There are some truths in life, some of which we don’t like. Death and taxes rank up there and so does the news of Ales Hemsky being injured. The Edmonton Sun reports Hemsky will miss the next two weeks with a strained shoulder and for Hemsky that’s especially rough news considering his constant health issues.
The young Oilers are off to an average start going 1-1-1 off the get-go and while it’s been Ryan Nugent-Hopkins providing the bulk of the offense, not having Hemsky to provide at least a little bit of veteran skill to go along with the rest of the young stable of talent hurts. When he’s healthy Hemsky is a slick skating scorer. Of course making sure he’s healthy proves difficult enough.
Hemsky has spent the previous two seasons spending more time on the shelf than on the ice and at this point, he’s a guy the Oilers have to keep in mind less as a go-to player and more as a guy that they’re lucky to have on the ice when he’s healthy. While he’s a top level scorer, banking on him to help lead the Oilers revolution would be foolish at this point.
