Red Deer Rebels head coach Jesse Wallin got the official word on Nathan Green’s injury on Monday.
It wasn’t good, but perhaps better than what Wallin might have been expecting after witnessing a linesman fall on Green’s leg at the conclusion of Sunday’s 3-1 loss in Medicine Hat, and then seeing the extent of the injury while waiting for the Rebels overage forward to be x-rayed at the city’s regional hospital.
“The diagnosis we got last night was a little off. They didn’t x-ray it high enough,” said Wallin, who originally suspected that Green had suffered a broken ankle.
“He’s got a break,” Wallin continued.
“His fibula is broken about halfway up and the ligament is severed, but that will just reattach and regenerate on its own. The bone is displaced so he’s had a splint put on. He doesn’t need surgery but he’s going to be out a minimum of six to eight weeks.”
While a broken ankle might have been a worse scenario, the loss of Green for up to two months is still a blow to the Rebels.
“It’s a big blow,” said Wallin. “He’s a 20-year-old player and one of our top six forwards. He provides leadership and he’s one of our top players. It’s definitely a blow, but it is what it is and we’ll have to find a way to work our way through it.”
Meanwhile, defenceman and team captain Colin Archer was still experiencing headaches and dizziness on Monday after taking a blow to the head in Sunday’s game.
“We’re not calling it a concussion, but he has concussion-like symptoms and is day-to-day at this point,” said Wallin, who this week will closely monitor the condition/progress of Archer and rookie forward Daulton Siwak, who suffered a concussion during the Rebels’ 5-2 win at Chilliwack on Nov. 14.
Defenceman Justin Weller missed Sunday’s game after incurring a rib injury in a 3-2 win over visiting Spokane the night before. He’s also listed as day-to-day and Wallin hopes to have the six-foot-two rearguard in the lineup for home games against the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Tigers on Friday and Saturday.
If Weller is unable to go, Wallin will consider bringing in 15-year-old defenceman Matt Dumba, the club’s first pick in this year bantam draft who’s currently playing with the varsity team at the Edge School near Calgary. Dumba is eligible to play five regular-season WHL games and can join the Rebels full-time once his own team’s season concludes.
l The Kamloops Blazers hogged WHL headlines on Sunday and Monday with a series of trades and the naming of a new head coach.
Guy Charron, 60, was introduced as the Blazers new bench boss on Monday. Charron replaces Scott Ferguson, an assistant who was named interim head coach when Barry Smith was fired on Oct. 26.
Charron has coached for more than 20 years and has NHL experience with five teams, including the Calgary Flames. His NHL playing career consisted of 734 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals.
Blazers GM Craig Bonner also swung a pair of deals on Monday, sending overage defenceman Giffen Nyren to the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for a conditional sixth-round bantam draft pick, and acquiring 20-year-old blueliner Ryan Funk from the Vancouver Giants for forward Brett Lyon, 18.
On Sunday, Bonner picked up netminder Kurtis Mucha, 20, from the Portland Winter Hawks for a fourth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft and placed overage goaltender Justin Leclerc on waivers.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com