Alumdate: Zboril done for the season

Embed from Getty Images

Jakub Zboril's season is over.

Zboril suffered a torn ACL in the Boston Bruins' Dec. 2 win over the Nashville Predators. He underwent successful surgery on Dec. 16 but is expected to miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season.

"It's a brutal setback for Zboril, who was starting to finally see some extended playing time at the NHL level," writes NBC Sports. "He also was playing pretty well, too."

Zboril recorded three assists in 10 games with the Bruins this season. He had nine helpers in 42 contests with the club last season.

“I went through that injury twice,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said Tuesday, via NESN. “With today’s modern medicine he should have an easier rehab and be fine coming out of it. But for his sake, he was playing good hockey for us, earned a spot in the lineup on a regular basis and you’d hope that because of that he was playing with more confidence and more certainty in his game every night and that it would have only gotten better. So, unfortunately for him, and the team, obviously, he’s going to be done for the year. Hopefully there’s no complications in his rehabilitation and can help us again next year.”

The Bruins have had a trying start to the season and sit fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 14-10-2 record. Zboril's teammate, former Sea Dogs forward Charlie Coyle, has seven goals and 14 points this season.

Several other ex-Dogs have been hit with injuries this season. Matthew Highmore hasn't played with Vancouver since Oct. 28 because of an injury; Mike Hoffman has been in-and-out of Montreal's lineup with injuries; and Joe Veleno suffered an injury with Detroit a few weeks ago that cost him a few games.

Hoffman and Veleno are currently on the league's COVID-19 protocol list.

With the NHL season now on pause, here's a look at how former Sea Dogs have performed in The Show so far.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Jonathan Huberdeau	FLA	29	10	23	33
Thomas Chabot	OTT	28	1	16	17
Charlie Coyle	BOS	26	7	7	14
Mathieu Joseph	TBL	27	5	5	10
Mike Hoffman	MTL	19	4	4	8
Julien Gauthier	NYR	21	2	3	5
Joe Veleno	DET	15	3	1	4
Jakub Zboril	BOS	10	0	3	3
Matthew Highmore	VAN	8	0	2	2
Nathan Beaulieu	WPG	15	0	1	1

Nathan Beaulieu, who had a few epic fights in his time with the Sea Dogs, had a lengthy scrap against Dakota Joshua of the St. Louis Blues the other night.

Tomas Jurco, who appeared in eight games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season, is now playing in the KHL. Eric Gelinas, who returned to North America during the off-season, has headed back overseas to play in Sweden.

A former Sea Dog has won the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons thanks to Mathieu Joseph and the Lightning. The Lightning are certainly contenders again this season and so are their state rivals, Jonathan Huberdeau and the Florida Panthers.