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Edmonton Oilers pick David Musil done for WHL season; can Vancouver Giants fill the void?
Those who saw Edmonton Oilers prospect David Musil help the Czech Republic make a run at the world junior know how much he shore up his team's defence at the junior level. Now it turns out the wrist injury that initially caused the 18-year-old defender, who is a high second-round pick, to miss two weeks of action in January, will need to be fixed with surgery.
That leaves the Giants, who are slated to face the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Hockey League playoffs, with a gaping void on the blueline. Coach Don Hay's team has already had an exceptional year for man-games lost, but this is the topper.
From Steve Ewen:
Musil's absence is the largest hole, considering he regularly played well over 20 minutes per game. The 6-foot-4, 203-pound Edmonton Oilers prospect was frequently matched up with the opponent's No. 1 line, and he was a mainstay to Vancouver's penalty killing unit. Musil, 18, had even been part of the Giants' top power-play unit of late, and he had four points in his last five games, pushing him to 27 points, with six goals, in 59 games.
He had been playing with an ailing wrist for about six weeks.
Vancouver does have some experience without him, though. The Giants have gone 5-6 so far this season when Musil's been injured or representing the Czechs at the world juniors. (Vancouver Province)
Musil jammed the wrist against the boards during Prince George on Jan. 10. At the time, there was mostly relief that there was no broken bone, but sometimes tendon damage can be more devastating.
In any event, the Giants will be missing one of their three or four more essential players for the duration. It does not spell doom, not for a Hay-coached team, but it will be tough to overcome. As Ewen put it:
I think it hurts Vancouver most of all on the penalty kill, where they've routinely used Musil, Wes Vannieuwenhuizen and Neil Manning in a platoon against two-minute minors. Brett Kulak has started to get some trust on the PK of late, as has Tyler Vanscourt, but Musil, with his large wing span, could get into shooting and passing lanes like no other Giants d-man.
I think you'll see Kulak get more minutes on the PP. I like that move. Vancouver's PP has been ailing of late, and Kulak has the wheels to get into open spaces and seems to think the game offensively.
I do see Kulak stepping up overall. He had a little gleam in his eye about "the opportunity," on Wednesday. I think the kid has a little giddy-up to him. (Every injury being an opportunity for others is one of my least favourite sports cliches for sure, but it pales to every draft pick being exactly who the team wanted and they couldn't believe he was available at that spot.)
It's going to be interesting to see what Vanscourt does. He's got over 100 WHL games under his belt and there are times he looks like a savvy, puck-moving type and times where he's soft on the puck in his own zone. Also at play with him is the fact the Giants will go up against his former team, the Spokane Chiefs, in the first round. (Vancouver Province)
Perhaps the good news, then, is that Vancouver's first-round foe has the WHL's third-worst power play. The teams are level at 83 points apiece with two games to go, but Vancouver holds the tiebreaker with a 39-37 edge in wins. The Giants end off with a home-and-home series with the Kelowna Rockets. The Chiefs finish up on Friday vs. Seattle and Saturday at conference-leading Tri-City.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: The Canadian Press).
