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Bran
11-25-2005, 10:44 AM
Anyone know what's going on with Denis Tolpeko? I know he was cut by a skate blade on Wednesday night and damaged a tendon in his ankle. He was flown back to Regina for surgery, but does anyone know the extent of the damage?

Beaner
11-25-2005, 10:52 AM
I have read he is out for 4-6 weeks. This coming from the Vancouver papers, in the preview of tonights game.

Triton
11-25-2005, 11:46 AM
I heard done for the season.

Golks
11-25-2005, 12:12 PM
Story in the leader-post today says 4-6 weeks.

He goes under the knife for repairs tommorow. (Saturday)

nivek_wahs
11-25-2005, 04:03 PM
Tolpeko on the shelf

Greg Harder
Leader-Post (from reginapats.com)

Friday, November 25, 2005

Denis Tolpeko's arrival provided instant offence for the WHL's Regina Pats.

His loss is cause for instant concern.

The Russian sniper is expected to miss four to six weeks after an errant skate blade severed a tendon in his lower leg. The injury occurred during the first shift of Wednesday's 4-0 loss to the host Seattle Thunderbirds, spoiling Tolpeko's reunion with his former team.

In 20 games since he was acquired from Seattle, Tolpeko has been Regina's most dominant offensive performer, recording 13 goals and a team-high 28 points.

He's slated to have surgery on Saturday and will likely be out until after Christmas -- perhaps the New Year.

"Anytime you lose your leading scorer it's going to affect your hockey club," said GM Brent Parker. "It's a tough loss, but on the other side of the coin it could have been a lot worse. (If the cut had been) half an inch down and over, it's his Achilles that gets severed. It's unfortunate but injuries are a part of (the game). We need to move on."

Tolpeko's loss creates a ripple effect throughout Regina's lineup, especially for young players who will move up the rotation to accept larger roles.

However, Tolpeko's production won't be replaced by any one player.

"It has to be by committee," agreed Parker. "We have other capable people and the young guys are going to get opportunities. They need to take advantage of it."

The timing of Tolpeko's injury could be better since the Pats are also preparing for life without their other European star. Rookie Petr Kalus, who leads the team with 15 goals, has been awarded a spot with the Czech Republic for the upcoming world junior championship in Vancouver.

Kalus is slated to leave for training camp on Dec. 13. He will miss approximately eight WHL games.

"We're excited for him," said Parker, electing to put a positive spin on Kalus's departure. "It's a feather in his cap and it's nice for the organization."

On the downside, the Pats will be forced to operate with a patchwork lineup over the holidays. They're also slated to lose forward Brett Leffler (Team Western) and defenceman Nick Ross (Team Pacific) for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which takes place Dec. 28 to Jan. 4 in Regina.

"It'll be a tough stretch, but other teams go through it too," said Parker. "You hope you don't run into any more injuries but we'll have some other younger guys who are going to get opportunities and players on our list who are going to get opportunities."

Of more immediate concern is Regina's seven-game road trip, which concludes this weekend with games against the Vancouver Giants (tonight) and Kelowna Rockets (Saturday).

Parker said the Pats "ran out of gas" in Seattle after playing their fifth game in six nights. However, Regina still boasts a winning record on the trip (3-2).

"Our effort has been real good all the way along," added Parker. "We're going to need to get more out of more people with Denis being out, but when you're playing .500 hockey or better on the road you're doing something well.

"If we can get a split (this weekend) we'd be very happy. To be quite honest, if we came home 3-and-4 it wouldn't be the end of the world either."