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The Caps Are Considering Letting Andre Burakovsky Leave Team For World Junior Championship

By Ian Oland

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December 8, 2014 12:34 pm

andre-burakovsky-stick-curve

Photo: Jeff Roberson

Caps rookie Andre Burakovsky was scratched for the first time in his young career on Saturday night. On Monday, Burakovsky skated with the team’s scratches during practice. After averaging a point per game in opening weeks of the season, the dynamic 19-year-old center seems to have hit a wall.

Now it appears the Capitals, who have a ton of veteran depth at forward, are considering letting Burakovsky leave the team in mid-December to play in the 2015 World Junior Championship held in Montreal and Toronto– at least according to Team Sweden head coach Rikard Gronborg.

After Team Sweden announced their preliminary WJC roster, which included an unconfirmed Burakovsky, Gronborg held a press conference at the Swedish Hockey Federation in Stockholm. It aired live on swehockey.se.

“We asked the Washington Capitals about Andre and didn’t get a yes, nor a no [on his participation],” Gronborg said, as transcribed and translated by RMNB contributor Magnus Cadelin. “They asked in return how long we can wait to get a definitive decision, and we replied, ‘Almost until the tournament starts.'”

“Andre has clearly stated to us that he wants to participate in the tournament,” Gronborg added.

The first games of the tournament begin the day after Christmas. Preliminary play lasts through December 31st. The playoffs are the next week.

If Burakovsky plays in the WJC, he would miss the Winter Classic. The move would also put more pressure on Evgeny Kuznetsov to perform. At the tournament, Burakovsky would match up against lower competition, which might help him gain confidence. He has the potential to win a gold medal and be named tourney MVP, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a European player.

12PM Update: Burakovsky and Trotz gave non-answers about his WJC participation after practice.