OHL North Bay Battalion

Productive Praplan Headed to Worlds

December 13, 2013 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Barring another unforeseen circumstance, Vincent Praplan figures finally to get to play for his native Switzerland at the World Junior Championship.

Left winger Praplan of the Ontario Hockey League's North Bay Battalion left Friday for Zurich and the Swiss team's training camp for the 10-country tournament to be played Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 at Malmo, Sweden.

"I know they still have one cut to be made, and I could be cut," Praplan said on the eve of his departure. "I just need to go there for the first camp, do my best and see what happens." Praplan, 19, was ticketed for the Swiss team last year before suffering an injury shortly before the tournament, so his chances this season appear excellent. Last January at Ufa, Russia, Switzerland advanced to the quarterfinals, where it lost 4-3 via shootout to the host team, which defeated Canada 6-5 in overtime to capture the bronze medal. The United States downed Sweden 3-1 for gold.

"I think we're a pretty good team," Praplan said of the Swiss. "Switzerland is getting better every year, and hockey is getting bigger back home. I think we're a good team and can surprise a lot of people." Praplan said he's familiar with much of the Swiss staff.

"The head coach is Colin Muller. He was the assistant coach for the team last year, and I've known him for about a year now. Gerd Zenhausern is an assistant coach, and I know him a little bit from the past two summers." The players too are well known to the Sierre resident who played last season with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss under-20 league.

"I know pretty much everybody there. There might be one or two new players who are there for the first time, but I know everyone else." Praplan, a second-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League's Import Draft last July, is second to Barclay Goodrow in Battalion goals and points, having registered 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in 33 games.

"Here in Canada, the rink is much smaller, and it's more physical," Praplan said of the adjustment to North American hockey. "The game's pretty fast. It's a different game, but I like it and I think I've been playing pretty well so far." Switzerland is to play a round-robin schedule in Group B against Sweden, Russia, Finland and Norway. Group A consists of Canada, the U.S., Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic. The top four teams in each group advance to elimination play.

Until last season, Canada hadn't failed to win a medal since 1998. Brent Sutter of the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels is head coach of the Canadian entry and has gold medals from the 2005 and 2006 tournaments to his credit. He guided Canada to victory at Grand Forks, N.D., and Vancouver.

Praplan is the only member of the Battalion attending a world junior championship camp. He could miss as many as seven OHL games.

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