OTTAWA, Ontario — So, you want to be an NHL player?
Well, aside from natural talent plus years of practice and work in the gym, it takes a willingness to accept the fact you'll probably lose some teeth. Without full facial protection at the upper levels, it's so commonplace to lose teeth that most players simply plan to get "new" choppers at some point.
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Whether they're struck in the face by pucks, helmets, sticks, elbows or fists, the time clock on a player's pearly whites is always ticking. They're not even safe while players are seated on the bench, as Blue Jackets defenseman Adam Boqvist learned the hard way. Boqvist returned from injured reserve Saturday in a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning , playing for the first time since losing three teeth while talking to defense partner Zach Werenski on the bench Jan. 25 in Calgary .
Cole Sillinger 's clearing attempt glanced off a stick and smacked into Boqvist's mouth on the bench ― knocking his teeth out while knocking him backward off the bench like a target duck in a shooting gallery.
"I was just sitting, talking to 'Z' about a play from the shift before," Boqvist said. "I was going to look back to the ice and I just remember falling back. It kind of blacked out for two seconds there, and then it was just like, 'Wow, what is going on here?' I tried getting up and I felt, like, a couple teeth in the back of my mouth. So, I spit one out on the bench and went back to the room."
That was just the start of his oral ordeal.
Boqvist's teeth were still intact, roots and all, so a dentist in Calgary attempted to reinsert them. He saw another dentist the next day in Vancouver . Boqvist missed games against the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues to conclude the Jackets' five-game road trip, then went straight into a vacation in Turks and Caicos during the Jackets' "bye" week with his teeth wired in place.
"That was actually worse," he said. "I couldn't bite down too hard because it was hurting, so I had them taken out when I came back. It's still fresh. The stitches are still in."
Once the stitches are out and his gums heal, Boqvist will begin the process of getting implants that won't be completed until late summer. As for his missing originals, all from the upper rack, he took those home from the dentist's office.
"I just wanted to see what they looked like," Boqvist said. "They're so long. There was no crack or anything in them. It just pulled them out, which was pretty crazy to see, actually."
As for ribbing Sillinger, Boqvist plans to wait a bit.
"I think it's a little too early still, but I'm sure I will," he said, smiling. "When I'm sitting in the summer and have no teeth, I'll send him a text like, 'Wish I had teeth right now.'"
Yegor Chinakhov appears to have his own facial issues to overcome.
After being high-sticked in the face early in the second period Saturday against the Lightning, the third year forward has missed two practices and will miss the Jackets' game Tuesday at the Ottawa Senators .
Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent told reporters Monday that Chinakhov might be cleared in time to make a three-game to California that starts Thursday with a flight to San Jose . Chinakhov leaves behind a big void for however long he's sidelined. Since Dec. 8, he was tied with Johnny Gaudreau for the team's scoring lead with 19 points in 23 games on 11 goals and eight assists. He'd also ascended to the top line, skating at right wing with Gaudreau and captain Boone Jenner .
Without him the past two practices, the Blue Jackets have filled that spot with Jack Roslovic and used Emil Bemstrom – a healthy scratch in six of the past seven games – on the third line with Alexandre Texier and Sillinger. That's how they're expected to start Tuesday against the Senators.
Kirill Marchenko , Dmitri Voronkov , Chinakhov and Texier spent the mid-season break vacationing together to Cancun, Mexico.
They got the idea to charter a boat for a half day of deep-sea fishing, which turned into a 90-minute battle none of them will ever forget. After catching a couple tuna, one of their lines in the water hooked something a lot bigger and scarier. After taking muscle-burning shifts to finally reel in their catch, a 440-pound bull shark plopped onto the deck of their boat. Early into the fight, their guide told them it might be a shark.
"The first two hours, we just caught smaller tuna," Marchenko said. "After we (caught) the shark, we were all just sweating and tired. We just took shifts. I reeled and (the other three) would pull back on the pole."
The game Saturday against the Lightning was a standing-room only crowd of 18,876 at Nationwide Arena.
It was the Jackets' second straight sellout crowd at home, where they've also had sellouts in sixth of the past seven games. A total of 10 crowds have sold out the building thus far, in 28 home dates, but the Blue Jackets haven't taken advantage of the support.
They're just 2-6-2 in those games and 7-12-6 overall in their own "barn" this season.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets notes: Chinakhov, Boqvist's teeth missing
