|
PITTSBURGH -- Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin did his best to play through an ankle injury, but finally withdrew from the World Cup of Hockey tournament days before Team Canada's first meaningful game. "Obviously disappointed," head coach Mike Babcock said Wednesday morning before Team Canada's final pre-tournament game against Russia. "He said to us, 'You know I haven't been very truthful,'" the coach said of Seguin, who tried to skate on the ankle Tuesday but found it wasn't healing the way he'd hoped. Babcock said he has encountered this kind of situation during his previous stints as head coach of Canada's national team, at the Olympics in 2010 and 2014. "It's the same; the guys don't tell you," the coach said. "Why would they tell you? They want to go. They think they're going to get better and they're going to push through it, and he tried to push through it. But he said even yesterday, when he started pushing through it, it started heating up right away. Now I don't know what that means in medical terms but I know in coaching terms you're not doing very good."  Seguin, 24, won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2015 world championship. This was supposed to be his second international competition for Team Canada. He said he was "disappointed" in statement released by the Stars on Tuesday. "Any time your country calls, it's a great honor and is something every kid from Canada dreams about getting the chance to do," he said. "While I'm upset that I don't get the opportunity to play, I understand the situation Team Canada is in with a short tournament." Seguin was replaced by Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly, who drove into Pittsburgh on Tuesday night and skated with his new teammates Wednesday morning. O'Reilly will skate on the team's fourth line with Claude Giroux and Joe Thornton -- with O'Reilly and Giroux expected to share duties at center. "Crazy how quick things turn around here," O'Reilly said. "Just trying to prepare for the season and now it's here. Get ready to play a game tonight. Definitely exciting, though; I'm glad I'm here. Unfortunately it's a guy getting injured, but I have a job to do." Team Canada opens the World Cup of Hockey on Saturday night in Toronto against the Czech Republic. A source told ESPN's Craig Custance on Tuesday that early indications are that Seguin shouldn't miss much of the Stars' training camp with the injury. Seguin finished second in scoring for the Stars during the 2015-16 season, posting 33 goals and 40 assists for 73 points. He missed the final 10 games of the regular season with an Achilles tendon laceration. He played one game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. ESPN's Joe McDonald and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
