Yes it is not a good day for the Hounds as it is most likely that Tanner Dickinson who slid hard into the boards Saturday night against the Barrie Colts will be on the mend for the rest of the season and post season.

This is according to the fact that he fractured his right femur and will miss ‘ a significant” amount of time according to team released quotes.

To understand the seriousness of these types of injuries; just click on the video below to gloss over what this young man has had happen to him and the hill he is going to climb physically and mentally in the coming months.

The team right now is obviously devastated and are pulling for a full recovery for Tanner who was one of the major puzzle pieces for this team to go for a long playoff run. Tanner in my opinion was the best player in many areas and I thought that with a couple of 3 point games here and there he could catch Rory and end up with the most points on the team at the end of the season.

They will him miss quite a bit as Tanner was a two way player and led the team until this point with a plus/minus rating of 18 and 3rd in the league with shots on goal at 164.

It is going to take a lot of work and effort from all of the players on the team to replace this.

I am no Doctor but a few searches and you will find that femur fractures or breaks can take anywhere from 12 weeks to 12 months to fully heal. I am certain Tanner will have the best medical care but I am also certain with Tanners handlers and career ahead of him, they will in no way rush him back on the ice for any reason. Tanner will put the skates on when probably two top doctors have evaluated his mend.

As John Dean says; it’s next man up and it is a great opportunity for some young kids to get experience but as much as it’s next man up, the Hounds are going to have to tighten up the backend as they cannot rely on Tanners points and hard backchecking anymore.

The Hounds are 4th worst in the league with goals against sitting at nearly 4 (3.51). On the other end of the spectrum, Mississauga who played the same amount of games are giving up only an average of 2.33 goals per game.

Yes John Dean and the rest of the coaching staff have some serious work to do, but I am confident that someone will kick it into high gear.

Will it be Kalvyn Watson, Tyler Savard, or Bryce McConnell-Barker ? Who knows but one of them with the extra minutes will certainly need to step up their game.

With the good things we have seen from Savard and Watson; is it possible that Dean tinkers and moves one of them to center? Who knows, but unless there is a miracle, Tanner will not be mentioned in the play by play for the rest of the year.

**Yes Charlie Schenkel will start…his tenure with the Rockland Nationals (CCHL) in the nations capital of Ottawa. The Nationals play this Friday night and I hope Charlie is between the pipes as it has been a tough go for him since the Hounds acquired Tucker Tynan. I am sure he is tired of watching the game and playing on his phone in the press box. Hopefully traffic doesn’t hamper his ability to get to the rink lol. Thanks for being a Hound and we look forward to hearing about your progress young man.**

Hounds are back in action this Thursday in North Bay

Go Hounds Go