Slovakia's Honzek out for rest of world juniors due to injury

Slovakia was dealt a significant blow at the World Junior Championship on Thursday.

Projected 2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek will miss the remainder of the tournament after sustaining a lower-body injury in Wednesday's upset win over the United States, according to NHL.com's Mike Morreale.

American forward Charlie Stramel appeared to step on Honzek's ankle while trying to maintain his balance after hitting Honzek hard late in the second period.

Honzek is one of the top draft-eligible players in the tournament. The 18-year-old forward has gone pointless in two games at the event, but he's produced 17 goals and 26 assists over 31 WHL games in his first season with the Vancouver Giants.

Slovakia did get some good news Thursday, as Morreale reports defenseman David Natny will play Friday against Latvia. Nanty took a big hit during Wednesday's contest from U.S. forward Kenny Connors, who was ejected for boarding.

The Slovaks defeated the U.S. 6-3 after falling 5-2 to Finland on Tuesday. Slovakia will meet Switzerland on Saturday to close out its preliminary-round schedule.