Horton Out With Mild Concussion

As some people may suggest, there may not be such thing as a 'mild concussion,' but that's what the Boston Bruins are calling Nathan Horton's head injury. The news came down on Wednesday that the jolt that Horton took from Flyers forward Tom Sestito, a blindside hit to the head, which wasn't reviewed by the league (surprisingly), was confirmed to be a concussion, a day after there were rumblings that the team had their suspicions.

The league protocol will keep Horton out of the line-up for upwards of a week, which works well in conjunction with the All-Star break, which is about a week long, so Horton won't have to miss time during the first week of the protocol.  Whether or not he misses any more time after that, the team and player will have to play by ear.

There's no question that Horton has been quite good for the Bruins this season, scoring 17 goals and 15 assists (for 32 points) in 46 games for the team, going into the All-Star break ranked 109th in pool scoring (unofficially, before the Week Seventeen stat audit).  Horton has been an excellent fit in the Bruins organization over the last couple of seasons and when he comes back from this injury, the team will be far stronger and a little bit more rested to take on another one of those playoff runs.

I think with the concussion labelled as being a mild one, should keep Horton on Jani K.'s draft pool roster, as we're about to start up the second waiver draft here soon.  Jani should still be considering his team as being in the mix for some of the money prizes this season, as his team is only 26 points behind 5th and should have a better pick possibility than the teams in front of him.  The climb will be difficult, but as long as his team is healthy and his goalies are starting, he has a shot.