It was a sunny Friday afternoon and Ken Schneider was on his way to Kamloops
when his leisurely drive across the Prairies was interrupted by the ringing
of his cell phone.
“I was 10 miles east of Swift Current,” Schneider said Sunday evening while
watching the opening session of the Kamloops Blazers’ main camp at Memorial
Arena.
It was Blazers trainer Colin (Toledo) Robinson calling.
“Toledo said, ‘I think you should pull over in case this puts you in the
ditch,’ ” Schneider recalled. “My immediate thought was, ‘OK, what’s t he
damage?’ ”
The damage was to his son Mark’s left wrist, which turned out to be
dislocated and included a fracture to the growth plate.
Mark, a defenceman who spent last season with the midget AAA Brandon Wheat
Kings, was injured going one-on-one with veteran defenceman Ryan Bender at
Interior Savings Centre.
“I jammed it into Bender,” Mark said. “It was a freaky thing.
“My arm went numb and then it felt like it was on fire. It felt like someone
had hit my funny bone 100 times with a hammer.”
Schneider ended up at Royal Inland Hospital where the wrist eventually was
re-aligned — while sedated, he was asked what his mother’s name is and,
while he was pondering that, doctors popped it back into place. He was
released about 11 p.m.
“I will go for X-rays next week,” said Schneider, who turns 17 in November.
“If it stays as is, that’ll be fine. If it shifts, I’ll need surgery.
“Other than that, it’s just time and rehab.”
Robinson said he doesn’t expect Schneider to get into a game “until the
eighth week,” which would take the Blazers well into October.
Schneider, whose 2006-07 season was ended by a separated shoulder during a
midget AAA regional playoff game, will stay here, and bide his time until
he’s healthy again. He played five WHL games last season and looked quite
comfortable by the last one.
“I definitely know I can play here,” he said. “It’s just a matter of waiting
to get back on the ice.”
As for his father, a former captain of the WHL’s Wheat Kings, he’ll hang
around this week until Mark gets settled and then think about heading for
home.
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THE WALKING WOUNDED: D Mark Schneider (wrist, six to eight weeks); C JimmyBubnick (flu, day-to-day); D Matt Johnston (concussion, day-to-day).
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JUST NOTES: Main camp opened Sunday and will continue today and Tuesday atMemorial Arena because of Tuesday’s INXS show at Interior Savings Centre. .
. . Today’s scrimmages go at 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., with practice sessions at
11 a.m. and 4 p.m. . . . Team Orange won the rookie camp championship,
beating Team White 4-1 in the final and proudly accepting the trophy in a
rousing presentation at centre ice. C Neil Landry, a Saskatoon product who
won’t turn 15 until Nov. 24, had two goals in a strong effort. The Blazers
got him with the 94th pick of the 2007 draft and, despite his youth, he
already skates at a WHL level. RW Tyler Fairall and C Josh Hansen also
scored for the winners, who started Andrew Lines in goal and finished up
with James Priestner. LW James Friedel scored the game’s first goal for Team
White, which had Michael Matyas in goal. . . . D Isaac McLeod, the 75th pick
in the 2007 bantam draft, tried to gut it out but left camp early and headed
home to Nelson because of a wonky back. . . . C Jimmy Bubnick sat out
Saturday with the flu. The feeling is that Bubnick, who was the only
16-year-old forward at a selection camp for Canada’s under-18 team earlier
this month, is a bit fatigued.
The Blazers have added Terry Reich of Craik, Sask., to their scouting staff.
He is the father of Boston Bruins F Jeremy Reich, a former WHLer, and an
uncle to C Mike Reich of the Regina Pats. . . . The Sept. 11 exhibition game
between the Blazers and Chilliwack Bruins will be played at the MSA Arena in
Abbotsford and played host to by the junior B Abbotsford Pilots. Game time
is 7 p.m.
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