St. Louis Blues Prospect Luke Opilka Has Surgery
The St. Louis Blues luck with injuries and goaltenders seems to filter all the way down to the OHL.
St. Louis Blues goaltending prospect Luke Opilka had hip surgery last month and is expected to miss 4-6 months while he recovers. The interesting thing is there was not a specific injury that caused the surgery.
Opilka played the entire year with the Kitchener Rangers. He was the starting goaltender for most of the season, playing in 44 games and posting a goals against of 2.70. He had a poor performance in the first game of the playoffs, only lasting 10 minutes, was pulled and never saw time again.
Opilka also had some disappointment earlier in the season. He came down with a case of mono in December of 2015. The illness kept him out of action for a month and also kept him from trying to make the US National Junior squad.
“I don’t know whether Luke himself would want to use that as an excuse, but I never felt he was the same goaltender after he got mono at Christmas,” said Kitchener GM, Murray Hiebert.
Whatever the reason for the surgery, it was not something that could have been immediately evident to the team. If it was, then surgery was not immediately in their plans. It almost sounds like a random doctor visit found whatever the issue was and the physician alerted the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues then made the decision to have Opilka undergo the surgery now so he would be able to heal and get the most out of his career.
“There was a small amount of conversation, but the bottom line is you have to do what’s right for the player,” said Hiebert. “Not only is St. Louis looking at making it right for them, they’re trying to make it right for us as well. The whole thing is for Luke’s good and for his future.”
From the Blues’ perspective, it seems like the position is almost cursed. Grant Fuhr got taken out during one of the team’s best chances to win it all. There was the Roman Turek debacle in the playoffs (non-injury related, but still).
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The Blues went through a season in 2002-03 where they had seven men suit up during the season. Six players wore the pads in 2005-06. Jaroslav Halak got injured in 2011-12 in the playoffs, in addition to his other injuries. Jake Allen and Brian Elliott traded injuries back and forth during 2015-16.
Surely it has to be coincidence. However, it just seems to be a long running pattern that gets pretty old.
It is still unclear what Opilka’s ceiling is going to be. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2015 draft. While the Blues are not likely to just throw a pick away and must think he has talent, the fact that he was somewhat of a hometown pick (Effingham, IL is 100 miles away) does come into play.
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Even so, it is good to see the team showing an interest in his future. If they had no interest in him, they could have allowed him to attempt rehab and start the season on time (assuming rehab was even a potential option).
For his part, Opilka is already looking forward to playing again and doing so in Kitchner. “I plan on trick-or-treating in Kitchener in my Batman costume,” said Opilka. October would be around the five month mark, so he is optimistic. Regardless of where he ends up in his career, let’s hope for his sake that injuries aren’t part of his career as they seem to be for some Blues goaltenders.
*Quotes courtesy of Chris Strong’s story for 570news.com