NEWSLETTER
Hockey players are a different breed. Whether you find it brave or foolish, they play through bumps, bruises, breaks, and injuries that would make us mortals crumble into tiny pieces. And, indeed, we were reminded of that again on Friday afternoon when Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan casually mentioned that be played the second-half of last season with a fractured tibia.
"It was actually probably the best spot [for a break]. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t shattered, but there were fractures in it. It was enough to put me in pain here and there. [There wasn't] ot much of a rehab, just kind of ice it and…let it heal. Try to."
Absolutely insane.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 1, 2021
A fractured leg put him in pain “here and there.” Yeah, a different breed.
Thanks to some digging, NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis found the shot that likely broke de Haan’s leg.
Found the play: Calvin de Haan fractured his left tibia on this blocked shot on the power play against Tampa Bay on March 5. #Blackhawks https://t.co/wyykhmHCIZ pic.twitter.com/mQiqDWKppW
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 1, 2021
Yeah, that will do it.
This was the first media availability for de Haan since the end of last season. In the summer, the 30-year-old defenseman looked like the top candidate to be selected in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft from the Blackhawks. As you’ll know, de Haan was not selected and is coming back to Chicago for his ninth NHL season and his third with the Blackhawks. He’s got jokes, too.
https://twitter.com/cal_dehaan/status/1443992165424709636?s=20
The former first-round pick by the New York Islanders has one-year left on his current deal at a $4.55M cap hit in Chicago. A solid middle-pair defenseman, de Haan is going to play a significant role with the Blackhawks in their “new look” defensive group this season along with Seth Jones, Connor Murphy, and Jake McCabe.
Just remember, he sees what you say about him on Twitter.
