By all accounts, the Edmonton Oilers decision to draft Ostap Safin with the 115th overall pick of the 2017 Entry Draft has been nothing short of a great move. He spent all of last year in the CHL (his first in North America) and lit up the QMJHL with the Saint John Sea Dogs, posting 58 points (26G 32A) over 61 games. This season, however, has been a little bit different as injuries have kept him out of the lineup and now there’s news floating around about a lower-body injury and will keep him out even longer.
The 2018-19 season began for Safin with an appearance for the Czech Republic U-20 team at the Four Nation Tournament in which he netted one goal and four assists in five games. According to Mark Spector, Safin suffered a hip injury at that time and, as a result, he missed rookie camp and was unable to participate in anything training camp related. Back in junior, the Sea Dogs traded Safin to the Memorial Cup hosting Halifax Mooseheads before he was able to get into game action.
Its official! #Mooseheads acquire Ostap Safin from #SeaDogs for a 1st and 4th round draft picks. 19 year old #Oilers prospect has ability to score 40/50 goals. 6 foot 5 winger says "anything is possible." #SportsandMoore
https://t.co/c6Hl9fs9Hr pic.twitter.com/bQfSd3p37L
— John Moore (@rinkrant) September 24, 2018
When he did finally get into game action, Safin hit the ground running with two goals and six assists in his first seven games back.
Since then, Safin has been in and out of the lineup, but there were rumblings that he was set to return to action this past weekend. On Friday, the Mooseheads announced that Safin had been sent to Edmonton to see their doctors and further assess what’s being called a lower-body injury.
Mooseheads forward Ostap Safin has left for Edmonton where he will visit with the Oilers team doctors regarding his lower body injury.
— Scott MacIntosh (@scottmacintosh4) November 30, 2018
We hope to see further news coming so that the young prospect can get his season back on track.
Safin’s Career Numbers
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | Sparta Praha | Czech | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016-17 | Sparta Praha | Czech | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017-18 | Saint John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | 61 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 31 | -29 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017-18 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018-19 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 10 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 2 |
Hopefully he recovers good and doesn’t let this hold him back. Tyler Benson knows how this feels