Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 29)

The Anaheim Ducks were fortunate enough to welcome Dany Heatley into their line-up for the first time in the regular season, as he managed to work his way back from a preseason groin injury.  Heatley was held to no points in his season debut against the Blackhawks, but the Ducks did come away with a 1-0 victory, so that is something the club can be happy about.

This is really good news for Stacey C., who has been mired near the bottom of the standings since the beginning of the season.  His team sits near the bottom of the pool in skater games played, but now that Heatley is back, he can start to climb up the ranks a little.

The revolving door on the Ottawa Senators blueline isn't spinning nearly as fast as it was last season, but it is involving the same players.  Patrick Wiercioch found his way back to the press box on Tuesday night for the game against the Blue Jackets, as Jared Cowen went back in for the first time in over a week.  Wiercioch hasn't blown the doors off in his appearances, failing to register a point in five games, so Cowen got a shot and the team won, 5-2.

Dale C. one player return from injury, another dodge missing some time due to illness, but couldn't escape Scot-free with this move to the press box for Wiercioch.  Dale had a good night, moving to 6th place in the standings, now only 7 points out of the money.

St. Louis Blues forward David Backes was not on the ice for practice on Wednesday afternoon, a day after leaving Tuesday night's game against Dallas with an injury.  The injury is believed to be an upper-body injury, some speculating that it could be a head injury.  There hasn't been an official announcement from the club, as they are still awaiting some test results, but it doesn't sound like a positive for the Blues.  This will be on our monitor for a bit, I think.

This is bad news for the new leader of the pool, Grant S., who took over from the pool's first duo with a big night on Tuesday.  Grant took the lead on the tie-breaker, but does hold the lead for the Mover & Shaker race in Week Four, so if he can keep up that pace, he will be in great shape.  Backes has 5 points in eight games for Grant, so far this year, so it may be a significant loss, if he is out for the long-term.

The Calgary Flames are awaiting the word on some tests on forward Matt Stajan, who left last night's game against the Canadiens with a knee injury. Stajan reportedly collided with Habs defender Jarred Tinordi and it went knee-on-knee, which usually doesn't end well for someone, in this case, it's Stajan.  There is no confirmation on the injury just yet, but it is worth mentioning.

In 11 games this season, Stajan has a goal and an assist.

Stajan hasn't been Leo's best forward by any means, but everything helps.  Leohas fallen down to 11th place in the standings this week, sitting at the bottom of the weekly totals with only 1 point to his name.  His team has games to help make up the gap, but it could be a long week, especially if the Stajan injury is for the long-term.

An updated list of injuries can be found here.