Coach Brent Bilodeau said injuries have cost Thunder players 200 games this season. The number will likely increase tomorrow.
Bryan Nathe, who leads defensemen with a plus-6, did not skate on Thursday. His return seems doubtful. Same for Jonathan Bernier, who is getting another X-ray on Monday, Bilodeau said.
The status of Connor MacDonald and Brad Thompson is uncertain. They’re day to day, as Bilodeau likes to say.
The rest of the story: I will have an article in tomorrow’s paper about rookie Chris Shudo. He scored two goals against Oklahoma City and, if he can provide consistent offense, could be a big boost to the offensively starved Thunder.
Everyone says the same thing about Shudo. “The kid’s fast.” The source of that speed is interesting, although I couldn’t find a fitting place for it in tomorrow’s article.
When Shudo was 4, the only open class at the local rink was figure skating. So his folks signed him up. Shudo stayed in figure skating until he was 9. He was also playing hockey much of that time, but he thinks the figure skating was a huge benefit.
“I think it gave me a head start with the fundamentals,” Shudo said. “I had a head start over the other kids.”
The story surprised me, but Shudo said it’s “pretty common” for hockey players to have figure skating experience. Who knew.