The last thing any NHL team wants is for one of their key players to get injured during the lockout. That happened Friday night when the Carolina Hurricanes’ Justin Faulk left an AHL game due to an injury.
Fortunately, it looks like the injury isn’t serious and he’s currently day-to-day with a muscle strain, according to the Charlotte Checkers’ website. He might not be in the lineup this weekend, but it sounds like that might be the extent of the impact this injury has on him.
Faulk stepped up last season and made a great impression as a rookie while recording 22 points in 66 games with the Hurricanes. Carolina GM Jim Rutherford sees Faulk as a top-four defensemen.
“To think that he’s 19 years old, and to have the composure he has, and the way he handles the puck and the way he handles different situations, how he moves the puck, how he skates,” Rutherford previously told the Raleigh News & Observer.
Once the lockout ends, Faulk will resume his Hurricanes’ career, but until then, he’ll get an opportunity to continue his development in the temporarily enhanced AHL. That’s assuming, of course, that he can stay healthy.