Yesterday we concluded the article about Vladislav Namestnikov and his demotion to Syracuse with a speculative note from ChadSchnarr of Bolt Prospects (just a link to a tweet). Basically, the discussion revolved around Jonathan Drouin; the 19-year-old rookie is still much eligible (by way of International Ice Hockey Federation rules) to play for Team Canada in the 2015 World Junior Championships.
The conclusion being drawn at the time of Namestnikov’s re-assignment was that Drouin wasn’t going to go anywhere. The potential was being made for Drouin to see more ice time with less competition between forwards for playing time.
Yeah, well, about that…
Decision to send Namestnikov back to Syracuse, for the time being, has no impact on whether Drouin is loaned to Canada for the World Juniors
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) December 4, 2014
This doesn’t assure that Drouin will end up being loaned to Team Canada… It does mean that the potential is still out there and on the table.
The Lightning loaned out Brett Connolly to Team Canada in 2011-12, so it’s not like Steve Yzerman hasn’t done this previously with players. Yet will he do this for Drouin? We’ll find out soon.
