By JORDAN PARKER
Daily Herald-Tribune
The Grande Prairie storm may have nabbed six points in their three-game road trip last weekend, but they also lost dynamic forward Édouard Michaud,
The 20-year-old centre will be out two-to-three weeks after he dislocated his shoulder during the Saturday 3-2 overtime loss against the Brook Bandits.
Luckily, Michaud says he’ll be ready to bounce back as soon as he’s medically cleared.
“I’m feeling good. I just got that injury last game. It’s tough because it’s the beginning of my season,” he said.
“I got lucky, because the angle at which it dislocated … It popped back in easily. I think it’ll only be a few weeks.”
Dennis Rix, assistant coach for the Storm, called it a “tough loss” for the group.
“We are hoping he isn’t out too long. He’s in physio and now we need to see other guys step up,” he said. “We have enough depth. We can cover for him.”
Rix said Michaud was “leading the charge” for the Storm. His 21 points is enough for third-place standing among AJHL players.
But in his absence, others will be looking to step up.
“Justin Bernier (20 points), Dallas Comeau (20 points), and Connor Blake (18 points) have all been amazing for us,” said Rix.
“Everyone is chipping in, and this is Dallas’ third year. He’s been through the highs and lows and now he’s flourishing.”
All three, plus Michaud, land in the top 10 in league scoring. In the top 20 are rookies Noah Walters (16 points) and Zach Okabe (16 points).
“It’s such a good atmosphere this year,” said Rix. “We want our rookies to be confident, and they aren’t scared to play hard and move moves.”
He still wants the guys to focus on how to hold leads, but that isn’t something they’re necessarily used to.
“There’s no hiding it. We had some difficult years before now. Winning games is new, and the rink has a different energy,” he said.
“But the guys didn’t know each other, and have so much chemistry now. Things can only get better.”
He missed the 5-2 win from the Storm over the Calgary Mustangs, and doesn’t like the idea of missing more games.
“I know I’ll be out a bit, but I can’t wait to come back and help. We have a team where all the lines can score, so that’s good,” he said.
“The fact (that I’m injured) bothers me a little bit, but I’ll be bounce back. I’ll be OK.”