Anton Rodin’s frustrating first season back in North America just got more frustrating.
A second round pick in 2009, Rodin waited seven years, five months, and 26 days to play his first NHL game. No Canucks draft pick has ever waited longer. Unfortunately for him, it looks like he might have to wait a while longer before playing game #4.
The Canucks announced on Tuesday morning via their Twitter account that Rodin has re-aggravated his injured knee:
“On January 6th vs. Calgary, Anton Rodin fell on and re-aggravated the same knee he rehabilitated from surgery (skate cut) in January 2016. After a period of observation, his knee hasn’t returned to the same level of fitness as before the fall. Our Canucks medical team and Anton have determined it is in his best interest to undergo a period of rest, followed by rehab, until his knee strength and function return. Anton will undergo an MRI and orthopaedic consult this week.”
Rodin, the MVP of the Swedish Hockey League last season, saw his season end due to a knee injury in 2016. He rehabbed the injury and was believed to be back to full health in time for Canucks training camp this September, until he injured it again after playing in back-to-back preseason games.
After a three-game conditioning stint in Utica, Rodin played his first NHL game on December 23rd against the Calgary Flames. He sat out the next three games before picking up his first NHL assist against Colorado on January 2nd. After sitting out a game on January 4, he played against the Flames at home on January 6.
That’s when things really got weird.
Rodin dressed the next night in Calgary as a 13th forward, but didn’t play a single shift. When pressed by the media, head coach Willie Desjardins cited his knee being a concern.
This begs the question: if Rodin wasn’t healthy enough to play, why was he dressed ahead of new acquisition Reid Boucher, who the Canucks acquired on January 4?
It doesn’t seem to make much sense.
Hutton injury update: He has a small fracture in his hand and his timeline is three-to-six weeks. pic.twitter.com/h8m7kKgrCx
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 17, 2017
In other injury news, Ben Hutton has a small fracture in his hand and will be gone for the next 3-6 weeks.
Hutton injured his hand in the same game Rodin re-aggravated his knee, on January 6 versus the Flames.
See also
Follow Channels and Categories