Draft Player News (Jan. 14)

A mild groin strain was enough to keep Devils wonder kid, Adam Henrique, out of Saturday afternoon's contest against the Winnipeg Jets. The Devils just finished up a 4-game road trip with their game against the Jets and they will likely get a better look at Henrique when they return home on Sunday.  The groin problem does not sound too serious and he should be considered day-to-day for right now.

In the draft, Henrique was a waiver draft pick-up for Dale C., who has cashed in on this pick, collecting 17 points in 18 games played since the beginning of Week Ten.  This has kept Dale in the money race, currently sitting in 5th spot, so you know he's hoping for a quick recovery.

An upper-body injury was the reason that Lightning defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron didn't dress against the Capitals, but there seems to be no real indication that he is seriously hurt.  According to the club, he is listed as day-to-day with the injury, but that really hasn't told us anything.  We'll keep an eye on this one for you.

Bergeron is also a waiver draft pick-up this season, as Derek W. used one of his early picks in the draft to take the veteran puck-moving defenseman, but he hasn't seen the production of a Henrique to this point, only picking up 4 points in 17 games since Week Ten.

Reports out of the Devils and Jets game this afternoon say that Blake Wheeler was caught in the throat with a puck and was forced to leave the game.  The last thing that I have seen on Saturday afternoon was that he was taken to hospital to get a general battery of tests done on his condition, but the coaching staff are optimistic that he'll be okay.  If there is any word of a severe injury, he will certainly get a full update on the blog.

Wheeler has quietly had a pretty good season for Ryan M. in the pool, picking up 32 points in 44 games to this point, helping elevate Ryan's team in the standings, since the first waiver draft.  Ryan's team now sits in 13th place, 27 points out of the top 10, which is likely his goal right now.  An injury to Wheeler will definitely hurt his chances of achieving that goal.