Former Habs first rounder forced to leave Czech league team after government denies visa extension
A bit of an unusual situation unfolded in the Czech Extraliga on Thursday. Ex-Montreal Canadiens first round pick Nikita Scherbak has been released by his club, HK Mountfield, after the Czechia government decided not to extend his visa due to him being a Russian national.
HK Mountfield said in a statement on their team website that Scherbak will leave Czechia and head back to Canada in the coming days.
Note: the quotes in this story are translated from Czech
"I will not describe all my feelings here, but I am very disappointed with the current situation. Anyway, with the departure of Nikita, we lost an excellent player and, above all, a great boy in the cabin. I thank him very much for everything he has done for our club and I wish him and his family good health and good luck in their sporting and personal lives," said HK Mountfield general manager Aleš Kmoníček.
Scherbak, 26, joined HK Mountfield during the 2021-22 season and at the time of his departure on Thursday, the Moscow native was leading the team in points with five (one goal, four assists) in five games.
"Playing in front of the Hradec Králové fans was an absolute privilege. The organization, the coaching staff, the guys and the incredible fans made my time here special. This whole situation is really unfortunate, but I will try to come back in the future!" Scherbak said.
💬 „Hrát před hradeckými fanoušky byla absolutní výsada. Organizace, trenérský tým, kluci a neuvěřitelní fanoušci udělali můj čas tady výjimečným. Tahle situace je opravdu nešťastná. Já se budu snažit, abych se v budoucnu vrátil!« vzkazuje Nikita #Ščerbak.https://t.co/4yBgZe1FNf— Mountfield HK (@MountfieldHK) September 29, 2022
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| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Samuel Girard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Patrick Maroon | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Lukas Reichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marco Rossi | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Travis Konecny | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Anze Kopitar | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Cale Makar | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Matthew Tkachuk | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Justin Brazeau | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Quinton Byfield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Noah Cates | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Evgeny Dadonov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||