Detroit Red Wings newcomer Jakub Vrana is showing off his offensive touch at the 2021 IIHF World Championship.
The trade deadline acquisition helped set up the tying goal and scored in the shootout as the Czech Republic rallied to defeat Denmark, 2-1, Monday in Latvia and push the Czechs into the quarterfinals.
Vrana has two goals and two assists through six games at Worlds. He was the highlight of the final month of the Wings’ season, scoring eight goals and setting up three to finish with 11 points in 11 games.
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Vrana’s teammates on the Czech team include Filip Zadina and Filip Hronek. Zadina has one goal and one assist in six games. Hronek has a goal and three assists in six games. In Monday’s matchup, Vrana also set up Hronek in overtime, but that goal was disallowed because the play was ruled offside.
Moritz Seider’s Germans were shut out by the U.S., 2-0, leaving the No. 6 pick with three assists through six games. This is the second time Seider, 20, has played at the Worlds; he had two assists in five games in 2019.
Seider went to Latvia after spending the season in Sweden, where he recorded seven goals and 21 assists in 41 games, followed by one goal and four assists in 13 playoff games. He is expected to be part of the Wings’ lineup next season.
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Defenseman Troy Stecher (Canada) has one goal in six games.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.