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Around the NHL: Injuries to key players mar the early part of the season
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Oct 15, 2024, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 15, 2024, 02:08 EDT
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Can you believe we’re already a week into the 2024-25 season?
Early in the season, there have already been some shocking results, such as the Edmonton Oilers starting their season going 0-3-0, while the superior Calgary Flames are 3-0-0 early in the season. With all that being said, the 2024 first-overall selection has hit the injured reserve, while one of the best defensive centres in the league is out for a few weeks.
However, we’ll start with tragic news coming out of Finland with a quick trigger warning as it’s a heavy topic.

Janne Puhakka was found deceased on Sunday

On Sunday, Finnish news site Ilta Sanomat reported that Janne Puhakka was found deceased in his apartment, with foul play suspected. His partner Rolf Nordmo was arrested for suspected homicide.
Puhakka spent two seasons in North America playing for Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the Quebéc Maritimes Junior Hockey League in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Following his final season in North America, Puhakka returned to Finland to play for the top-flight’s Espoo Blues, before playing in the second tier of Finnish hockey for two seasons and a season in France.
More important than hockey though, is that Puhakka became the first Finnish professional hockey player to come out as gay in 2019, a big deal for me and many other fans around the game.
Rest in peace, Janne.

Macklin Celebrini on injured reserve

The San Jose Sharks selected Macklin Celebrini with the first-overall pick in June’s draft, with the rookie making his National Hockey League debut last Thursday, scoring a goal and picking up an assist. However, the Sharks placed the 18-year-old on the injured reserve two days later.
Celebrini spent his draft season with Boston University, scoring 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games, helping lead the Terriers to the Frozen Four. On top of the team’s success, Celebrini won the Hobey Baker Award.
He’s not the first 17-year-old to win the trophy, as Jack Eichel, Matt Gilroy, and Chris Drury have all done it, but Celebrini is going to have a long, successful career in the league.

Aleksander Barkov is out for two to three weeks

Towards the end of Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov went hard into the boards trying to save an empty net goal, needing to be helped off the ice.
According to Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, the Finnish centre will be out for 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury but should be back in time for Florida’s trip to Europe in the Global Series.
Barkov is arguably the best two-way centre in the league, as he has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy twice in his career, including one last season. Moreover, he helped the Panthers organization win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, scoring eight goals and 22 points in 24 games to defeat the Edmonton Oilers.
In his career, he has 266 goals and 712 points in 739 games, with nine consecutive 20-goal seasons, including a 2021-22 season where he scored a career-high 39 goals. With that being said, the Panthers have enough depth to overcome Barkov’s absence for a few weeks.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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