Rangers goalie back at the Aud after hip surgery
Opilka hopes to return to action in a couple of weeks
KITCHENER — Luke Opilka could be a movie critic.
After all, the Kitchener Rangers goalie spent about two months off his feet following hip surgery this past May.
“I watched a lot of movies, anything I could get my hands on,” he said. “I’m a big fan of action movies so ‘The Dark Knight’ and a lot of ‘Batman.’”
Now, the only action Opilka wants to see is on the ice.
And the St. Louis Blues draft pick is getting close to a return. The 19-year-old arrived in Kitchener this past weekend and has been taking shots at informal morning skates this week.
“I’m just happy to be back,” said Opilka, whose painted mask is, in part, inspired by the movie ‘The Gladiator.’ “I love Kitchener.”
It has been a trying year for the Effingham, Ill., native.
The roller-coaster campaign started last summer when he first hurt his hip, though you wouldn’t know it from his stellar 11-1-2-0 start.
“I just kind of played through it and it got worse and worse,” said Opilka. “I knew at the end of the year that I needed to get it looked at.”
Besides the discomfort, the backstopper also experienced a mystery illness — which the Rangers described as mono-like — and missed another eight games around Christmas. Opilka was never really the same after that.
He lost his job to teammate Dawson Carty after giving up three goals on seven shots against the Windsor Spitfires in the first game of the playoffs and hasn’t played since.
“Prior to last year I was pretty fortunate and never really missed a game or practice,” said Opilka. “I think everyone goes through it in their career. It was a good experience and I’m learn-
ing how to handle the highs and lows.”
The Rangers are bringing their netminder along slowly. Right now he’s mostly working with goalie coach Kain Tisi.
And there really is no rush to get him back as the club has four other goalies in the system — Carty, current backup Chris McGonigle and rookies Luke Richardson and Liam Devine.
Opilka still feels a bit of postsurgery discomfort but is getting stronger each day.
“When you’re out that long you have to refresh some habits and sort of relearn some things,” he said. “I feel pretty close to normal.”
The Rangers will have some decisions to make when he’s cleared to play which, in a bestcase scenario, is probably a couple of weeks away.
Carty has assumed the role as the No. 1 guy in net and is off to a crisp 6-0-0-1 start. Opilka, despite his struggles, still finished last season with a solid 27-11-3-2 record, a 2.70 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
“I’m just going to try my best,” he said. “Whenever I get the chance I’m going to run with it.”
DEAL WITH THE DEVILS: Kitchener native Nathan Bastian signed a three-year entry level deal with the New Jersey Devils Wednesday. The Devils selected the Mississauga Steelheads forward in the second round (41st overall) in this year’s NHL draft. Bastian has four goals and six assists in six games with the Fish this season. The 18-year-old played minor hockey with the Cambridge Hawks and Kitchener Jr. Rangers.