New Jersey Devils Ilya Kovalchuk OK'd by team after Back issues -NHL Update
New Jersey Devils have cleared their potential captain, Ilya Kovalchuk, after the veteran forward faced back issues during the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Finals against Los Angeles Kings and is now ready to get back on the ice and perform.
It was New Jersey Devils general manager, Lou Lamoriello, according to The Bergen Record, who made the announcement and news official on Thursday, September 6, 2012, when asked by reporters about his condition.
"He's fine. He’s skating. Right now, he’s in Russia working out."
There has been no announcement by the Eastern Conference based club whether they have chosen a captain yet or not, but after the exit of long-time leading forward and skipper, Zach Parise, to the Minnesota Wild club over the offseason, Ilya Kovalchuk is
being looked at as his replacement.
"He’s coming along great," Lamoriello added. "He couldn’t play tomorrow, but he'll be ready in a couple of weeks. He's OK. It's just making sure it’s 100-percent healed."
"Everybody is skating," Lamoriello stated about the other members of the New Jersey Devils, many of whom were injured during a tough and long playoff run to the Stanley Cup that nearly ended in them winning. "Everybody's fine."
Ilya Kovalchuk was drafted as the first overall back in round-one of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers. He has played in 779 games in the North American major league and continues to perform like he did years back. Last season, he put up
83 points (37 goals, 46 assists) in 77 games played. That was a comeback and breakthrough for him definitely after looking at the past three seasons prior to this one as he struggled to outperform the competition.
Now it seems like Ilya Kovalchuk is preparing to take the captaincy and lead the team and under guidance like that, it would not be surprising to see the New Jersey Devils back in the Stanley Cup Finals and hoisting the most coveted prize in the hockey world
in a season or two.
It will be interesting to see how the situation develops in the upcoming days.
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