The news from the injury front is not good for the Prince George Spruce Kings, but it could be worse.
Tanner Main, one of the B.C. Hockey League team’s top defenceman, is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks after the 20-year-old veteran broke a bone in his leg when he fell into the boards and his leg was bent under his own body weight as he hit the ice late in Sunday’s 2-1 shootout preseason loss to the Trail Smoke Eaters in Trail.
But there appears to be no damage to ligaments or tendons, which should help speed Main’s recovery.
“He has a fracture in the fibula above the ankle,” said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “It’s actually better than if he even sprained his ankle, believe it or not. (The break) didn’t go all the way through but he’s certainly going to be in a cast for a period of time and we’re hoping to get him back sometime in January.
“It wasn’t a dirty hit, he just fell awkwardly.”
Main, a native of Welland, Ont., joined the Spruce Kings in a future considerations deal from the Wenatchee Wild. He played 54 games for the Wild last season and collected two goals and 17 assists. Prior to that, he played two seasons in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League for the St. Catharines Falcons.
In five exhibition games with the Spruce Kings, the Bentley University recruit had three assists and two penalty minutes. Hawes said the team is trying to line up a replacement to fill in for Main on the blueline during his absence.
Hawes said the Spruce Kings are still going ahead with plans to host the Merritt Centennials Dec. 4-5 at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena in the season-opening weekend for both teams.
The COVID outbreak has worsened in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser health regions, prompting a new public health order which took effect last week that prohibits any athletic competitions where physical distancing cannot be maintained. That effectively shuts down preseason action for the four BCHL teams in the Lower Mainland – Chilliwack Chiefs, Surrey Eagles, Coquitlam Express and Langley Rivermen – as well as the Powell River Kings at least until next Monday.
Hawes serves on the league’s return to play taskforce and the latest health orders will top the agenda in a midweek conference call this week.
“Obviously if those teams are able to play we’re good to go, and if not then we’ve got to come up with some other thoughts on what the season looks like,” said Hawes.
“As a league we’ve done a real good job battling all these curveballs that have been thrown at us as we’ve moved along and this is just another one. There have already been some really good solutions that have been put on the table and we’ll discuss them this week and I’m sure we’ll come up with a solution that will work well for the league.”
The Spruce Kings will be in Merritt on Saturday to wrap up the preseason against the Cents.
