CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Charlottetown Islanders fans will have to wait until at least next season to get a glimpse of the team’s European imports.
The team placed Jakub Brabenec and Matous Mensik, 17-year-old forwards from the Czech Republic, on its protected list before submitting its roster to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League by Monday’s deadline.
The team offered them temporary releases so they can play in Europe.
“So, we retain their rights for the (Canadian Hockey League), but we won’t have access to them this year,” Isles head coach and general manager Jim Hulton said Monday morning.
The team was told the Public Health Agency of Canada rejected the league’s request to get national interest letters to enable the import players to enter the country and didn’t see the situation being revisited.
Hulton said it was disappointing news as the import players are traditionally highly skilled players who make an impact across the league.
“We were pretty excited about both guys – Mensik and Brabenec – but that’s just one more thing that’s gone on this year that’s out of our control,” he said. “We’ll maintain relationships with both kids and both agents just to make sure we’re selling the product for next year and hopefully the situation is much safer and clearer for everybody then.”
One thing that takes a bit of the sting out of the news for the Islanders is how well they have played despite not having the two players in their lineup this season. Charlottetown (21-4-0-0) is tied with Val-d’Or (19-2-2-2) for the top winning percentage in the 18-team circuit.
“We’ve had to adjust on the fly more or less since early October-November when it became pretty evident that it was going to be a long shot for them to get here,” Hulton said of the import players.
Each of the league’s 18 teams are permitted to have two import players on their roster, but as of late January only 15 of the 36 players had been cleared to enter the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Six played in the league in the first half while the other nine stayed in Canada after participating in the world junior tournament in Edmonton in December and January. To play in the world juniors, the players had received the national interest letters.
Some teams tried to get their players into the country but were turned back at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal on Feb. 11.
Jason Malloy is The Guardian's sports editor. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @SportsGuardian.
