The Pittsburgh Penguins made a couple of roster moves on Thursday morning ahead of their game against the Florida Panthers, placing forwards Ben Kindel and Bryan Rust on injured reserve, while also calling up forward Rutger McGroarty and defenseman Chase Pietila.
Kindel's IR move is not surprising after he experienced a medical episode on the team's flight home from Utah on Tuesday.
General manager Kyle Dubas gave an update on his status on Thursday , saying that Kindel collapsed about 10 minutes after the plate departed Salt Lake City. Dubas said Kindel was given oxygen and regained consciousness before the emergency landing.
It was described as a "vasovagal episode."
According to the Mayo Clinic :
"Vasovagal syncope occurs when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers. These may include the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. Vasovagal syncope also is called neurocardiogenic syncope.
The vasovagal syncope trigger causes your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly. That leads to reduced blood flow to your brain, causing you to briefly lose consciousness.
Vasovagal syncope is usually harmless and requires no treatment. But it's possible that you may injure yourself during a vasovagal syncope episode. Your healthcare professional may recommend tests to rule out more-serious causes of fainting, such as heart conditions."
He was cleared to travel back to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, and the team will follow strict guidelines in developing a plan for him to return to hockey activities and the lineup, while also stressing his health is the top priority.
Dubas said the hope is that Kindel can get back on the ice in the next few days and potentially practicing next week , but that it will all be dependent on his test results.
Rust was also injured in Monday's game and will obviously now miss time as well.
The big news among the call-ups is McGroarty.
He was one of the players that got pushed out at the start of the season due to the roster crunch at forward, and has been lighting it up in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton early on. In six games he has already recorded nine points (four goals, five assists) and seems ready to get a real shot at the NHL level.
There have been reports recently that the Penguins were looking to move a veteran forward to open up roster spots to give some younger players a chance. This also goes back to the one of the comments I made before the season regarding all of the forward depth and that sometimes you just need to be patient and wait for a opportunity.
You never go through a full season using just 12 forwards. Somebody is going to get hurt. Things happen. Opportunities will present themselves. McGroarty has a big one here, and he figures to get a somewhat extended look somewhere in the top-nine. Based on the way he has played in the AHL there should be some reasonable expectation for him to make some sort of impact with this chance. His brief NHL career to this point has usually had a strong eye-test with occasional production, but has not yet produced big numbers.
