Center Shawn Horcoff of the Oilers apparently will miss the rest of the NHL season.
Word is that Horcoff, who will have surgery on his left shoulder this week in effect ending his season, aggravated the injury during the NHL All-Star game over a week ago.
Horcoff, who was on pace to top 30 goals for the first time in his career, seemed destined to set career highs in goals (22) and had an outside shot at surpassing his high in points (73) until this setback.
According to media reports, Horcoff first sustained the shoulder injury on October 12. And the Oilers' leading scorer had been putting off surgery throughout the season.
But hearing word that a premier player (Horcoff leads the team with 21 goals and 50 points in 53 games this season) had to miss the rest of the year--perhaps crippling his team's playoff chances--thanks to an injury suffered in a meaningless mid-season game that no one takes seriously must make fans cringe.
Even if you don't root for the Oilers, you can't help but feel their pain. Unless of course, you are a Flames fan.
Would Horcoff's season have been extended longer if he hadn't participated in the All-Star game?
That is debatable.
Horcoff may well have aggrevated the injury at another point during the season.
But surely he could have suited up for at least a few more games--helping the Oilers get some valuable points in the standings--had he not dressed for the Western Conference against the East in Atlanta on January 27th.
There have been some who have suggested in the past--most notably Bob McCown from Prime Time Sports--that the NHL just scrap the annual All-Star contest, and it is injuries like this that just make you wonder why the league even bothers.
Is there any meaning to the All-Star game, which unlike baseball's mid-summer classic, does not guarantee the winning conference an extra home game in the Stanley Cup Final?
Why didn't the Oilers, knowing that Horcoff already had a bad shoulder, demand that he skip the game in the first place?
Why on earth did Horcoff even bother attending, instead of joining others (including Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg, Dany Heatley, Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur) who chose to incline the invitation for various reasons?
Obviously, Horcoff doesn't have the elite status as the other all-stars who missed the all-star weekend, but losing him does not bode well for a struggling Oilers club from here on out.
Now, it will be a tough road for the Oilers, who are tied for 13th place in the Conference with a 23-26-5 record and 51 points, on the fringe of playoff contention being 8 points back of 8th-place Nashville.
Without Horcoff, the Oilers will probably be battling to stay out of the basement of the entire league instead of battling for a playoff spot.
Los Angeles is last overall in the league with 45 points, followed by Tampa Bay at 47.
A devatasting blow to the Oilers indeed.
"Showing Their Scales" and "The Hockey Farmer"
We are pleased to introduce the works of local B.C. authors KP Wee and Farhan Devji to you:
"Showing Their Scales" contains three tales of lies, lust, and deception. These are short novels which deal with betrayal and revenge, with three main male characters and how they end up hurting the women in their lives.
**Catch an episode of BlogTalkRadio here with KP's interview on his books, recorded Dec 29, 2008.**
"The Hockey Farmer" is a story about Logan Watt, who hails from Cochrane, Alberta, and has to decide whether to rehabilitate the legendary family farm or pursue an unlikely career in professional hockey. The story also shifts to Vancouver and contains numerous Vancouver Canucks references.
Help support a pair of B.C. authors by picking up your own copies today!
-- "The Hockey Farmer" can be purchased here,
while "Showing Their Scales" can be bought here. --
"Showing Their Scales" contains three tales of lies, lust, and deception. These are short novels which deal with betrayal and revenge, with three main male characters and how they end up hurting the women in their lives.
**Catch an episode of BlogTalkRadio here with KP's interview on his books, recorded Dec 29, 2008.**
"The Hockey Farmer" is a story about Logan Watt, who hails from Cochrane, Alberta, and has to decide whether to rehabilitate the legendary family farm or pursue an unlikely career in professional hockey. The story also shifts to Vancouver and contains numerous Vancouver Canucks references.
Help support a pair of B.C. authors by picking up your own copies today!
-- "The Hockey Farmer" can be purchased here,
while "Showing Their Scales" can be bought here. --
The Hockey Farmer / Showing Their Scales
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Brief Resume Highlights
Writing Experience
- Bleacher Report: contribute articles on the Vancouver Canucks, Boston sports, hockey, and baseball at least three times a week (2007-Present); edit sports-related articles from other posters (2008-Present)
- UCL: developed Career Planning curriculum (2007); consulted on for other curricula issues (2005-Present)
- Consumer Research: submitted unsolicited proposals for improvements on company operations (2005)
- B.U.D. College: developed Grammar curriculum consisting of five levels (2004); edited curricula for other courses (2004)
- KGIC: developed Career Planning curriculum proposal for Surrey campus (2004)
Writing Accomplishments
- Named Bleacher Report Bruins Community Leader (2008)
- Bleacher Report: contribute articles on the Vancouver Canucks, Boston sports, hockey, and baseball at least three times a week (2007-Present); edit sports-related articles from other posters (2008-Present)
- UCL: developed Career Planning curriculum (2007); consulted on for other curricula issues (2005-Present)
- Consumer Research: submitted unsolicited proposals for improvements on company operations (2005)
- B.U.D. College: developed Grammar curriculum consisting of five levels (2004); edited curricula for other courses (2004)
- KGIC: developed Career Planning curriculum proposal for Surrey campus (2004)
Writing Accomplishments
- Named Bleacher Report Bruins Community Leader (2008)
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