“Last season, three defenders of the Latvian national team played in Litvīnova, and after Kristaps Zīles, Jānis Jaks also continues in North Bohemia,” says the club’s announcement. “We signed a new contract with Jānis already in April – even before the World Championship, however, at the request of the player, we are only announcing it now. We are happy that our most productive defender is staying,” said the club’s executive director, Pavel Hinek.
“It was one of our priorities, and we are happy that we managed to do it. In addition, it confirms that Jānis is also satisfied with the sporting and domestic conditions,” said head coach Karel Mlejnek. “Jānis had a great second half of the season and also the world championship. I believe that he will continue in the same manner next season,” Hinek added.
Having previously played in the Russian Championship, Yak posted 25 (8+17) points, 28 penalty minutes and a positive utility of +3 in 47 games in his debut season in the Czech Republic, while adding two assists in three games. At the World Championship, Jaks stood out in ten games with seven (2+5) points, 10 penalty minutes and a negative efficiency of -4. Across the ocean, Yak has played 20 games in the American Hockey League and 135 games in the NCAA.
Besides Jak, the Litvinova club was also represented last season by Zīle (2+15 in 50 games, 0+2 in the world championship) and Ralfs Freiberg (2+12 in 43 games, 1+3 in the world championship). With 67 points in 52 games, the team took 11th place in the 14-team competition and lost 0-3 to the Tršinec club represented by Kārļas Čukste in the playoffs for the quarter-finals.
Resources used:
https://hcltv.cz/clanek.asp?id=V-Li…
2023-06-01 20:25:00
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