Some bad news heading into training camp. Thrashers prospect Patrice Cormier who looked like a serious contender for a roster spot broke his foot in yesterday’s final rookie camp scrimmage while blocking a shot. He is out indefinitely but does not require surgery. Keep in mind that in some cases indefinitely ends up being a few days while in other cases it can be weeks or months. It’s very… indefinite.
The fact that Cormier broke his foot blocking a shot in the final minute of a lopsided game is exactly what management loves about him- he leads by example on the ice and he doesn’t quit. His team was down 2-0 in the camp series and 4-1 in the game when he went down to intentionally block the shot. It wasn’t a half-hearted attempt to just get in the way- he went full out to block out it.
It’ll be tough for Cormier to make the team out of camp if he misses significant tie, but I don’t doubt that he’ll be suiting up in a Thrashers jersey at some point this season.
In other camp injury news:
- Jim Slater has a sore wrist and is day to day.
- Andrew Kozek is sidelined with a sports hernia and will have surgery to repair it at a later date.
- Ian McKenzie has a groin strain and is day to day.
Here’s hoping that he will heal up quickly. I would expect that when he does heal up he would have a few games in Chicago and be on the squad soon thereafter. Again, let’s hope that is relatively soon. Despite his past troubles I am huge fan and believe he is a critical component of future success for this team.