Oilers Lose Connor McDavid To Broken Clavicle
The media called it ‘the injury heard round the world’. That might be a bit of an overstatement but it was certainly a stunning blow to Canadian hockey fans when the Edmonton Oilers’ rookie phenom Connor McDavid went down in a heap. It was obvious that the injury was significant but it wasn’t until the press conference the following day that fans got an idea of how badly. Oilers’ head coach Todd McLellan reported that McDavid’s left clavicle had been broken and that it would be a matter of ‘months’ before he returned to action.
There was some good news to come out of the whole situation. McDavid’s injury is a straightforward broken bone and did not damage the shoulder. Shoulder injuries can be difficult to heal but a broken bone should be just fine–thanks to some titanium rods to stabilize the area. McDavid is just 18 years old meaning that he’ll heal quickly and the injury shouldn’t have a long term impact on his career.
In the short term, however, it does require a bit of lineup shuffling by Coach McLellan. Leon Draisaitl moves to the top line between Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, who is just now returning from injury himself. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will center the line that McDavid was playing on with Nail Yakopov and Benoit Pouliet. The Oilers have a nice compliment of talented forwards but not much depth at the center position.
It’s an unfortunate development but not a devastating one. It is curious that so many young Oilers’ players have suffered shoulder injuries. Some have pointed to the ice surface at Rexall Place which is considered among the worst in the NHL. It could also have something to do with the boards–they might be less forgiving than others to hard impact. These considerations won’t be a problem next season after the Oilers move into their swanky new digs at the Rogers Arena.
The injury is something of a familiar blow to long suffering Oilers’ fans. McDavid was clearly on the path to superstardom–as well as being incredibly fun to watch–and now Edmonton fans will have to wait a little longer for their hockey fortunes to improve.
