The Flyers are already without the services of Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Ellis (Season most likely), Patrick Brown, Owen Tippett, and Bobby Brink. Unfortunately, there is another name the Flyers will add to this list…James van Riemsdyk. JvR will have surgery on Friday, per John Tortorella, and his timeline to return is uncertain. It could be a month or longer, depending on how the surgery goes on Friday, everyone heals differently, as well.
For those wondering, the Flyers have been decimated up front, and the season literally is only two weeks old. The depth of the system is being tested once again, as Nic Deslauriers earned a promotion to the third line today with Morgan Frost and Wade Allison, due to injuries. Yes, the Flyers are off to a solid start at 4-2, but they cannot avoid the injury bug again.
The mystery of Cam Atkinson
No one knows what is going on with Atkinson in terms of his injury, yes it remains a mystery. The only information that has been given to the us (The media) is it’s an Upper Body Injury, and he remains day to day as John Tortorella explained yesterday, “Status quo, still trying to find his way.” Tortorella does not believe this is a season ending injury, rather he needs to get comfortable enough to play. He would not go into details of his injury, but he did say Atkinson was frustrated that he’s not able to play.
How can one fault a person for thinking this Atkinson situation is not a Ryan Ellis 2.0 situation with regards to his injury. Last year, Ellis went from day to day for weeks, to week to week until almost February if I recall properly. Atkinson has remained day to day since the start of the season a few weeks ago, so what gives? The only good thing about the Atkinson situation is that Tortorella remains in constant contact with him, and he spoke to him early yesterday before practice began. Let’s hope Atkinson returns sooner, rather than later.
For those wondering, there was no update given about Sean Couturier’s status, so he remains week to week, with an undisclosed time table to return.
Thursday will be an interesting game against another tough opponent in the Florida Panthers. The good news is Rasmus Ristolainen appears ready to return, as does Owen Tippett. Tippett said yesterday that he feels good, and Tortorella hopes he clears protocol ahead of Thursday’s game. Tippett was seen sporting a tinted visor at practice, which is an indication of a concussion. He did say he had conussions in the past, but he would not further elaborate on his Upper Body Injury.
Hopefully, the Flyers can get healthy as they are currently down Atkinson, Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink, Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, Patrick Brown, Rasmus Ristolainen, and James van Riemsdyk.
The flyers need an upgrade in their nutrition department. These players need to get healthy or find new careers. Enough already.