Rocket friends now foes
Photo: Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer
Tomas Poletin scores during world junior tuneup
Three members of the Kelowna Rockets will put current and future friendships aside when the World Junior Hockey championship begins later today in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Tij Iginla and Tomas Poletin have skated alongside each other throughout the first half of the Western Hockey League season while forward Vojtech Cihar, a recent acquisition from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, is expected to join the Rockets following the world junior tournament.
Iginla will suit up for Canada while Poletin and Cihar will skate for Czechia.
They won’t have to wait long to put those friendships aside as they meet tonight to kick off the tournament.
All three are expected to play key roles for their respective countries throughout the 11-day tournament.
Iginla scored three times while skating on Canada’s second line during pre-tournament games while Poletin had two of Czechia’s five pre-tournament goals in overtime wins over both Latvia and Slovakia.
Iginla and Canada will be looking to get the tournament started on a positive note while also exacting a bit of payback for a Czechia team that beat Canada in the quarter-finals the previous two years.
All three will rejoin the Rockets for the second half push toward the playoffs and the Memorial Cup.