2-1-1 Czechs are preparing to clash with Norway on Saturday at the world tourney in Finland. The Detroit sniper will be in the lineup for that game.

“He will be fine,” Czechia assistant coach Martin Erat told sport.cz after Vrana participated in an optional practice on Friday.

This season, Vrana was missing in action for the first 56 games of the Red Wings season. Suffering an injury during his first on-ice session at training camp in the fall, Vrana ended up undergoing shoulder surgery. Returning to the Red Wings lineup in March, he wound up scoring 13 goals in 26 games.

Tough Worlds For Many Red Wings

Both Vrana and Red Wings defenseman and Czechia teammate Filip Hronek are still seeking their first point of this year’s world tournament. Hronek was also involved in an off-ice scuffle with forward Dominik Simon, leading to Simon’s departure from the Czechia squad.

Detroit Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic also headed home after suffering an injury during a Team USA practice. Red Wings prospect Elmer Soderblom was sent home by Sweden without suiting up for a single game at the tournament.

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On the other hand, there are some positive notes. Red Wings goalie Magnus Hellberg is 3-0 with a shutout, 1.62 goals-against average and .926 save percentage for Sweden. Since suffering a 5-3 loss to Canada in the opener, Germany and Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider have won four games in a row. Grand Rapids Griffins forward Riley Barber has a goal and is +2 for USA Hockey. He played briefly for Detroit this season.