Another week of Oilers hockey has passed by and thankfully we have no changes in the injury report this week. Another thing we should be thankful for is that some of our upcoming opponents have some crucial injuries to their lineups. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Tobias Rieder
In last weeks injury report I theorized that Tobias Rieder could have an issue called Frozen Shoulder Syndrome. This was a shot out of the blue and believe it or not, I was completely wrong. As our friends at the Capilano Rehab Centre pointed out to me, Frozen Shoulder Syndrom is most common in middle-aged women. From now on, maybe I’ll just leave the medical analysis to the experts.
Tobias Rieder was diagnosed with an upper-body injury last week and is expected to miss a month of hockey. There has been no update on his injury because it’s still fairly early in his recovery, but I’m sure he’s looking forward to getting back on the ice with the team.
Andrej Sekera
There have been rumours going around that Reggie is actually doing some light skating. I can’t verify if these rumours are true or not, but it’s not uncommon for someone to get back to light activity this quick after an Achilles tear. He’s still quite some time away from returning to the lineup, but it’s good to hear that Andrej could be skating. If anything, this is probably good for his mental health to get back on the ice. I couldn’t imagine how painful it is sitting at home with an injury while your team is out doing their thing.
Opponent Injuries
In the next week, we play the Los Angeles Kings, the Dallas Stars, and then the Kings again. These are big games that we have to win to get back above .500 and remain in the playoff race.
Fortunately, both the Kings and Stars have diminished lineups and have been struggling with injuries all season long. The Kings are down Gabriel Vilardi, Jonny Brodzinksi, Jonathan Quick, Jack Campbell, and Trevor Lewis. Jonathan Quick being injured could be a huge break for us because Quick is always a brick wall when playing the Oilers. The Kings are not playing well at all this season so I’m looking forward to playing them twice in the next five days.
The Stars are currently missing Martin Hanzal, Stephen Johns, John Klingberg, Connor Carrick, Marc Methot, and their starting goalie, Ben Bishop. Again, there is a chance by Tuesday a few of these guys might bounce back, but it’s looking promising.
If the Oilers can take advantage of both the Stars and Kings damaged lineups and win three in a row, we could be looking pretty by the end of the week. Don’t screw this up for us!!! (I kid, no pressure boys)
Previous Injury Reports
- Get well soon, Tobi
- Week five: Flu season
- Week four: 22 Stitches and a face shield
- Week three: “The Answer” is losing his status
- Week two: Caggiulaless
- Week one: We back!
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I have recovered from a complete a Achilles tendon rupture and believe it or not skating was easier than walking.
At nhl level tho?
Did you miss the “doing some light skating” part?
Its a tear not a rupture – from accounts, materially different levels of injury and a very good thing.
Extent of the tear is a key factor here. Small tears are managed conservatively and with time to recover. Larger tears are more worrisome, may be treated surgically and have a similar rehab course as a ruptured tendon
He is probably a year away from knowing how both of is injuries are going to affect his skating long term. The knee injury, in and of itself, was significant and full recovery is never a guarantee. Couple that with an Achilles injury and you have real problems. Reggie was already having difficulty getting adjusted to his surgically repaired knee. The pivoting and strong first steps were missing (not to mention wearing a cumbersome brace). I will be surprised (and really happy for the guy!) if he returns to pre-injury form. He is a smart player, though… I think he will be able to overcome his mobility issues with better positional play.
It was the knee brace he was wearing that caused a lot of the mobility issues… That is well-established, and I’m glad you mentioned it. Like you, I believe he will play again. It would be great to have another Bill Masterden winner in Oil country, wouldn’t it?
Correction, the Oilers have only had nominees, never a winner. Oops
I agree, he had just done the ACL and then this. I would let Sekera take all the time he needs with this, there is no sense in rushing him back, let him take the year and then he should be good to go next season
I am not as doom and gloom about Sekera compared to most. Pro athletes come back from bad injuries and long layoffs all the time. They are millionaires (working for billionaires) with access to endless, world-class medical resources, rehab specialists, you name it. If Sekera isn’t rushed back (like last time… ugh) and he has the will/puts in the work, he will play at a reasonably high level again. Maybe not the #1 guy he was in the playoffs, but NHL D-level for sure.
Agreed. I’ve come back from torn acl’s in both knees, at different times… although that was martial arts competition. Still, with enough rehab, they can come back good.
ACL injuries are career killers. You dont ever recover 100% from them especially post 30. I hope he comes back, but he isn’t be the same and we saw that last year.
Do we know if Sekera’s achilles injury is on the same leg as his ACL injury? This will affect his recovery time significantly. If he can weight bear and do single leg lunges, split squats, leg press etc than he will be much further along, than if he can’t load the achilles.
You guys all serious? The guy is in his mid thirties and has played like what 36 games in the last calendar year? His return from injury last year was an absolute disaster and he destroyed the team when he was on the ice. He didnt score one goal all year and was -15 in only 36 games.. You think its going to go better a year later, a year older with another leg injruy? Keep dreaming, I hope he doesn’t return to our line up this year. Nothing against the player at all, I loved me a healthy steady Sekera but at this point its over. Move on.
Your assessment of his performance in 2017-18 is superficially accurate, thanks to cherry-picking numbers (plus-minus). But if you look at his game splits you will see he was drowning in the first 10 games (brought back and worked too much too soon?) showed some improvement from games 11-20 and was even better from games 21 through the end of the season (nearing a regular work load and -2 +/-).
No one should bank on him coming back to NHL form… The odds are not in his favor. That said, no one should write him off until his rehab is complete and you see what he can do… Hopefully during a full training camp, not long after the season’s start like last time. He turned 32 in June… Not too old to bounce back if the injuries cooperate.
Agreed, I think Sekera is finished, unfortunately.
By the end of last season Sekera was playing better. The problem with Sekera as I’ve stated since he became an Oiler isn’t his ability to get himself ready to play the game, it will be his ability to stay healthy. Just like Ference, they both work incredibly hard, however like Ference he’s likely to get hurt again.
Sorry but that isn’t correct. In his two seasons before the knee injury, he played 81 and 80 games.