Already without team captain Colin Miller for at least another three weeks with an infected Achilles, Soo Greyhounds learned that they will be without 19-year old defenseman Ryan Sproul for 8-12 weeks with a fractured arm suffered during last night’s game against the Sarnia Sting.Sproul, a 2nd round pick in 2011 by the Detroit Red Wings, left last night’s game just 45 seconds into the contest favouring his arm after being knocked to the ice after a rush into the Sarnia Sting zone. He left the game under much distress and was immediately taken to the Hounds dressing room and did not return to the game.
This is a huge loss for the Hounds as Sproul was on pace to be one of the offensive leaders for Ontario Hockey League defensemen after recording 1 goal and 8 assists in 7 games so far in 2012-2013. He is the quarterback on the team’s first powerplay unit, plays in all key situations and is among the league leaders in ice time per game. They will also miss his leadership on the ice as one of only a handful of veterans on the OHL’s third youngest roster.
After getting off to a 5-2-0 start to the season, the Greyhounds will need a number of others to step up in the absence of Sproul. The Hounds are back in action on Thursday night when they head to Windsor to take on the Spitfires.
