Injuries continue to plague boys in the Green and White
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By Bruce Fuhr
The Nelson Daily Sports
If Chris Shaw didn’t have bad luck, the Leaf skipper wouldn’t have any luck at all.
Just when Shaw & Company were looking to make a stretch run in the final weeks of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season the club lost its top scorer to injury, found out a key veteran is probably done for the season and, well that’s enough for anyone to stomach.
This all coming after the Leaf coach and GM went out and made some major acquisitions.
“I’m very confident in the defensive core of this team,” Shaw said prior to the three-game swing through the Eddie Mountain Division, starting Friday in Fernie.
“If we can get strong goaltending from (Darren) Hogg — (forward) Joel Stewart is picking up his game, (forward) Dustin Johnson is a couple a points-per-game player and we’re just waiting Gavin Currie — I feel this is a well-rounded team so I’m looking forward to see what they can do.”
Of course for those keeping score at home, Currie is gone for four to six weeks after suffering an upper body injury during the New Year’s Eve game against Spokane.
Connor McLaughlin has been out of the lineup with a similar injury, and has yet to rejoin the team from his home in Arizona.
Defenceman Blake Arcuri is also in sickbay with a shoulder injury suffering in Sunday’s win in Spokane.
On the bright side, forward Colton Malmsten and defenceman Riley Henderson, recovered from a car accident during the Christmas break, should return for the weekend trip to the East Kootenay.
Nelson meets Golden Rockets Saturday before winding up the weekend in Invermere against the Columbia Valley Rockies Sunday.
BLUELINES: Leaf coach and GM, Chris Shaw has made one final tweak to the roster. Shaw once again went shopping in his old stomping grounds, acquiring forward Jeff Hodgkinson from the Penticton Lakers. At the same time Shaw sent Brennan Foreman, who came to Nelson from Kimberley in exchange for Adrian Moyls, to Creston Valley Thunder Cats. Prior to New Years, Shaw grabbed a top scorer in the B.C. Hockey League, Dustin Johnson. The moves bring the Leafs to 23 players for the upcoming B.C. Hockey roster deadline of January 10.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
