JOSH LEWIS
The Clarion
The Klippers will be without the services of defenceman Shayne McVittie for a while.
The 19-year-old suffered a concussion, his second in six weeks, during Saturday’s game against Melville. He will miss at least a month of action with post-concussion syndrome.
The team is already searching for a possible replacement and hopes to move Riley Ross and/or Jordan Barnes, both of whom are no longer with the team, to get one.
“I’m not going to lie to you, we’re looking at a few different options right now,” said Klippers head coach Larry Wintoneak. “It has to be the right fit for our hockey team. There are some guys out there we’ve contacted.”
For the time being, Kindersley native Riley Down will play on a regular basis.
McVittie is experiencing severe headaches and will go home to Ontario to be checked out by one of the top concussion specialists in eastern Canada. He has already seen a top specialist in Saskatchewan.
Wintoneak said McVittie will not be rushed.
“You gotta make sure you take the proper precautions to make sure he’s going to recover properly,” he replied. “A concussion is a concussion. We like Shayne and we want him to get better before he can step on the ice again.”
Before the season, Wintoneak envisioned a bruising third pairing of McVittie and Johnathon Sonntag, but the pair has played just three games together due to Sonntag missing most of the first three contests with a collapsed lung, and now the injury to McVittie.