On the heels of news that Rick Nash may be unable to play tonight due to a nagging injury, the Jackets have announced that Tomas Kubalik will be recalled from the Springfield Falcons on emergency recall.
The rookie winger who scored a hat trick against the Penguins in the pre-season has continued to impress in his first taste of the AHL, where he is currently 4th in the rookie scoring race with 22 goals and 28 assists in 73 games.
It’s certainly a well deserved honor, and you can’t help but wonder where he might line up. He’s probably got the scoring touch to be a top six forward, but is his body ready to go against top defenses and checking lines?
If I had to guess, R.J. Umberger goes to the top line, Kubalik to the second line, and the rest says unchanged (I thought for a moment about a scenario where Upshall moves to the second line, and putting Kubalik on the third or fourth line, but is it fair to ask a rookie to try and shut down Alex Ovechkin or Alexander Semin in his first NHL callup?).
Interesting times ahead, guys…