Injury Report: Jonathan Drouin (fractured right thumb)

[AlphaCatalyst]

Hope is is on the main roster for the 21st. Would love to see him in person.

 

[Yzlamic Preacher*]

Hope is is on the main roster for the 21st. Would love to see him in person.

Really hoping for the same thing on the 18th

 

[Iceman]

That is awesome to hear. We really cannot go wrong with either option. AHL for conditioning and rehab assignment or with big club going through practices and joining the team on the road. Would rather he stay up for sure...either way can't wait for Drouin to replace Killorn in the: Killorn/Filp/Callahan line.

I imagine:

Palat/Stammer/Johnson
Drouin/Filp/Callahan
Kucherov/Namestnikov/Connolly or Panik
Killorn or Morrow / Boyle / Panik or Brown

That is really an excellent lineup from top to bottom. Would sit Morrow and Panik on most nights as healthy scratches.

Damn, don't think it can be stressed enough - stunning top 6.

 

[JoeyBeans]

Seems like we've been waiting forever to see this guy hit the ice.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/drouin-getting-closer-hopes-to-play-on-homestand/2201244

But while Drouin, 19, has progressed in recent days in what he could do in practice, he won't play Thursday.

"It's no point in rushing," Drouin said. "Maybe I can play, but it's not Game 7 of the playoffs or something. It's disappointing, but you've got to look at the big picture."

"If we truly needed him this second, he could answer the bell," Cooper said. "But we want to make sure he's NHL ready, there's no lingering effects of anything on him. And as you can see, he's whipping around, he's getting his stickhandling and all that. But the onus is on us to give him the best chance to succeed.

The thumb is getting better every day, he says, but he hasn't fully tested it with his best shot.

The Lightning is still weighing the pros and cons of whether to have Drouin do a short conditioning assignment with AHL Syracuse, or get ready by practicing with the team. Drouin is shooting to play in one of the four games in this opening homestand.

"He just needs to get his conditioning up to NHL standards," assistant general manager Julien BriseBois said. "It's a big step, going not just from junior to the NHL preseason to NHL, he's going from juniors to NHL, so we want to make sure we put him in the best situation to have succes from the get-go. So we're being patient."

 

[wxkid23]

I really hope he's playing at MIN. I was looking forward to seeing him in Dallas preseason before the injury

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Curious to see if he goes tonight. I'd almost rather him not with Neil in the lineup.

 

[DFC]

Curious to see if he goes tonight. I'd almost rather him not with Neil in the lineup.

He's not in the line rushes. So probably not tonight.

 

[IdealisticSniper]

Curious to see if he goes tonight. I'd almost rather him not with Neil in the lineup.

Seems he was out with the scratched guys today. But I would say Monday would be the best bet.

I just hope it's Morrow who comes out and Drouin goes in. That's the optimal lineup IMO.

 

[Stamper]

Curious to see if he goes tonight. I'd almost rather him not with Neil in the lineup.

What would be the team he starts against then? 90% of the team have some goofball in the lineup to give opposing stars some rough love.

It's like that for every potential 'superstar', they just gotta endure it, or have somebody like Gudas or Tie Domi in their shadow.

 

[IdealisticSniper]

What would be the team he starts against then? 90% of the team have some goofball in the lineup to give opposing stars some rough love.

It's like that for every potential 'superstar', they just gotta endure it, or have somebody like Gudas or Tie Domi in their shadow.

Yeah but Neil is a special kind of stupid.

 

[DFC]

Seems he was out with the scratched guys today. But I would say Monday would be the best bet.

I just hope it's Morrow who comes out and Drouin goes in. That's the optimal lineup IMO.

I thought Morrow was surprisingly good on Thursday. If Connolly doesn't do anything tonight, I'd rather scratch him. Similar role to Drouin's, where Morrow's is vastly different.

 

[IdealisticSniper]

I thought Morrow was surprisingly good on Thursday. If Connolly doesn't do anything tonight, I'd rather scratch him. Similar role to Drouin's, where Morrow's is vastly different.

I wouldn't shed a tear if it was Connolly but I think if he is EVER gonna become anything close to what he should, Connolly needs to just be force fed minutes and playing time.

 

[DFC]

I wouldn't shed a tear if it was Connolly but I think if he is EVER gonna become anything close to what he should, Connolly needs to just be force fed minutes and playing time.

Yeah, but that's not going to happen on the 4th line, which is where he's scheduled to play tonight.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Bryan Burns ‏@BBurnsNHL 32m

Cooper said the team will know more Mon. or Tues. about when Jonathan Drouin will be ready to play. #TBLightning

 

[Stamper]

Yeah but Neil is a special kind of stupid.

True, but are you suggesting we don't play him at all against teams like Boston,Philly,Lumbus LA etc, that might give him little roughing?

 

[kris]

Really hope he's ready to play on Oct. 21 in Cgy....

Saw him the past three year in Hali, amazing talent, love the kid.

My mom is actually flying out for this game as well haha hope to see Dru in the line up!

 

[Voidskipper]

I hope its Monday or Tuesday. I really want to see his first game as a bolt in person.

 

[Yzlamic Preacher*]

I hope its Monday or Tuesday. I really want to see his first game as a bolt in person.

I hope it's by Saturday, really would be stoked to see him playing in Vancouver when I am there.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/brewer-back-in-lineup-drouin-really-close/2201881

Touted wing prospect Jonathan Drouin skated again in practice, but was not part of line rushes and won't play tonight. But Cooper said Drouin is "really close" to making his NHL debut; Drouin, coming back from a fractured right thumb, has a final check-up/exam tonight or early tomorrow. Best guess is Drouin makes his NHL debut Saturday in Vancouver. "He's not quite ready," Cooper said. "I've said this in the past, we're going to play him when he's most ready to play. And hes' really close. Now we're getting down to the day-to-day."

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

bust

 

[Coopers Gum]

bust

ed thumb.

 

[Steve Yzerman]

He should be ready by Saturday

 

[DFC]

I know EE tweeted Saturday, but I would love to see him come in tonight. With the back-to-backs, it'd be a good chance to give someone a night off.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/drouin-not-ready-yet-nabokov-makes-first-start/2202022

"When they feel I'm ready and I'm feel I'm ready, and there's no more pain at all, then we're going to jump in," Drouin said.

Drouin spent extra time after today's optional morning skate working on faceoffs for the first time since the injury. He said he'll start getting involved in contact drills soon. Drouin said he's still experiencing some pain, and still wears a brace.

"Its feeling closer and closer to be honest," Drouin said. "It's a day to day thing, when we feel like we're going to be ready, and I'm ready to jump in, we're going to go."