Teuvo Teravainen returned to the ice Wednesday for practice, but the 20-year-old forward will sit out the Blackhawks‘ preseason game against the Red Wings on Thursday, reports CSN Chicago. The team is being cautious with the talented youngster after he took a hard hit from Cam Barker during training camp last week.
“I just got a little bump there but I’m all right now. That’s the key thing,” Teravainen said. “Of course I wanted to play but there was no reason (to risk anything). It’s no problem. I’ve got more days to show what I’ve got.”
The upper body injury isn’t considered serious but it’s understandable that the Blackhawks don’t want to risk a longer absence. This could be a breakout year for the former first-round pick and after a rash of injuries to big names early in the preseason, I think everyone agrees Teravainen shouldn’t be risking anything in meaningless games.
The fact that Teuvo is taking it all in stride with a positive attitude is also nice to see, and hopefully it won’t be too much longer before we see him in some game action. The Hawks have another preseason matchup back at the United Center on Friday against the Rangers, so maybe that’ll be his first crack this season.