After waiting five years for NHL debut, Shane Bowers got hurt just 1:46 in
Nov 11, 2022, 9:54 AM | Updated: Nov 12, 2022, 11:24 am
**This story has been updated below**
Chalk this up to awful luck.
After waiting more than five years to make his NHL debut, Avalanche center Shane Bowers played just 1:46 last night against the Nashville Predators before getting hurt. Bowers took a nasty shot into the boards and immediately grabbed his wrist. Head coach Jared Bednar didn’t have an update after the game, but it didn’t look good.
There are very few clips of the play online, but you can see the injury happen in the second video of this tweet. You’ll have to click on the tweet itself to watch, as the first video is Bowers nearly scoring a goal.
Shane Bowers Shifts 1 and 3. Nearly scores off a pass from Kurtis MacDermid right off the ice and then takes a hit from Tanner Jeannot and has discomfort in his arm, tough luck… #NHL pic.twitter.com/QU8KwRshjx
— Connor (@mjcanadian) November 11, 2022
Bowers was the last first-round pick from the 2017 NHL Draft to make his debut, so this is a huge bummer all around. He played two years at Boston University after getting drafted before grinding in the minor leagues in several seasons with the Colorado Eagles.
Bowers was originally acquired in the Matt Duchene trade, back in November of 2017. The Avs received six assets in that deal that eventually played at the professional level. Bowers marked No. 6 on that list, but we’ll have to wait and see how long he’s out for.
And unfortunately, the kid might not get another chance, depending on the severity of the injury. Bowers was only up with the big club because the Avs needed bodies. They were missing five regulars on Thursday night, including Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, Bowen Byram, Samuel Girard and Darren Helm.
The Avalanche played well, winning 5-3, on a night that was all about honoring the late, great Peter McNab.
Update: Nov. 12, 11:24 a.m. –
Unfortunately, Bednar delivered bad news about the Bowers injury after Avalanche morning skate on Saturday.
Shane Bowers will miss six weeks, per Jared Bednar
— Adrian Dater (@adater) November 12, 2022
The official injury designation is “upper-body,” but it’s apparent to anyone who watched that Bowers hurt his hand or wrist. It’s a bummer, but hopefully we’ll see him again this season.
The Avs take on the Hurricanes tonight at Ball Arena.
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