In a move that wasn’t too surprising after Dispatch reporter Shawn Mitchell tweeted that Cam Atkinson had suffered a setback in his recovery from a high ankle sprain, the club announced that forward Nick Drazenovic will be joining the team in LA for their road trip. Since the #42 he wore in a callup last season is otherwise occupied, he’ll be pulling on #34 this time around.
In case you forgot, Drazenovic was actually drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2007, which means he’s another product of our new Finnish overlord. In addition to that “family tie”, he’s also leading the Falcons in scoring this season, so hopefully he’ll get a chance to spark some offense for the big club as well.
In other injury news, Adrian Aucoin and John Moore are both on the trip, so don’t be surprised if we see them slotted in over the next few games as the club gets healthy.
As to Atkinson, he is on the trip as well – it’s worth considering that he was in a full contact practice on Tuesday, so it’s possible that the strain caused some aggravation. If it’s a relatively mild issue, he could be ready to go before the end of the trip.
Try to think positive, guys. Good times ahead.