The Bolts
After suffering an injury against Detroit on Tuesday night, Ben Bishop will be out of the lineup for 3-4 weeks. [Raw Charge]
For anyone who is keeping track, Bishop is the fifth starting player to end up on injured reserve. The Lightning have over 1⁄3 of the salary cap sitting out with injuries. [Raw Charge]
With Bishop out of commission, the Bolts recalled Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis from the Syracuse Crunch. [Raw Charge]
Okay, enough about the injuries. It’s time for some joy. Brian Boyle and Ondrej Palat visited Tampa General Hospital yesterday. What game did they play with the kids? Air hockey, of course.
Palat and Boyle brought a little holiday cheer to the kids at Tampa General Hospital #Boltsonthescene pic.twitter.com/oJTkPqvuL3
— Caley Chelios (@CaleyChelios) December 21, 2016
World Junior Championships
In case you missed it, the Lightning are the most well-represented NHL club on Team Canada’s U20 team with five prospects wearing the Maple Leaf this year: Anthony Cirelli, Mathieu Joseph, Taylor Raddysh, Mitchell Stephens, and goalie Connor Ingram. [Raw Charge]
Last night, all five Lightning players suited up for a pretournament match against the Czech Republic, which features another Lightning prospect in defenseman Libor Hajek. Team Canada dominated the game, walking away with a 5-0 victory. Anthony Cirelli picked up two goals and Connor Ingram posted a 25-save shutout.
Connor Ingram is quickly becoming the talk of the town for Team Canada, with Canadian sports network TSN dubbing him “Mr. Personality.” It’s easy to see why he’s earned that nickname with charming anecdotes like this: “Yesterday I was trying to put my jersey on. It got caught on my chest protector. I needed some help. So that’s not how I pictured the first time I put a Team Canada jersey on to go.” [TSN]
Ingram hails from the small town of Imperial, Saskatchewan. In his words, the population is 350 people “on a good day.” He credits his small-town roots with his success. “I think it gave me a leg up in life, just knowing what it’s like out there.” [TSN]
@ImperialSchool1 is proud of our @HockeyCanada hometown heroes @CBIngram1 & Kris Knoblauch#cougarpride#smalltownproud#eatsleepbreathehockey pic.twitter.com/nnn6efGpBG
— Rhonda Renee Kelly (@kelrho5) December 20, 2016
The League
Craig Cunningham, goaltender for the Tuscon Roadrunners, spent a month at the hospital in critical condition after collapsing on the ice. Defying all the odds, he battled back and is doing well. His story is a lesson in personal strength and perseverance. [Five For Howling]
The National Women’s Hockey League has some major issues, and is losing players because of it. Molly Engstrom is the third player to leave the league. “I’m going to Sweden because of the way things were handled in the NWHL.” [The Ice Garden]
To end on a positive note, Peter Bondra and the Washington Capitals surprised a young aspiring hockey player with the opportunity of a lifetime. [Russian Machine Never Breaks]
