Rick Tocchet spent nine minutes after practice Sunday talking to a small group of reporters still on the clock covering the Vancouver Canucks to the bitter end this season. Eight minutes of the coach’s session was spent detailing injuries to his players – discussing new ones and diving into older ones.
Tocchet revealed that veteran defenceman Derek Forbort suffered a fractured orbital bone as a result of a late and controversial punch thrown by Minnesota’s Yakov Trenin in a third period scrap on Saturday night.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” Tocchet said. “You don’t want a guy like that starting the summer like that. He’s a big part of our team.”
It’s an unfortunate ending to a tough season for Forbort who missed time early after the passing of his father and then was out again for six weeks with a lower body injury suffered in early November.
Forbort joins a growing list of Canucks whose seasons have come to a premature conclusion.
Tocchet revealed Sunday that Thatcher Demko won’t play either of the final two games remaining on the schedule. Tocchet says Demko is recovering from an illness and is feeling better, but the hockey club doesn’t see any reason for him to return to game action. The coach said the door is open for Nikita Tolopilo to get his first NHL start in one of the remaining games.
The coach also hinted that the Canucks are likely to put in yet another call to AHL Abbotsford for a defenceman. Tyler Myers skated with the group for a second straight day, but is unlikely to be cleared for game action on Monday against San Jose. Could 24-year-old Jett Woo make his NHL debut after five seasons in the organization? Tocchet said he would discuss all options with General Manager Patrik Allvin later in the day on Sunday.
If there was some good news on the injury front it was the surprise appearance of forward Filip Chytil at Sunday’s practice. After skating a few times on his own earlier in the week, Chytil joined the main group wearing a non-contact red jersey. He was limited in his participation, but the mere fact he was on the ice and practicing is a considerable development in his progress from his latest concussion suffered on March 15th against Chicago.
The Canucks have already said Chytil won’t return to game action this season and the assumption was he wouldn’t be back on skates or around the group. But Tocchet indicated Sunday that Chytil has made significant strides in his recovery and was given clearance to suit up for practice.
“I actually had breakfast with him this morning and we were talking about it and he feels pretty good,” Tocchet said. “He says it’s different than last year which is another positive. He’s already in his summer training mode, he’s dialled in and that’s really good for us to see. Ramping up the heart rate, things like that. And reacting off his heart rate he’s got a bunch of good days together so that’s a positive going into the summer for him.”
Tocchet also addressed the still undisclosed injury that has kept forward Elias Pettersson out of the line-up since March 22nd. Tocchet insists that it’s not a condition that will limit Pettersson’s off-season training in any way.
“There’s no point in even playing him and I’d rather him get a jumpstart on his training. Why try to grind a game here, for what? I think it’s important that he gets a running start here, feels good about himself and gets his body in shape.”
