Losing much of his season to injury, with no playoffs to compete in, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard will take solace in representing Team USA in the upcoming world championship in Germany and France.
“Yeah, I’m going to worlds,… Howard said. “I’m going to continue to keep playing. I think that’s important for me, especially because I missed a good chunk of the season being out with the injury.
“I’m looking forward to to it.…
Several Red Wings made the commitment to represent their countries once they knew they wouldn’t be part of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Forward Dylan Larkin will join Howard on the American squad.
“It’s another opportunity to get better and have fun playing,… Larkin said. “USA Hockey, I always enjoyed playing for them and representing my country so I’m really excited about it.…
Goalie Petr Mrazek will play for the Czech Republic and Wings coach Jeff Blashill will take helm of Team USA.
|When I was asked to do it, my instinct was to certainly say yes, because of the fact that I’ve had a chance to represent my country in a couple of other tournaments,… Blashill said. “It’s a great thing. Beyond that, I also think it’s a heck of a coaching learning experience.
“I’ve looked at coaching my whole life and I hope that there’s not one day that I didn’t try to get better and that I haven’t tried to learn and improve. One of the ways to do that is to be in different environments and learn from other staff members.
“This will give me a chance to be around people that I’m not around every day and hopefully to get that little bit better that we all want to be.…
Under The Knife Two players who would otherwise be headed for the worlds will instead be undergoing surgical repairs.
Left winger Tomas Tatar will undergo shoulder surgery on Friday. He’s expected to endure 4-6 months of rehab following the surgery.
“I should be good for next season,… Tatar said. “Hopefully, everything will go as we plan so far and there will be no problem.…
Tatar admitted that the shoulder was a lingering ailment that affected his play as the season neared a close.
“I've been battling with that,… Tatar said. “Now, we come to the end and it's hard to play with it. It's been bothering me almost every game.
“I don't think it's a big of a deal surgery. It's pretty simple and now is the time. We have a longer period of days off because we are not in the playoffs, so I think it's a good time to get it done and be ready for next season.…
Left-winger Justin Abdelkader will have an injured knee checked out.
“We'll get an MRI,… Abdelkader said. “We'll meet with the doctors and we'll kind of get a game plan from there.…
Abdelkader intended to play for Team USA at the worlds and hasn’t given up that dream yet.
"I don't know,… Abdelkader said. “We'll see. I would actually really like to go, go and play. You want to continue to playing. It's too early to be done, but we'll see.
“We'll meet with the doctors and we'll have a good idea by the end of this week what's going to happen.
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer