During an OHL game last weekend, Washington Capitals prospect Andre Burakovsky absorbed a dangerous, illegal hit from Cristiano DiGiacinto of the Windsor Spitfires.
GIF by Ian Oland
On Friday, Burakovsky missed his first game as his Erie Otters beat the Kingston Frontenacs, 6-3. So what’s up with Andre?
Victor Fernandes of GoErie.com posted video of his chat with Burakovsky before the game.
Burakovsky referred to his symptoms as “headaches and stuff” but declined to call it a concussion, saying he felt great. He termed it an “upper-body injury.” The 18-year-old also emphasized that he doesn’t want to rush himself back but will return to the ice very soon.
Here’s a transcript of his full comments:
How are you feeling?
I feel pretty good. Getting ready for game and for practice so I’m still feeling great.
Did they tell you if you have a concussion or not?
No, I just have an upper body injury and we’ll take it from there. Got some headaches and stuff so just gonna make sure I’m not going to miss a lot of games. Take it easy a couple days so I can be ready for game.
Do you feel like you’re getting better every day?
Yeah, absolutely.
When will you be back?
I don’t know. We’ll take it day-for-day. For now, getting start to train a little bit tomorrow, biking and stuff. We’ll just take it from day-to-day. We don’t rush.
A few days earlier, Fernandes tweeted that Otters coach Kris Knoblauch told him it’s not been determined if Burakovsky has a concussion.
DiGiacinto was suspended eight games by the OHL for the hit.
