NHL superstar: World Championships over – The situation for the Lions has eased
Canada will have to head into Saturday’s ice hockey World Championship semi-final against Finland without its superstar defenseman Evan Bouchard, whose tournament ended with a concussion sustained on Thursday.
Edmonton Oilers CEO Stan Bowman confirmed the news on the Oilers Now podcast. Bouchard suffered a head injury in the quarter-final against the United States when Ryan Lindgren checked him hard enough for a penalty. The defenseman had to be helped off the ice and did not return to the game.
Bowman stated that the situation has been closely monitored with both the player and the Canadian national team.
– Kyle Dubas has been very active. As soon as the incident happened, he sent me a message, and I have also been in touch with Evan, so we are of course in contact with him, Bowman said.
Despite initial concerns, the injury does not ultimately seem to be the worst possible, even though the tournament is cut short.
– He is injured, but doing well… fortunately, the situation is not worse than it is, but it was clearly a severe hit. It’s unfortunate to see something like this happen.
Bowman also emphasized that there is plenty of time for recovery before the NHL season starts.
– Fortunately, it is only May and there is a lot of time before training camp, so they know in Edmonton how great ‘Boosh’ is.
Bouchard managed to collect 1+5 points in eight games during the tournament. His absence particularly weakens Canada’s power play.
Although the loss is significant, Bowman believes the defenseman will return to full playing condition.
– Maybe other teams will now see how effective he is – he plays really good hockey for Canada. It’s a shame he won’t continue in the tournament, but I believe he will be fine.
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