The Philadelphia Flyers are expecting to have everyone fully healthy by the time training camp rolls around in a few months… with the exception of one forgotten prospect.
During his end-of-season press conference, Flyers general manager Danny Briere revealed that Nikita Grebenkin is the only player he believes could miss time into the summer and/or training camp.
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“There’s one, maybe Grebenkin, depending on how it goes,” Briere said.
“Initially, we thought it was going to be something short, and it just never got better. Now we’re looking at different options for him, so he’s the only one that I would say maybe, if it doesn’t improve.”
Grebenkin, 23, was originally given a seven-to-10-day timeline for his undisclosed upper-body injury, which was announced back on March 26.
Injured Flyers Duo Never Came Close to Return for NHL Playoffs
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The eclectic Russian forward was supposed to be re-evaluated afterwards, and it’s clear that any and all ensuing evaluations did not put him in a position to return to the Flyers by the end of the season.
For the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, Grebenkin never resumed skating, though it is worth noting that he was not observed to be sporting any kinds of casts or slings while in the press box during the postseason.
In the injury update the Flyers released shortly before Briere’s press conference, Grebenkin’s injury was described only as an “upper-body injury,” whereas Christian Dvorak, for example, was specified to have played through a broken rib and separated shoulder.
Owen Tippett, of course, had released a joint statement with the team relaying his battle with a sports hernia and an unrelated bout with internal bleeding, so it would be hard to imagine this is simply an oversight by the team rather than something deliberate to protect the player.
Nikita Grebenkin Injury Update: Flyers Prospect Not Returning Anytime Soon
Grebenkin is a pending restricted free agent and will be due for a new contract this summer.
