Starting to wonder if the medical staff and the coaches are on the same page??? Now what is the plan for the first line center??? Just when I thought we would have a better start this year.
what can the medical staff do differently? give him milk instead of gatorade to strengthen his bones? it's a freak accident and just terrible luck and i can't blame the medical staff for this.
First off what's up all...been meaning to get back on here for a few days now, didnt think this would have to be the first topic to address. I knew things had been going too well lately: no Garden renovation, no holdout, no looming 25 game road trip to start the season. What worries me is that Stepan was held out of the scrimmage and preseason game, and missed a few practices after blocking a shot last week. Team called it a bruised foot and AV just said a few minutes ago he had three x rays which were all clean. Either it's an unfortunate coincidence, or the medical staff needed to take a closer look at those x rays. Something just doesnt seem right when you have a non-contact injury result in a fracture. Puck might have hit his foot and sent a hairline fracture up his leg. Speculation on my part but something isnt right. As for the hole it leaves at C, my move would be to keep all other lines the same and stick Hayes in that spot with Kreider and St. Louis. This is a tough break since C was already a question mark going into the season. Hayes has the most pure skill out of any of the options. I'd put the kid there and hope that his familiarity with Kreider and St. Louis' veteran presence will help him click quickly. Step will be back at some point and I'd rather keep the other lines intact instead of shuffling everything when Stepan comes back. We'll see which direction AV decides to go.
Well, this sucks bigtime. Guessing anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. Oh well, at least its early. Opens up a spot for someone else to step up
It doesn't matter who fills the role. As we saw in the playoffs, guys need to step up and make up the loss Lombardi, Miller, Hayes seem like the go to guys
thank you!! maybe we get lucky and find someone to fill that position who will not mimic his linemate
Though it's only preseason Miller had two assists against the Debs. I still think the guy just needs an adequate chance and he'll succeed.
I bet they’ll be doing MRIs from now on. I dont blame the trainers or doctors, but it is what it is. there is a question of why with all their resources, he wasnt given an MRI. he was being held out for something he was complaining about that they had enough concern over to x-ray him 3 times, yet a simple test like a MRI might (would, according to some) have detected it, and they didnt give him the test. He stepped on the ice, split his fibula. That can’t sit well with the docs. Or management, or the coaches, or Step.
I'm wondering how much of a difference it made if Stepan suffered the injury blocking a shot a few days earlier and then aggravated the injury in a non-contact conditioning drill. Either way the leg was fractured, the question is whether participating in the practice made the fracture worse and lengthened his time to recover.
