Canucks defenceman Ethan Bear injured while playing with Canada at World Championship
Team Canada was able to defeat Latvia in the semi-finals of the 2023 IIHF World Championship on Saturday morning, but were forced to do so without Ethan Bear.
The Vancouver Canucks defenceman did not dress for Saturday’s game after leaving the ice in the dying seconds of Canada’s 4-1 win over Finland on Thursday. It was apparent that the 25-year-old was in a great deal of pain as he skated towards his bench.
Ethan Bear went straight to the dressing room at the end of the game.
You can see Bear skate away at the end. #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/r7GTykY2NN
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) May 25, 2023
Though a big loss on their blueline, Canada was able to persevere and pick up a 4-2 win over Latvia to move on to the gold medal game, where they will face off against Team Germany.
While it is unclear exactly what Bear is dealing with or what his status is, the fact he was forced to sit out of today’s game doesn’t bode well for his chances of getting in tomorrow.
Without him in the lineup, both MacKenzie Weegar and Jacob Middleton were forced to play significant minutes, while Brad Hunt, Justin Barron, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Tyler Myers all suited up as well.
It is an unfortunate injury for Bear, who is looking for a new contract after signing a one-year, $2.2 million deal last offseason with the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite signing the deal with the Hurricanes, however, he spent this season with the Vancouver Canucks after being traded in late October.
In 61 games this season, Bear registered three goals and 16 points while averaging 18:32 minutes in ice time per outing.
Prior to joining the Canucks, Bear had three full NHL seasons under his belt split between the Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers.
Follow Channels and Categories