When the Montreal Canadiens’ selected Mikhail Sergachev with the ninth overall selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, they knew they were getting a potential star. In the Canadiens’ rookie tournament game against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, Sergachev showed that he can be just that with an impressive game including two assists. Unfortunately, Sergachev took a big hit by Senator’s prospect Vicent Dunn, forcing him to leave the game before the Canadiens’ announced that he would not return.
Mikhail Sergachev (haut du corps) ne sera pas de retour cet après-midi. // Mikhail Sergachev (upper body) won't return this afternoon.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 18, 2016
The Canadiens’ didn’t immediately announce the extent of the Sergachev injury, but there is a chance that he was held out for precautionary measures. The hit wasn’t a pretty one, and Sergachev already showed all he had to in the game to impress the Canadiens’ brass. Injury scares are ever-present in the world of professional sports, but it always seems worse when it’s a young player simply looking to prove their value.
The 18-year-old Sergachev was a sensational blueliner with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL last season, scoring 17 goals and 57 points in 67 games in his first year in the league. With Sergachev’s impressive ability, and the Canadiens’ need for defender with his skillset following the P.K. Subban trade earlier this offseason, Sergachev could potentially break the team’s lineup this year.
