For those of you who follow the prospects of the New York Rangers you would know that this season has been tough with injuries and that a couple of prospects have been out recently with no reason given as to their absence. As always in my attempt to follow the prospects I went to The Prospect Park where Jess Rubenstein does a great job keeping all of us informed on the play and in this case injuries of the Rangers prospects in Junior hockey. In today's update Jess gives us some more background on the Scott Stajcer and Ethan Werek injuries and his take on the Carl Hagelin Story.
Werek who was scratched from last weekends games with an undisclosed injury is now said to be out with a "day to day" undisclosed upper body injury. As Jess says for many that will be a relief since his prior injuries have all be to the lower body, specifically the knee so the fact that it is not another recurrence of that area is a positive sign, but I too am skeptical of injury reports and will just feel better when 25 is back on the ice for Frontenacs.
The story as described by Jess in relation to Scott Stajcer is bizarre to say the least and both of these scenarios do speak to a larger problem in hockey right now in terms of the top secret nature of injury reporting. The injury for Stajcer at least at this point seems to be more serious since surgery has now become the course of action and it is also more serious for Stajcer's future with the Rangers since he needed to have a good year to ensure being offered a contract by the Rangers come this summer and now depending on how long his absence that might now happen. Werek is a safe bet to get a contract either way, but the Rangers certainly want to see him out there playing as much as possible.
In following up on yesterday's Carl Hagelin story in which I pointed out that the report from Windsor did not track or make sense considering what Glen Sather told Pierre LeBrun just a few weeks earlier, Jess is reporting that the Rangers did in fact offer Hagelin a contract last summer, but he went back to Michigan for his senior season, so here is to hoping that since the Rangers do clearly want him that he wants them and signs before he becomes a free agent this summer.
I highly suggest you check out the The Prospect Park every day if you are not already doing so as for me it is the preeminent place to find out about the prospects nightly exploits.
