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Radek Faksa concussion severely strains Kitchener Rangers’ depth
Add Radek Faksa to the lengthy list of potential high NHL draft picks to go down with an injury. The Czech centre had been having a good start to the playoffs with the Kitchener Rangers, but Thursday the team confirmed the worst in the wake of Faksa being drilled into the boards the previous night in Owen Sound and leaving the game.
From Josh Brown:
Faksa took a shoulder to his chin during the second period of Game 4 of the OHL's Western Conference quarter-final Wednesday night in Owen Sound.
"It's devastating," said Spott. "He's not doing well. It's a huge loss for our hockey club. This is a guy who was trying to be a top 10 pick in the NHL draft."
Brandon Francisco will take Faksa's spot in the lineup for Game 5 in Kitchener [on Friday]."I've said it before, one player's loss is another player's opportunity," said Spott. (Waterloo Record)
The Rangers still have three chances to oust Owen Sound, which is severely depleted by injuries in its own right. But they might be falling short of the ideal of receiving contributions from all 18 skaters (and then some) to win in the playoffs.
Forward Tyler Randell still has seven games left in his 10-game ban for a head check. There is also an element of what-might-have-been with two of Faksa's fellow 17-year-olds, since the Rangers lost Matia Marcantuoni and Evan McEneny to injuries early in the season and had to adapt to life without them. Defensively, Brown also articulated concerns that standout defenceman Ryan Murphy and Cody Sol are being overplayed. Sol lost a puck battle to Owen Sound's Kyle Hope on the overtime winner on Wednesday.
Pretty sure Sol and Murphy played that entire game, lol. Seriously, it felt like they never left the ice. And the extra time showed. Way too many turnovers. (Ranger Report)
(Kitchener subtracted from its blueline before the trade deadline when it sent Winnipeg Jets prospect Julian Melchiori to Oshawa to clear an overage spot for Randell, who is, of course, suspended.)
Now Faksa. The one-man-goes-down, another-steps-up cliché likely doesn't apply in full when the former is someone with his confluence of size, skill and two-way play. Kitchener should be able to polish off the Attack but this might hurt its potential later in the playoffs.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.
