Morning Training Camp Injury Notes (Oct 5)

The Boston Bruins announced during their game against the Montreal Canadiens that defenseman Kevan Miller would not return to that game, thanks to a lower-body injury.  He'll be on the list as out day-to-day for the time being, there haven't been many reportso on the severity of his injury yet, but we'll keep an eye on it.  Miller is projected to be a 15-point defender, which could be a bottom-end defender in the draft, if healthy.  Just something to consider.

I am getting to think that it is an idea that adding Matt Hendricks to the Injury Prone List is a good idea, but he isn't necessarily a hockey pool favourite, so it is kind of a battle of being relevant and healthy all the time.  Hendricks has apparently suffered another significant injury, to the lower-body, which will likely keep him out for "weeks."  The 35-year old veteran was only projected to be a 20-point player, if healthy, but this will certainly put a good damper on his season and he'll likely go unnoticed again this year.  On the plus side, this injury could give someone in the depth chart a better shot at a roster spot and could really contribute.

This preseason has not gone very well for professional tryout Stephen Gionta on Long Island, as the 33-year old has suffered a second lower-body injury, or likely aggravated the first one, leaving last night's game against the Rangers with the ailment.  The Islanders are getting deeper and deeper in their prospect pool in the forward position, so unless there was some real value that Gionta was going to bring to the table, it would have seemed unlikely that he would start the season with an NHL contract.

The Montreal Canadiens will be without forward Paul Byron for a few days, maybe a week or so, as the speedy forward is dealing with a bout of pneumonia.  Byron is a scoring threat, especially when shorthanded, for the Canadiens and could certainly find his way onto a hockey pool roster, especially if the draft gets to be significantly deep again this year.  He will be questionable to be ready for opening night, but I'm sure with some TLC, he'll be back in no time.  We can also add depth forward Brian Flynn's name to the Habs' list of minor injuries, as the 28-year old is dealing with a minor neck injury.  Flynn is likely to be one of those names that bounce up and down from the AHL all season.