It’s been an up-and-down offseason for Anaheim Ducks’ forward Rickard Rakell. The 23-year-old forward was originally announced as Team Sweden’s replacement for Alexander Steen at the World Cup of Hockey in August before being replaced by Patrik Berglund himself due to stomach virus. The Ducks recently announced that Rakell underwent successful surgery to remove scar tissue from his appendectomy, leaving the Swedish-forward on a low entering the NHL season.
RAKELL UPDATE: Underwent surgery this week to remove scar tissue from his appendectomy. He will need two weeks before returning to training.
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 18, 2016
In his second full season with the Ducks, Rakell showed that he has the makings of a full-time NHL player. In 72 games in the 2015-16 season, Rakell posted 20 goals and 43 points, while also adding one goal and two points in seven playoff games. While Rakell won’t get a chance to showcase his abilities at the international level at the World Cup, he’ll get the chance to perform at hockey’s highest level when the NHL’s regular season starts in October.
Two weeks of rest isn’t the worst-case scenario for Rakell and the Ducks, and in the end, it’s likely a result they’re happy with. Any prolonged absence by one of the Duck’s regular players would have led to a much different gameplan entering the season, but Rakell should be just fine by the time the season gets underway.
