BOUWMEESTER JOINS CANADA’S BLUE-LINE
Another day, another loss for Team Canada.
Just 24 hours after Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn pulled out of the upcoming World Cup of Hockey to rehab off-season surgery, the Chicago Blackhawks announced on Wednesday that stud defenceman Duncan Keith will skip the tournament in order to strengthen his right knee, which was banged up last season.
In Benn’s case, the hope of Canadian general manager Doug Armstrong was that the Stars captain could couple with teammate Tyler Seguin on the same line. But those aspirations were squashed when Benn, 27, underwent surgery to repair a core muscle injury on July 14.
At the time of the surgery, Benn’s recovery time was estimated at six weeks. Obviously the decision was made between Benn and the Stars that, at this time, he would not be fit enough for Team Canada’s training camp, which is scheduled to begin on Sept. 5 in Ottawa.
As much as Seguin was hoping to play alongside Benn in the tourney, he fully understands why the Stars winger opted to take a pass.
“I think with Jamie, there’s not many guys that have more pride in his country and wearing that Canadian jersey,” Seguin said Wednesday at the Biosteel camp in Toronto.
“I’m sure that was a tough decision. But he’s also very committed to the Dallas Stars. It’s mixed feelings for me. I was looking forward to being his linemate, yeah. But I’m behind him 100 per cent getting ready for the regular season.”
Benn was part of Canada’s Olympic gold medal-winning team in Sochi two years ago, scoring twice in six games. One of his teammates in that same tournament was Keith, who earned his second consecutive gold medal with Team Canada after winning his first in Vancouver in 2010.
Keith underwent surgery in October 2015 to repair a meniscal tear in a knee joint before returning to action a month later. He’ll be replaced by St. Louis Blues defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, another member of Canada’s gold medal team in Russia who, like Keith, is a left-handed shot.
“First and foremost, we want to wish Duncan the best in his continued rehabilitation, and welcome Jay to the team,” Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong said.
“Our management team and coaching staff felt it was critical to ensure continuity between the number of left- and righthanded defencemen on our roster, and Jay’s experience with what it takes to be successful in these short tournaments can’t be undervalued.”
Expect Bouwmeester to be paired with Blues teammate Alex Pietrangelo, a right-handed shot.
As for Keith, Blackhawks head physician Dr. Michael Terry issued the following explanation.
“As Duncan continues offseason rehabilitation on the right knee injury that he sustained last season, we understand his decision not to participate in next month’s World Cup of Hockey,” he said. “We believe it is in his best interests to focus on getting stronger and not risk further injury.”
On Tuesday, Hockey Canada announced that the San Jose Sharks’ Logan Couture will replace Benn on the World Cup roster.