Allison injury ends Flyers’ rookie camp on sour note

Wade Allison

VOORHEES, N.J. – Just when you thought the hockey gods had tested Flyers rookie Wade Allison enough, they decided to throw another hurdle in his career path.

Late in the second period of Sunday night’s Flyers-Rangers rookie game at the Skate Zone, the right wing was sent crashing into the boards after a collision with New York’s Braden Schneider and couldn’t get up without assistance.

Talk about bad luck: This kid has been through an anatomy book of medical mishaps, from surgical operations involving an ACL knee injury as well as another to his ankle, plus a significant shoulder problem while playing for Western Michigan University.

The Flyers did not issue a statement on Allison’s condition but from the way he had to be helped off the ice after the 3-2 loss to the Rangers, it didn’t look good.

It appeared Allison was favoring his leg as he limped across the ice, but coach Ian Laperriere wasn’t sure what the injury was.

“I’m not sure where he’s hurt,’’ Laperriere said. “Unfortunately, I feel for him. The kid works all summer. I don’t know how bad it is but we’ll see in the next couple days.’’

Allison got into 14 games with the Flyers last season after a stint with the Phantoms. With Philadelphia, Allison registered four goals/seven points with a plus-1.

There was a decent chance Allison would see action with the Flyers again this season, whether it was from game number one or perhaps later on if there were an injury or two.

“I’m sure he’s going to take it hard, whether (he’s out) a week, two weeks, a month, two months,’’ Laperriere said. “He put all that work in. He came in and he looked great all week. He played the way he should be playing as a rookie. He only knows one way to play. I really bad for him. Unfortunately it’s part of the game, especially when you play that style of (physical) hockey. I don’t know what the injury is but hopefully it’s a quick one.’’

Cam York and Matthew Strome scored goals to get the Flyers off to a quick lead but New York countered with two goals from Will Cuylle to later tie the score at 2-2. The Rangers picked up the winning goal in the third period.

But all the activity on the ice for the Flyers was overshadowed by what happened to one of their up and coming young stars.

Allison’s teammates expressed remorse about the incident. Replays showed it wasn’t really Schneider’s fault. No penalty was called on the play.

“He’s a tough kid,’’ Tyson Foerster said. “I don’t think it’s that good but you never know. You hope for the best. I didn’t see it happen, just saw him limping off. For Wade, it’s been a tough couple years. So it almost makes it more sad. But hopefully he will be all right.’’

Allison’s linemate, Tanner Laczynski, was skating off the ice when the collision happened and didn’t see it. But he was shaken a bit when Allison left.

“He’s a good friend of mine and with all the injuries he had, it’s hard to see him hobble off,’’ Laczynski said. “But he’s a great player and he’s going to come back from this.’’

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About Wayne Fish 2374 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.

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