On Wednesday night in Laval, Crookshank injured the same knee that knocked him out for an entire season two years ago.
When the Ottawa Senators are looking at current Belleville forwards who are candidates for a call-up, 24-year-old Angus Crookshank is undoubtedly in that discussion. At least he was. That notion has been thrown for a loop with his injury in Laval on Wednesday night.
The B-Sens' top scorer left a 5-2 victory over the Laval Rocket after taking knee-on-knee contact with Rocket defenceman Tobie Paquette-Bisson. Crookshank left the ice, putting all his weight on one leg.
"He's going to get reevaluated on Thursday," head coach David Bell told BellevilleSens.com. "We hope it's not as bad as we thought it was. It is the same leg that he missed a season on."
Crookshank's last injury was also against a Montreal Canadiens farm hand. During a meaningless game between the Sens and Habs rookies in the fall of 2021, he was hurt after Arber Xhekaj took him hard into the boards. The North Vancouver native missed the entire 2021-22 season. Ironically, Xhekaj suited up for Laval last night, making his AHL debut after the Habs sent him down on Monday.
Crookshank led the Belleville Senators in goal-scoring last season. This year, he again leads the club in goals and points (8 goals, 16 points in 20 games) while committing to the kind of two-way game that will help pave his path to the NHL.
He was drafted by the Senators in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft after a fine career at the University of New Hampshire.