Team North America’s Aaron Ekblad missed Monday night’s World Cup game against Team Russia because of a mild concussion, according to ESPN’s Craig Custance.
Ebklad’s absence for the team’s second game of the preliminary round was originally reported as being due to an upper body injury, but it is believed that Ekblad’s concussion occurred after a hit from Team Finland’s Leo Komarov during North America’s 4-1 win on Sunday.
Ekblad was replaced on North America’s roster for the game by 22-year-old Jacob Trouba, who made his tournament debut for the club after being a healthy scratch against Finland.
During the second intermission of Monday’s game, Team North America general manager Peter Chiarelli said that Ekblad was day-to-day. Although Ekblad’s concussion is being called mild, given the specialized attention to head injuries and short duration of the World Cup, it is unknown whether we have seen the last of him at the World Cup.
Ekblad was named as an alternate captain for Team North America shortly before the start of the World Cup. The 20-year-old defenseman led all North American players in ice time with 23:53 during Sunday’s game against Finland.
Steven is a lawyer and writer with a passion for the game of hockey. He’s the Lead Writer covering the Tampa Bay Lightning with THW. He’s also been press credentialed through the Lightning since 2016. His work has been published at The Fourth Period, LightningInsider.com, Bolt Prospects, The Sports Daily Network, U.S. College Hockey Online and College Hockey News. He’s had radio appearances on TSN 690 in Montreal, Lightning Power Play Live and multiple podcasts to give insight and analysis on the team. He can be reached on Twitter @StevenDiOssi and by email at sdiossi@gmail.com.
