Pittsburgh Penguins rookie center Oskar Sundqvist missed the team’s prospect development camp in July with what he said at the time was a hamstring injury.
Hamstring injuries are relatively common as athletes begin training after the offseason. But according to a report by Arvid Marklund of the Swedish newspaper Norran, Sundqivst’s injury was more serious than a run-of-the-mill hamstring pull.
Sundqvist reportedly suffered a deep laceration in his left thigh while playing with Skelleftea in the Swedish Hockey League finals last spring. He finished the finals and came over to begin his North American career with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
He even made his AHL debut, playing two and half periods in a playoff game against Manchester, but something was clearly not right.
After further examination, it was discovered that the tendon in his thigh had been completely severed, according to the Norran article. He had two surgeries in July to repair the damage.
While no update on his current condition or prognosis were given, the report did say that he is making his way to North America ahead of schedule to better prepare for training camp.
With Sundqvist’s injury status up in the air, the signing of free agent center Matt Cullen makes even more sense now than it did two weeks ago. With fellow center Eric Fehr (elbow) doubtful for the start of the season, it appears that the Penguins’ center depth will be tested early on in 2015-16.
Photo credit: Olle Wande/Expressen
