Scott MacDonald
In the first period of the Avs game last night against the San Jose Sharks, forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare collided with a Sharks player, who slid into Bellemare’s left knee and torqued it in a way that left the Avs fourth-liner writhing in pain on the ice for some time.
Bellemare was unable to put any pressure on the leg as he hobbled down the tunnel and into the trainer’s room.
“He’s going to miss some time,” head coach Jared Bednar said Friday morning. “I don’t have a timeframe exactly, we’ll just see how he progresses and what he’s able to do off the ice here for a bit, but he’s going to miss some time.”
In Bellemare’s stead, the Avalanche recalled forwards Shane Bowers, Logan O’Connor, Sheldon Dries and utility defenseman/forward Jacob MacDonald.
“Obviously because we have some guys banged up right now, with Bellemare going out last night; Devon Toews took a shot to the foot, don’t know his status yet; Calvert, Francouz, those guys are all out,” Bednar said of the recalls. “So whenever we go out on the road, we’re going to load up that taxi squad so we have enough guys in case something happens on the road with injuries.”
It’ll be a good opportunity for some of those young guys to get some playing time. With Bellemare likely being out for weeks (at best) or months (a more likely outcome based on how severe the injury appeared), the O’Connor’s and Bowers’ could see some time, with the latter possibly making his NHL debut.
Other news and notes: