While speaking to the media before traveling to take on the Boston Bruins a day before the Jan. 24 matchup, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour gave updates on goalie of the future Pytor Kochetkov and star winger Andrei Svechnikov.
As Hurricanes training camp got underway in late September the injury bug landed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Prospects Vasili Ponomarev and Ryan Suzuki were the first members of the organization to be bitten in the infant stages of the season, but have both since recovered. Now more than halfway through the season, Hurricanes fans are anxiously waiting for any news on either of the Russian players or Frederick Andersen who’s been indefinitely sidelined since being diagnosed with a blood-clotting issue.
Andrei Svechnikov – Upper Body Injury
The twenty-three-year-old missed the team’s last game against the Minnesota Wild. There was some hope he would still play despite being banged up but when he didn’t join the team on the ice for warm-ups it was clear he wouldn’t be playing.
Andrei Svechnikov will miss tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury.
— Hurricanes PR (@CanesPR) January 21, 2024
When Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff asked Brind’Amour if Svechnikov would make the trip to Boston he had a simple response: “Nope.” Brind’Amour was them asked if he thought Svechnikov would return in time for the team’s final game before the All-Star break, which takes place Saturday, Jan. 27 versus the Arizona Coyotes. “I’m hopeful he’d be able to bounce back quickly,” the head coach continued.
Svechnikov skated before the team took the ice for practice Tuesday morning. “It’s nothing major,” Brind’Amour added. The head coach also noted that it wasn’t a re-aggravation of a previous injury.
Pyotr Kochetkov – Concussion
Before the full roster took the ice on Tuesday, Jan. 22 for practice, Kochetkov was seen working on the ice with goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder. Unlike Svechnikov. Kochetkov stayed on the ice when his teammates came out and had a full workload throughout. That’s a sign he could be getting close to returning.
“He looks good,” Brind’Amour said about the young netminder. “I don’t know where they are with the testing. I think he’s still got to clear one more test. You know, we go through these protocols now so it’s kind of out of everybody’s hands. But he certainly looked ready to go.”
Brind’Amour stressed that he wasn’t sure when Kochetkov could return because “we’re in a different era.” Until the young goalie gets media clearance to rejoin the active roster it’s out of the head coaches hands.
Frederik Andersen – Blood Clotting Issue
There haven’t been any new updates on Andersen recently. However, the absence of news in this case is an update in itself.
Related: What Hurricanes Fans Should Know About Blood Clots
More than a month ago, Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said that Andersen was “a month or so” away from returning, which was new that let fans sleep a little easier. However, more than a month later there has been no sign Andersen is close to rejoining the team. There have even been reports that he sought second opinions on his original diagnosis after his GM gave “Caniacs” a bit of hope. He also has been seen skating with the team or alongside goalie coach Schonfelder.
