It’s time for injury updates once again here at Dobberprospects.com.
We’ve striving to become your leading source for prospect injury news and I’d like to thank you for tuning in to our second instalment of the IR Report. Just a friendly reminder to follow @Dobberprospects on Twitter for daily prospect updates, and while you’re at it you can follow me @NHLFantasyGuy.
Let’s get down to it.
Montreal prospect Charlie Hudon won't score any goals while he's sidelined with a broken sternum:
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Some big-name prospects hit the injured reserve this month. On Nov. 25, the Montreal Canadiens announced that Charlie Hudon has been sidelined with a broken sternum. This is bad news for the talented winger, who was off to a fantastic start for the St. John’s Ice Caps and had two points in three games since being called up to the Canadiens. It’s not all bad news for Montreal, though, as the team announced Artturi Lehkonen will return from an upper-body injury he received in a game versus Philly a couple of weeks back. Lehkonen, not Hudon, was the Canadiens’ choice for the position coming out of training camp so you have to think the team is breathing a sigh of relief to see him return.
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The Canadiens are not the only team with prospect injury trouble, however. The Oilers and Senators are also seeing more than their fair share of bumps and bruises. Most notable of these injuries are those to Griffin Reinhart and Brandon Davidson for Oil Country, and Colin White and Logan Brown for Sens’ Nation.
Reinhart has been limited to only four games so far this year with still no timetable for his return. He suffered an LBI earlier in the season and the Oilers have been very quiet about his recovery.
Davidson, who was likely going to slot into the bottom pairing in Edmonton this season, injured a shoulder earlier in the year and was out for six weeks. Davidson returned to action earlier this month only to reinjure the same shoulder. A new MRI and more rehab for Davidson means he’s on the shelf until at least the New Year.
White suffered a similar fate. Returning from an injury too soon, White has found himself back on the IR with another week-to-week upper-body injury. White was a top pick for the Sens last year and they expect him to see a lot more ice than he’s seen so far this year.
Finally, the Sens’ top pick this year, Logan Brown, missed a game earlier this week with a wrist injury. The severity of Brown’s injury is not known at this time, but the Senators hope he can get his development back on track sooner rather than later.
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Arizona prospect Clayton Keller is out for more than a month with a lower-body injury:
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Boston University’s leading offensive contributor, Clayton Keller, has been sidelined with injury. Keller has a lower-body injury and will be out between three and five weeks. Keller was the seventh-overall pick in 2016 by the Arizona Coyotes and was pacing the Terriers with nine points in seven matches.
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The Red Wings are getting Tomas Jurco back after a long and drawn-out back injury. Jurco injured himself while training in the off-season and will make his first appearance this season soon. It comes at a good time for the Red Wings, as they just lost rookie standout Andreas Athanasiou to a knee sprain. Athanasiou is considered week to week.
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New York Islander fans and fantasy owners will breathe a sigh of relief to know the ultra-talented Ryan Pulock has traveled with the team on its trip to California. Pulock was one of the first defensemen off the board in 2013 and many believe he’s ready to make an impact in the NHL. The Isles have one of the league’s worst defenses and Pulock could see major time on ice if he gets going early.
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Speaking of injured stud defenders; Carolina top pick Jake Bean, who has been sidelined with a hand injury since the start of the season, is close to a return. Bean is also in the running to be a member of Team Canada for the World Juniors this holiday season if the Hurricanes allow it. You’ve got to think the ‘Canes are reluctant to let their first-rounder go to the WJC after he’s missed so much time with the club, but either way having him back is great for the organization and for his development.
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Albany Devils’ goaltender Scott Wedgewood has reinjured a shoulder. Wedgewood missed six weeks last season with a similar injury and has been sidelined while the team awaits word from an MRI. While this doesn’t sound like good news for anyone, it gives MacKenzie Blackwood an opportunity to redeem himself after a poor showing at the WJC this past winter. Thus far, MacKenzie has not run with the opportunity and has posted a sub .880 save percentage.
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Also in goaltender news, Joonas Korpisalo has returned for the Cleveland Monsters but has struggled mightily. Korpisalo has posted a 1-3-1 record and a save percentage near .850 since returning from injury. Korpisalo is a talented goalie and will snap out of this skid soon. Goaltending is so precise and it seems that he is just a little bit off his game right now.
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Another two big prospect returns this month were the return of Scott Laughton for Philly and Kyle Connor for the Jets. The former returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms earlier this month and played eight games there, recording eight points. Laughton has been called up to the NHL to fill in for the injured Sean Couturier and will try to keep the good times rolling. Likewise, Connor is just returning from an upper-body injury that he received earlier this month. Connor missed just 10 days and his return will see Chase De Leo sent back to the Manitoba Moose.
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Looking ahead, Nolan Patrick, an expected first-rounder and potentially top 10 overall in 2017, has been sidelined with a sports hernia. Patrick has been experiencing complications returning from a UBI that he received earlier this year and had been struggling to get into games early this season. While the injury is serious and he will miss several weeks, Patrick is expected to recover and maintain his high priority at the draft table for next July.
That’s all the notable injury news that I could come up with this month. I hope that you all enjoyed reading it and I hope that it helps you fine folks make better decisions in your leagues now and in the future. I’d like to thank Mike Barrett (@MikeBarrett_), Peter Harling (@pharling), and Chris Crawford (@ChrisCrawford07) for helping me with this report and as always if you have any questions or comments you can reach me in the comments section below or drop me a line on Twitter @NHLFantasyGuy. Thanks for reading.
Michael Drover