Serious injury to teammate led to TB prospect being ejected from WJC camp

Details are starting to slowly leak out regarding the circumstances that led to Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Maxim Cajkovic being kicked out of Slovakia's World Junior Hockey Championship camp bubble. According to several reports, one of Cajkovic's former teammates, Samuel Krajc, has also left the bubble and won't be playing in the WJC tournament. There is speculation he has a concussion that was caused by a dirty hit from Cajkovic.

"About Maxim Cajkovic," Tweeted Slovakian journalist Tomas Prokop. "The guy didn't have many fans before, but there are more[players] like him. Slovak Hockey federation doesn't want to publish video of the situation that got him out of camp and Cajkovic refuses to talk about it."

According to a release from the Slovak Hockey Association, "On Friday evening, after the first preparatory duo among the representatives, [Krajc] headed to the hospital. He cannot return to the bubble due to injury and strict measures, which means that he lost the opportunity to fight for participation in the World Junior Championships in Canada."

There are also rumblings that there was another hit on a potential teammate after the one to Krajc that was just as bad or worse, but did not cause any serious injuries.

There are several comments on social media regarding Cajkovic's attitude when he played with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. Apparently he is known to be cocky and his actions on the ice tend to get him in trouble often.

Team Slovak announced Friday that Cajkovic had been booted from the WJC camp for a "gross violation of sports and human values." Cajkovic released a statement through the team saying he was sorry for his actions and completely understands why he won't be competing for a spot on the team any longer.

"I am sorry for what happened," said Cajkovic in the statement from the team. "I realize that my behaviour was not appropriate and I bear the consequences. I respect the decision of the implementation team."

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