Capitals top prospect Connor McMichael was supposed to suit up for the Hershey Bears on Sunday against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
In fact, he was even in the Bears’ starting lineup as the team’s second-line center.
But curiously, he did not take the ice at Giant Center. Julian Napravnik did in his place.
Tonight's projected lineup – Dylan McIlrath has posted seven assists against the Phantoms this season and leads Hershey in plus/minus against Lehigh Valley at +9.
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Unavailable for the Bears for today’s game: Henrik Borgstrom (upper body injury).
— X – Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 26, 2023
One possible scenario that could have been playing out was that McMichael was called up to Washington due to Sonny Milano’s upper-body injury. Milano was announced to be out for a week at the least, leaving Washington without a reserve forward.
But shortly after the game started, Hershey posted an update on Twitter and announced that McMichael wasn’t playing due to illness.
UPDATE: Connor McMichael is out (illness) for tonight’s game. Julian Napravnik is in the lineup for Hershey.
— X – Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) March 26, 2023
McMichael played the night before in Hershey’s 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch in New York. The 22-year-old forward registered an assist, extending his season-long point streak to seven games. Hershey clinched a playoff berth with the win for the third straight season.
Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk/RMNB
