Declan Chisholm suffered a scary injury at Washington Capitals practice on Monday.
The 25-year-old defenseman was cut high up on his leg by a skate during a drill, departing the ice quickly with one of the team’s trainers.
According to RMNB’s Katie Adler, Chisholm bent over and clutched his right leg, immediately gaining the attention of defense partner Rasmus Sandin and the team’s staff. He quickly exited the ice in visible pain with a trainer accompanying him down the tunnel.
Before leaving, Chisholm lifted up the bottom of his hockey pants to reveal that the skate blade had made it through his sock and drawn blood on his inner right thigh.
Monday’s scare comes just two days after the Capitals lost defensemen Matt Roy and Dylan McIlrath to respective unspecified upper-body and lower-body injuries. Neither Roy nor McIlrath practiced on Monday, with the left-handed Chisholm filling in for Roy on the right side of the team’s second pairing with Sandin.
“I think he should be okay,” head coach Spencer Carbery said after practice. “I haven’t spoken with Serbs (head athletic trainer Jason Serbus) yet, but definitely a scary situation.”
If Chisholm needs to miss any time with his cut injury, the Capitals have just one extra defenseman, Vincent Iorio, still on their roster. The club needs to submit a final 23-man Opening Night group by the NHL’s 5 pm deadline on Monday.
The Capitals have six defenders in Hershey on NHL contracts, including Ryan Chesley, Leon Muggli, David Gucciardi, Cam Allen, Louie Belpedio, and Calle Rosen. The Bears played their final preseason game on Sunday afternoon.
The Capitals acquired Chisholm over the summer in a trade with the Minnesota Wild that saw Chase Priskie and a draft pick head in the other direction. He played a career-high 66 games for the Wild last season, recording 12 points (2g, 10a).
