Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 9)

The Edmonton Oilers opened up their regular season in St. Louis against the Blues and in the lineup with the rest of the group, defenseman Oskar Klefbom, who missed the last few outings in the preseason with an undisclosed injury.  Obviously, the injury wasn't too severe and his participation in the season opener wasn't really in doubt.

Good news for Eric, who took a good chance on him in the 12th round this year, one of the few gambles that haven't blown up on him quite yet in this early part of the season.  Oh well, if everything goes to pot, he at least has a good handle on the PIM pool with his team.

This was supposed to be a redemption year for Sam Gagner, when he signed on with the Philadelphia Flyers, but on Thursday night, Gagner was a healthy scratch with another player, still looking for another solid shot at an everyday NHL job, Vincent Lecavalier.  Gagner has moved quite a few times in the last couple of seasons and if he can't earn a full-time job with a fledgling Flyers team, he might be looking for another job.

John R. must have thought that Gagner was due this year, due for that breakout, taking him down in the 12th round, a very reasonable gamble, but one that doesn't pay off early on with the healthy scratch.

The new number one goalie for the Buffalo Sabres, Robin Lehner, didn't make it out of his first regular season game with his new club, leaving midway through the 2nd period with a lower-body injury after his skate caught a rut in the ice.  The team is hopeful that the injury is minor and that he can be back before too long, but there isn't any certainty in that at the moment.  Lehner was seen leaving the building with a high walking boot and there is some indication that this could be an ankle sprain, but there's only speculation to that and how severe the injury could be.  Stay tuned.

This is not the start that Stacey C. wanted out of his number one goalie, especially in the first week of the season.  With Buffalo only having one more game this week and carrying the Anaheim back-up this week, it doesn't look like Stacey will be participating in the goalie survivor pool this year.

An awkward fall into the boards sent Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter back into the dressing room in the Wild's comeback win against the Avalanche on Thursday night and the speedy forward did not return.  There were no immediate updates on the condition of the Swiss forward, but there could be some later on after Friday's practice.  It did look like he was jarred pretty well against the boards and did look a little woozy, so it will be key to see what kind of symptoms the team reports later on today.

This isn't good news for Brenda & Seward, who are already without Zdeno Chara in Boston to start the season.  Niederreiter did have a goal in the game, before he left in the 3rd period, but the pool's second duo are hopeful that he can provide more offense before too long.

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