Tocchet shares good-news Canucks injury update on Soucy and Mikheyev
A pair of important players are nearing a return to the Vancouver Canucks’ lineup.
Head coach Rick Tocchet provided an injury update on defenceman Carson Soucy and right winger Ilya Mikheyev after practice in Philadelphia today. Soucy could play as soon as tomorrow, while Mikheyev should be in the lineup within the next week.
“Mikheyev, every day he’s getting there… there’s a good possibility he will play on this road trip. I don’t know which game, obviously the latter, but he’s progressing,” Tocchet told reporters in Philadelphia. “[Soucy] had a good practice today, so he’ll be a game-time decision.”
Both Mikheyev and Soucy were full participants in practice today, according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic, with Soucy skating with Noah Juulsen. The news isn’t as positive for Teddy Blueger or Guillaume Brisebois, who each missed today’s skate.
Soucy and Mikheyev are both on the ice wearing full contact practice sweaters at #Canucks practice on Monday in Philadelphia. Blueger and Brisebois are absent as practice begins. pic.twitter.com/PtJqrU9bxW
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) October 16, 2023
Mikheyev hasn’t played since ACL surgery last January. We’ve yet to see the Russian winger at full speed in Vancouver, given he played through an injury he picked up in preseason last year. The 29-year-old still managed to score 28 points (13-15-28) in 46 games and saw a lot of time on Elias Pettersson’s line.
Soucy has yet to make his Canucks debut following an injury in the Canucks’ final preseason game 10 days ago. The 6-foot-5 blueliner’s injury doesn’t appear to be as serious as first feared.
If Soucy draws into the lineup, it could mean that fellow left-shot blueliner Akito Hirose will sit.
The Canucks are off to a surprising 2-0 start, the first time the franchise has done that in seven years. They have four games remaining on this five-game road trip, with matchups against the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Nashville Predators. Vancouver’s next home game is October 27 against the St. Louis Blues.
- You might also like:
- Canucks top prospect Tom Willander shines in first NCAA game