Rodin can’t overcome injuries
Former Swedish Elite League MVP released from contract
PHILADELPHIA — Anton Rodin’s heart was always in the right place.
Despite assurances that his surgically repaired left knee would hold up in elite NHL competition this season, the 26-year-old right-winger faced long odds of a realistic future with the Vancouver Canucks. It all caught up to him Monday. The former Swedish Elite League MVP asked to be released from his contract, a one-year, US$700,000 commitment based more on hope than reality because he was being outplayed by younger talent on the right side in Vancouver and Utica, N.Y.
Unconditional waivers means buying out the player’s rights under terms of a collective bargaining agreement, but what it really means is a franchise end for the club’s sec- ond-round, 2009 draft pick.
Rodin played just three regular-season games last season. He managed one assist in seven games this season with the AHL affiliate Comets and was battling a hip-flexor injury.
“Obviously, last year was a challenging year for him with the injury and a positive was just getting him back healthy,” said Canucks president of hockey operations Trevor Linden. “But it was a competitive camp and some guys passed him and he felt it was best to go back to an opportunity in Europe.”
At the NHL level, Rodin wasn’t going to play ahead of Brock Boeser or Jake Virtanen on the right side. And in Utica, the play of two rookies — centre-turned-winger Zack MacEwen and Alexis D’Aoust — has been better than the Stockholm native.
“I don’t think at the end of the day he thought there was an opportunity with the big club and that’s why he came here,” added Linden. “It was a just a series of unfortunate things. There’s no one to blame here — it’s a situation that just didn’t work.”
Rodin endured immense physical and mental strain to mend a troublesome freak tendon laceration in January 2016 that morphed into a greater concern. It resulted in a disheartening season and exhaustive attempts to rehab the ailment before season-ending surgery Feb. 7.
The knee tendon laceration at practice required surgery, but the Canucks discovered in July 2016 — after consultations with Rodin — that the post-operation prognosis was much more complicated.
The procedure to repair the quadriceps tendon changed the mechanics of Rodin’s knee and caused inflammation of the joint. Rodin’s kneecap also has two bones instead of the traditional one and because they hadn’t fused, it created stress in the joint and the inflammation of bones.
It’s why Rodin was shut down with swelling after collecting five points in five pre-season games last fall. It’s why there was encouragement after a three-game conditioning stint with the Comets.
And it’s why there was still concern after Rodin fell on the injured knee in a Jan. 6 game against Calgary — when his shin pad shifted downward — brought more swelling and eventual surgery.
To his credit, Rodin always wanted to play here and not back in Sweden.
“It’s something I’ve been dreaming of since I was a little kid,” he told Postmedia News at training camp. “My entire career has been like this and it’s never been easy to play right away. It’s been a learning process and having coaches get angry at you and not playing that much.
“But you just have to prove them wrong. Even though they may like you, they want to test your character a bit and it’s always been that way with me.” Until now.
OVERTIME: Defenceman Philip Holm, 25, has been recalled from the Comets and his 10 points (2-8) in 15 games are encouraging and the Canucks want him exposed to their practice environment on this sixgame road trip. Patrick Wiercioch, who has yet to play this NHL regular season, has been dispatched to Utica to get in some games. Chris Tanev (thumb) is expected to play at some point on this trip, but Troy Stecher (knee) is further away.