Czech club’s website stirs up rumours of Stransky’s departure

The Halifax Mooseheads are scrambling to confirm whether one of their top scorers is headed out of town.
An Internet report published on the official website of the Czech hockey club Plzen states that Mooseheads winger Jan Stransky is “returning home after a year overseas.”
But neither Halifax Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell nor Stransky’s agent, Petr Svoboda, had a clue what was going on when reached yesterday afternoon.
“I’m making phone calls right now to figure it out,” said Svoboda, who has a partner who handles most of his junior-aged clients. “I know nothing about it at this time.”
Said Russell: “I don’t know if it’s true or it’s a rumour. I talked to Petr two weeks ago and he said Jan loved his time here, he was happy, and he was coming back.”
The Mooseheads, coming off a last-place finish, are hoping to have Stransky’s situation resolved on Tuesday.
Stransky, acquired in December with the Gatineau Olympiques, was the Mooseheads’ leading scorer from Jan. 1 on, accumulating 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 25 games.
He had terrific chemistry with Mooseheads assistant captain Tomas Knotek, earning QMJHL offensive player of the week twice. He might have produced even more if he hadn’t played through a bad flu bug in February.
“You never know … With kids, somebody can come along and offer you a professional contract,” said Russell. “That’s the problem (for us) with Europeans — they have the option to play pro hockey in their home country.”
If the Stransky report is true, it will sting a little more that Mooseheads general manager Marcel Patenaude traded the No. 1 overall pick in the Canadian Hockey League import draft just before he was fired. That pick landed defenceman Pascal Amyot from the Saint John Sea Dogs.
The Sea Dogs might use Halifax’s pick on Russian Kirill Kabanov, a candidate to go No. 1 in the 2010 NHL draft. The Mooseheads have the Sea Dogs’ pick at No. 28.
Russell said there should be no issue with the return of Knotek, who led the Mooseheads with 49 points.