Everett star forward Nikita Scherbak had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher during Everett’s 3-2 shootout victory over Seattle on Saturday night.
Late in the second period Scherbak, Everett’s leading scorer and a first-round draft pick by the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, was trying to squeeze past a check along the boards by Seattle’s Keegan Kolesar. Kolesar hit Scherbak, and Scherbak immediately went down in pain. Scherbak remained down on the ice with little movement for a long time, being attended to by the trainers for both teams, and eventually the doctor on call was summoned. He was put in a neck brace, placed on a backboard, and eventually taken out on a stretcher.
The exact nature of the injury was not known. The initial speculation by Tips broadcaster Travis Huntington and on Twitter was that it was some kind of leg injury. However, the neck brace put that in question.
Huntington went down to the locker room during the second intermission, and he reported that Scherbak had been taken to Valley Regional Hospital. However, Scherbak had passed movement tests on all of his extremities before leaving the rink.
After the game Huntington received a report from Tips billet coordinator Lisa Rody from hospital. He didn’t go into detail, but he said the reports were positive and that Scherbak’s head and neck had been cleared.
I will see what more I can learn Sunday.
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