Calvin de Haan joins the injured shoulder brigade
by Dominik on Jan 26, 2010 5:50 PM EST
in Islanders in Diapers
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PrintIf someone in the depths of last year's 30th-place season told me, "The Islanders will have two very promising blueline prospects next year -- one a graceful puck-mover, the other a 2008 pick who is adding some offense to his already physical shutdown game," I would have said: Great! ... What's the catch?
The catch, it turns out, is that both will suffer major shoulder injuries this season -- one requiring surgery, one {crosses fingers} that is being rehabbed so that Travis Hamonic can help his new junior team in the playoffs and the Memorial Cup.
Calvin de Haan, who was an OHL all-star this year and point-producer -- and shootout taker! -- for the Oshawa Generals, is now on Long Island in preparation for shoulder surgery, which will sideline him for six months. Chris Botta says the injury happened Sunday [more details from TSN here]; I'm sure we'll hear whether it's entirely new or a re-aggravation of his "upper body" injury from earlier this season. Hamonic and de Haan, you'll remember, each suffered injuries in the WJC (Hamonic's shoulder, de Haan's head/upper body).
Not to feed panic -- it's a rough game, we know this, and medicine has come a long way since the "Bum shoulder? There's still work for you on the farm" days. But to review: The Islanders' two most promising amateur defensemen prospects -- their thinnest position -- have shoulder injuries that rob them of a half-season of development before they've even played an official pro game.
Somehow, that sounds about right.
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That is a huge bummer (no pun intended)
I admit, even as an Ottawa/Colorado fan living in Vancouver, that I’m really curious and excited to see where de Haan’s career is headed. I think he’s still young enough to heal. Young kids have it in them. Take Marian Hossa: blew out his knee in the Memorial Cup, missed months of his rookie year in Ottawa, and now is the all-star scapegoat of the NHL.
I swear I remember seeing de Haan suspended in second grade. He’s grown up a lot since then. Best wishes to a speedy recovery for him and the Islanders’ quickly blossoming future.
ryanclassic.net
On the other hand, as Islanders fans we have the memory of someone like Ryan O’Marra, who was captain of Canada at U-18 and a blossoming 2-way forward injured his shoulder in the last year of juniors, shipped off in the Smyth trade and was never the same player. It just doesn’t bode well, and with our history you can’t blame Isles fans for being a bit pessimistic here.
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
by David Hanssen on Jan 26, 2010 6:05 PM EST up reply actions
RC: Thanks for the encouragement
Feels like a “get well” greeting card almost. Pretty cool you have some history there — time flies by, doesn’t it?
I’m staying optimistic. Young injuries are often overcome. Pretty depressed about the lost half-year though. We already need him sooner than he’d reasonably be ready.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
So that’s Koskinen, Hamonic and de Haan who have lost significant time to injury. 2 out of the top 3 picks from the past year lost a year and half a year of development respectively.
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
by David Hanssen on Jan 26, 2010 6:12 PM EST up reply actions
Admittedly I was in 7th or 8th grade at the time, but the “Carp, Ontario” listed as his birthplace is, sadly, the same as mine. We went to the same grade school, the same one my (much) younger kid brother is at right now. Do you know if he had an older brother who died of (I think) cancer? Because the two Calvins I can think of were that one, or the bratty kid who pissed me off every morning waiting for the bus. But that kid was short. Calvin is, uh, not.
Yeah, time flies. I looked at Canada’s WJC roster in December and went “whoa, Carp!?” It’s such a tiny area, but there are two NHLers from nearby. Todd White (Atlanta) graduated from my high school. Kurtis Foster (Tampa Bay) is from Carp as well.
My roommate adopted the Islanders as his east coast team (joining the Oilers as her main). He beat me in NHL 10 Battle for the Cup with the Isles versus my attempt at using Team Switzerland. His Streit played better than mine.
Anyway, kids bounce back. Cody Hodgson will for Vancouver. Phil Kessel – despite my scathing statistic dismantling on my own site – bounced back from a shoulder injury and cancer before that. Daniel Alfredsson has had his shoulders beaten up year after year (including this year). I think de Haan will be fine. Carp boys are built tough. Except me. But I don’t play pro hockey, I just write about it.
ryanclassic.net
by Ryan Classic on Jan 26, 2010 6:34 PM EST up reply actions
I think de Haan will be fine. Carp boys are built tough. Except me. But I don’t play pro hockey, I just write about it.
Hey, I was told writing about hockey is toughest of all. Or so says my mirror each morning.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
This Sucks.
Hopefully its a mere ‘one step forward, one step back’ deal and not the bad ‘one step forward, two steps back’ sort of injury.
Also, why is it that some NHL-teams have a particular injury type that just happens to most players on that team at some point?
Coincidence
Unless it’s the flu. There was a time in Ottawa where Martin Havlat led the strained groin army. As far as I know the trainers haven’t changed, Havlat and the others with groin issues (see: Hasek, Dominik) are also mostly out. Suddenly no strained groin problems.
ryanclassic.net
by Ryan Classic on Jan 26, 2010 6:36 PM EST up reply actions
too bad it wasnt a lower body injury
the only thing that stops CdH being in the nhl is his weight and strength but with the shoulder injury this guy cant even do bench presses or curls
This should be in the marketing plan
Guess the Islanders’ Injury of the Year!
2008 – Hip
2009 – Groin
2010 – Shoulder
I’m picking “concussions” for 2011, especially if Colon Campbell keeps ignoring head shots to our guys.
by mikb on Jan 27, 2010 12:07 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
