Thursday, September 17, 2015

Injury Updates (Sep 17)

Coyotes rookie forward and 2015 draft pick, Nick Merkley, will miss out on training camp, thanks to a collarbone injury, which will keep him off the ice for the next couple of weeks.  There was no early indication, as to whether or not this would automatically have him back to the junior ranks or not.

Merkley was a big part of the Kelowna Rockets' run to the Memorial Cup and he should feature at the World Juniors camps, if he is to be sent back to the WHL after training camp and/or when he's healthy again.

In the media day proceedings in Boston, GM Don Sweeney announced that defenseman Dennis Seidenberg would miss the first few days of training camp, thanks to an upper-body injury he suffered in his off-ice training.  Seidenberg is generally a fairly durable defender for the Bruins, despite having a pretty rough 2014 season and his scoring didn't really bounce back in 2015, since the whole team suffered to score.  If he can make it back into camp okay, the Bruins could be better and I think he'll be pool worthy once again.

We would have to dig exceptionally deep, if Ladislav Smid was to be considered for a hockey pool spot on someone's roster, but a small update on his condition.  Smid is dealing with some neck issues, which should keep him out of action until the middle of October, ending his training camp before it even starts.

Smid's injury may do more to open the door for some more talent to rise to the occasion and get a longer look in camp.

The first of many illnesses to hit this season comes down, as Tom Gilbert missed the first day of training camp with a bout of the flu.  The 32-year old rear guard is also a bit of a fringe defenseman, who would show up in the draft, if it ends up going very deep, as the three projections I have on my sheet, have him in the 15-to-18 point range for the season.  Of course, he's listed as out day-to-day for right now.

The New York Rangers are already in mid-season form, already resting their players, taking care of some bumps and bruises to start camp. Forward Mats Zuccarello and defensemen Dan Girardi, Marc Staal and Ryan McDonagh are all being held off the ice to start camp, once they hit said ice, as they are all nursing foot problems from last year's playoff run.  All four players are expected to be ready for the start of the season, but they are getting a free pass from the early testing for that extra bit of rest.

This should have no adverse effects on their projections for the season.

Click here for the updated injury/news page on the website

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