Alright, we’ve finally got some good news on the injury front. This type of news doesn’t come often so let’s soak it all in. After having a very jam-packed injury report over the last few weeks, guys are starting to become healthy again and our forward and defensive depth is getting a bit stronger.

Let’s break it down:

Kailer Yamamoto is back to being day-to-day due to an upper-body injury. If you remember, he missed a few games down with the Bakersfield Condors due to an undisclosed injury. After coming back to the AHL lineup, he then got called up to the big leagues where he played one game for us. Just a short time later he has been shelved again due to the upper-body injury.

It’s unknown whether or not this is related to his injury from Bakersfield, but I’m going to take a wild guess and assume it is. Yamamoto isn’t currently skating in practice and it’s unknown when we can expect him back in the lineup. It’s also fair to assume that Oilers management expected him not to be healthy here in Edmonton and just called him up so he can watch and learn the game from the press box. Not to mention he’s getting paid like a pro at the moment so I”m sure Kailer’s not minding his time spent right now.

Obviously, the Oilers have had their struggles with forward depth over the last month and that stems a little bit from the injury of Alex Chiasson. Chiasson has been out of the lineup for a few games after taking a slapshot to the knee. For a while now it’s been said that he’s close to returning to the team, but I think the day is FINALLY here. Chiasson is expected to play today and I couldn’t be happier. He has been skating with the team for a while and must have gotten some good news from his MRI. Here’s hoping he can continue with the scoring pace he had before his injury, and we can win some games with him in the lineup.

Kris Russell hasn’t played a game since December 11 and he’s very close to returning as well. There hasn’t been a word said about his injury throughout the whole month of December so unfortunately, I can’t talk specifics about it. I can say with confidence that there was a chance we saw him in the lineup last Monday on December 31st. Yes, it’s been a few days so there must have been a delay. However, I’m still hoping to see him come back this weekend at some point. Our defence has been a garbage fire with all these injuries so Russell’s return will be well-needed.

Speaking of a garbage-fire defence, the return of Oscar Klefbom couldn’t come sooner. Unfortunately, he’s not due to return for another few weeks after he had surgery to repair a broken finger from blocking a shot. Klefbom has been rocking a cast this whole time and I really hope the boys have been sharpie-ing in some nice messages on there for him. Signing other kids casts in elementary school used to be the best thing.

Last week there was some murmuring about an Andrej Sekera return and the team making plans for him to go down to Bakersfield for a conditioning stint. Honestly, I don’t really think a lot of people know when he’ll make his way back to the lineup. I’m not getting my hopes up on anything in the next month as these things often take longer than expected. When Reggie does return, will he even be close to the Sekera we saw in previous years?

The only positive to come out of all these defensive injuries is the emergence of Caleb Jones. In unfortunate circumstances, the prime time to show your skill for a young prospect like Jones is when guys at the NHL level get injured. That’s exactly what’s happening in Edmonton and Jones is soaking up every second of it. He’s looking more confident out there every game and is beginning to earn the trust of Hitchcock, averaging 17 minutes of ice time in his time up here. I’m curious to see what happens to our defence when Sekera, Klefbom, and Russell all return.

If you’re in some need of some good, friendly physiotherapy services you can call them at (780) 466-1104 or visit their website!

If you’re in some need of some good, friendly physiotherapy services you can call them at (780) 466-1104 or visit their website!