Brassard injured, and 'Between the Pipes' antics.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Well, originally when I read the news about Derick Brassard and his recent shoulder dislocation, I just short of shrugged my shoulders and figured it probably wasn't too big a deal. Dislocations, for all intents and purposes, usually aren't as dire as some of the other injuries out there that a hockey player must deal with.But as luck would have it, this injury that Columbus' 2006 1st round draft pick got near the end of last week is turning out to be more than just a simple dislocation. In fact, it appears as though something may have torn in the muscles.
So now word on the situation is that Brassard may very well need surgery that could sideline him from training or his junior team for at least half a year. Brassard was supposed to be coming to Columbus sometime during the course of this week (or the weekend that just passed) and get checked out by Blue Jackets medical staff and doctors to see if surgery really is needed.
It's sort of sad. I mean, there was most likely very little -- if any -- chance that Brassard was going to crack a spot with the team this year, and was going to return to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. But even so, he was also set to take part in the ongoing NHL Rookie Tournament in Michigan, which would have been a great way to show off his talent not just to the Jackets, but also to other people in the league.
Either way, I hope he recovers quickly. We can't go and start having every last one of our rookies or draftees getting hurt, you know? Brule and Nash last season still haunt me quite a bit. Ugh, gives me the heebie jeebies, or something.
Also, as I touched on in the last entry, 'Between the Pipes' -- the weekly Blue Jackets hour-long show on 1460 THE FAN started up again on Sunday with interviews with GM DougMacLean, Coach Gerard Gallant, and third-line grinder Jason Chimera.
... only problem is Gallant and Chimera turned out to both be no-shows, and so after MacLean's interview over the phone was over (he was up in Michigan to see the rookie tournament), this left hosts Mark Wyant and Bill Davidge ad-libbing the whole darn thing, just sort of prattling on back and forth. No phone calls, no e-mails, no nothing. Not that it wasn't great to hear hockey talk on the radio once more for the first time since the draft, but you got to admit that when you're excited about hearing from Chimera and Gallant, the show doesn't really hold much of a flame compared to what you were expecting.
Something of interest, though. Davidge mentioned in the show that when tickets went on sale Saturday, and both team and media personalities for the Jackets were showing up at the different ice rinks around the area to help sell them, who did they spot?
Mario Lemieux.
That's right. Lemieux was at the Chiller Easton. Can you believe it? Apparently he was there coaching his daughter's hockey team, and there was a tournament going on. So no one even had a clue that this was happening!
Now I wish I'd gone. [Insert sad face here]
