Evans avoids major injury
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Anytime you’ve lost a top-four defenceman to a long-term injury, the prospect of another serious blue-line affliction is scary.
It was for the Soo Greyhounds, when overage rearguard Spencer Evans left Saturday’s 5-4 win over North Bay with a second period upper-body injury.
Fortunately for the Greyhounds, who begin a two-game trip on Friday in Sarnia (7:05 p.m.), the Stittsville, Ont., native avoided anything serious.
The Hounds figure the 20-year-old (2006 birth year) is week-to-week, while Evans thinks he could be back in as early as two weeks.
“It could have been a lot worse,” said Evans, who suffered the injury while checking a North Bay player. “You’re never happy to be injured, it’s not fun to be away. But I’m thankful it wasn’t a lot worse.”
“We dodged a bullet, definitely,” said Hounds general manager Kyle Raftis, whose club is trying to work around an upper-body injury to promising second-year man Harris Pangretitsch, who’ll soon undergo surgery in Ottawa.
Pangretitsch, chosen by the Senators in the fifth round (151st overall) of the 2026 NHL draft, is expected to miss four-to-five months, but is planning to return late in the regular season.
Evans saw a doctor after the game, and has been working with team chiropractor Jason Bradford and the club’s athletic therapist, Sarah McGall.
“I’ve been getting a lot of treatment and it’s definitely progressing well,” added Evans, a six-foot-one, 200-pounder. “It’s still pretty early, but it is progressing. And that’s a good sign.”
“We were unsure (as to the severity) when he first left the game,” added Raftis, whose club concludes its trip on Saturday in Flint (7 p.m.).
Asked if he intends to elevate an affiliate player to provide depth during Evans’s absence, Raftis spoke of “rolling with the six guys we have this weekend and then bring up somebody after that, if we have a need.”
The Soo’s group of healthy rearguards includes veterans Jakub Winkelhofer, Callum Croskery and Lukas Moore and rookies Charlie Ashcroft, Jaden Licastro and Christopher Weiss.
All but Licastro were dressed on Saturday and head coach Drew Bannister lauded the group for the job it did in the absence of Evans. In particularly, he spoke of how Moore “had a really strong game.”
The coach noted how “it’s a different animal” this weekend, being on the road.
“But this gives young guys like Licastro a little more responsibility,” added Bannister, whose club goes on the road with a 3-1-0-0 record through four home games. “There’s an opportunity to step up and take advantage of it. We want to be very direct with the puck and get it up to our forwards as quickly as possible.”
Sarnia is also 3-1-0-0, including a 4-3 victory over the Hounds at GFL Memorial Gardens on opening night, Sept. 19.
Friday is the home opener for the Sting and the Hounds are expecting their opponents to come out with a lot of energy.
For that reason, Bannister wants his charges to start off playing a simple, North-South game.
“We have to be under control the first five minutes,” the coach added. “We also want to play under their defence, get on the forecheck and use our ability to skate. I think that’s one of the strengths of our forwards.”
Overage Landon Miller is expected to make his third start of the season on Friday. Bannister spoke of how he’s leaning toward starting David Vermirovsky on Saturday against the Firebirds.
William Camputaro, who picked up his first OHL victory against North Bay, rounds out the three-goalie rotation, and Bannister said the Hounds have been pleased with the work of all three.
Asked if there’s any clarity as to which direction the Hounds will move forward in, the coach said no.
“We’ll continue to rotate them. For now, it’s a good problem to have. I don’t foresee anything changing with our goalie group in the near future.”
Notes:
Forward Chris Brown, who missed Saturday’s game with a lower-body bruise, is on the trip and healthy enough to play. But Bannister says he plans to go with the same group of forwards who played last Saturday.
Going into Thursday’s OHL action, Hounds winger Ryan Kaczysnki continued to lead the OHL in goals with six in four games.
Noah Laus has five, tied with Kitchener’s Tanner Lam for second place.
