(left) DU's Patrick WierciochFrom: Montreal Gazette
by Allen Panzeri
After playing 30 minutes for Denver against the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Friday, Patrick Wiercioch flew to Regina for the start of the Canadian junior team selection camp. There, doctors ruled him ineligible because of Grade 2 sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, saying they were afraid there would be the risk of greater injury.
Wiercioch, who was replaced at camp by Ottawa 67's defenceman Tyler Cuma, might have been okay if he had time to sit for a day or two, but time isn't a luxury that Hockey Canada has when it has to pick its world junior team. This year's roster is to be named Wednesday.
It's believed the injury occurred during a game against Colorado College on Dec. 5.
The Senators aren't concerned about the injury, general manager Bryan Murray said Monday, though the team wasn't taking any chances.
They flew Wiercioch to Toronto on Monday, and he's to be in Ottawa today for an examination by Dr. Don Chow. If necessary, he'll be assigned a rehab program.
"It's not real serious," Murray said.
"He may have had a Grade 2 a couple of weeks back, but he played on it. The fortunate thing now is that he is not part of the junior team and has a couple of weeks before Denver starts again, so he should be 100-per-cent healthy then, but it's a huge setback for him because he desperately wanted a chance to play for Canada."
Last spring, Wiercioch thought about leaving Denver to turn pro, but the Senators convinced him to stay put, believing he needed more time to develop.
Now he seems more at peace with remaining at Denver than he was last spring and is even talking about staying there for all four years of U.S. college eligibility, though that's unlikely to happen.
"I don't think it's going to hurt me to stay there four years, but, obviously, my goal is to play professional hockey, and that's what I want to do," he said. "It might take one more year. It might take two years or three years before I'm at that level. It's a great situation in Denver."
Wiercioch, who was replaced at camp by Ottawa 67's defenceman Tyler Cuma, might have been okay if he had time to sit for a day or two, but time isn't a luxury that Hockey Canada has when it has to pick its world junior team. This year's roster is to be named Wednesday.
It's believed the injury occurred during a game against Colorado College on Dec. 5.
The Senators aren't concerned about the injury, general manager Bryan Murray said Monday, though the team wasn't taking any chances.
They flew Wiercioch to Toronto on Monday, and he's to be in Ottawa today for an examination by Dr. Don Chow. If necessary, he'll be assigned a rehab program.
"It's not real serious," Murray said.
"He may have had a Grade 2 a couple of weeks back, but he played on it. The fortunate thing now is that he is not part of the junior team and has a couple of weeks before Denver starts again, so he should be 100-per-cent healthy then, but it's a huge setback for him because he desperately wanted a chance to play for Canada."
Last spring, Wiercioch thought about leaving Denver to turn pro, but the Senators convinced him to stay put, believing he needed more time to develop.
Now he seems more at peace with remaining at Denver than he was last spring and is even talking about staying there for all four years of U.S. college eligibility, though that's unlikely to happen.
"I don't think it's going to hurt me to stay there four years, but, obviously, my goal is to play professional hockey, and that's what I want to do," he said. "It might take one more year. It might take two years or three years before I'm at that level. It's a great situation in Denver."
5 comments:
I don't know if he's quite ready to absolutely secure a roster spot with the Sens....yet. Having said that, Denver is the ideal place for him and I can't think of another level, league or team where he would be any better off. In the meantime, He should take advantage of the Gwozdecky umbrella here and have fun. There's a NCAA Championship or 2 that hare his for the taking....
Paddy still needs to add some bulk before he's ready for the NHL.
He should stay all four. He is still in his "boy" body. He needs to grow into his "man" body and that is still a couple of years away. Those big N.H.L. players hit hard.
Nice to see that Swami’s medical diagnosis was as far off as his hockey predictions.
What a shame for Wiercioch. It would have been great to see him on the team. It must be hard to make the trip and then not even get a chance to compete for a spot.
He has to get that knee healthy. I just can't see DU being a legit FF-caliber team without him being a major contributor.
Based on his comments about wanting to avoid playing in the minors, I wonder if we might seem him here for another year?
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