Illustration photo – Detroit hockey player Jakub Vrána.
Detroit – Czech hockey forward Jakub Vrána was able to return to the staff of Detroit, which called him up from the farm in Grand Rapids in the lower AHL. The 26-year-old bronze medalist from last year's World Championships in Tampere and Helsinki could get his first chance in the NHL since the beginning of the season, when he was dropped from the lineup after two games, then spent about two months in the assistance program of the NHL and the players' association NHLPA.
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Vrana has been getting in shape recently after a long break from playing at the farm. He scored in six consecutive games and scored four goals and the same number of assists. In total, he collected 11 points for six goals and five assists in 17 games for Grand Rapids.
In the first eight appearances, he had one assist on his account. After the first three games, the Red Wings placed him on the free agent list, from where no other NHL club chose him. He continued to do so in Grand Rapids.
Vrana, who is in the second year of a three-year, $15.75 million contract, has played in just two games for Detroit this season, on Oct. 14 and 15, and has a goal and an assist. Then on October 20, he entered the assistance program, which helps players and their families in case of psychological problems, addictions and other matters. The specific reasons why he underwent the Vrána program were not disclosed.
Vrána came to Detroit in April 2021. He missed most of last year due to shoulder injury and surgery and played only 26 games for Detroit. Before coming to Detroit, he worked in Washington, with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2018. He has played 323 games in the NHL so far with a balance of 189 points for 98 goals and 91 assists. In 38 playoff duels, he scored three times and assisted on five goals.
Swedish striker Lucas Raymond, who was registered on the roster, made his place in Detroit's squad. He was injured on Friday after a collision during training and missed the home and away games with Vancouver on Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to this, the Czech forward Dominik Kubalík returned to the lineup, who had previously only stayed in the stands against Calgary on Thursday, had not scored in four games and had not scored seven times in a row.
