Rick Rypien out with injury….AGAIN

Poor Rick Rypien. The hard luck Vancouver Canucks' forward will require surgery for a sports hernia that will sideline him indefinitely. Once again, after working hard to make the big club, and doing reasonably well in the role and the minutes he was asked to play, the 24 year old spark plug is out again due to injury.

Rick Rypien

Rypien was skating on his own, trying to get back in shape after recovering from a virus. He felt something in his lower abdomen area, it went from mild discomfort to some pretty sharp pain. So he went to the doctors who discovered the hernia. In the five games that he’s played so far this season he has netted two goals and has held his own in a couple of fights.

It is ironic how every time he seems to get on track, and it is all looking like it is going to fall in place for him in the NHL, something happens. He battled hard in 2006, and was called up around December. He suited up in a game versus the Edmonton Oilers, where he notched his first career goal. He looked pretty good in the early going, doing the little things right. But a shift or two after scoring the goal, in a collision with Raffi Torres, Rypien broke his leg and was out indefinitely.

I like the kid, I think he is a good player, he works hard, he will hit anything that moves and he knows how to handle himself if the going gets tough, just ask anyone who has taken him on in a fight on the ice.

But how many more looks is he going to get? In the cap era, the game has become even more of a business. At what point will the Canucks give up on him and label him injury prone and decide to give his roster spot to someone younger, who can prove to be more durable?

-Aleem Peermohamed