Defenseman likely soon going down to Hershey
If all goes according to plan, Sean Collins’ stay in the NHL will not last much longer.
That is life as a minor league call-up. The Capitals defenseman was recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League last weekend after a rash of injuries on the blue line left the team with just five healthy players at that position. By the end of his first game Saturday, that had dropped to four. But there was no guarantee made about length of stay.
Collins said from the start he simply would make the most of his opportunity — no matter how brief. He’s done that so far in three games with Washington, his first stint in the NHL since playing 15 games with the Caps in 2008-09. With defensemen John Erskine and Tyler Sloan apparently healthy and Mike Green expected back Saturday, this run in the NHL could be coming to an end.
| The Collins file |
| » The 27-year-old Troy, Mich., native played college hockey at Ohio State. |
| » Collins had a goal and an assist during his 15 games with Washington in 2008-09. |
| » He still leads the American Hockey League in plus-minus rating this season at plus-29. |
| UP NEXT |
| Capitals at Panthers |
| When » Saturday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Fla. |
| TV » CSN |
“Whenever they want to use me I’m going to go in and do my best to help out the team,” Collins said. “But I can’t really worry about when guys are coming back or anything like that. I just have to try and prepare for the next day.”
Washington’s front office at least feels more confident that Collins could return during the Stanley Cup playoffs if needed. Dennis Wideman (hematoma) is out for the first round, and Tom Poti (groin) is questionable, at best. That leaves seven NHL defensemen — provided Green’s return goes smoothly — and little margin for error if injuries hit again.
“[Collins] played with Jeff Schultz [Wednesday] and probably had more minutes than he’s had up with us,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I haven’t had the [stat] sheets yet, but I thought he was pretty steady out there.”
Indeed, Collins scored his second career NHL goal when an Alex Ovechkin pass was deflected and landed right on his stick. He beat Florida goalie Scott Clemmensen cleanly to put Washington up 3-0 in the second period. Collins played 18:38 on Wednesday and in three games is a plus-2 with three blocked shots.
There are other candidates at Hershey, of course. Collins’ defensive partner with the Bears late in the season was Patrick McNeill, 24, who earned a brief recall in February but never appeared in an NHL game. Veteran Brian Fahey, 30, has also played in seven games with Washington this season.
“That’s kind of what I’m trying to do,” Collins said. “Hopefully no one gets injured. But if it so happens, then hopefully they feel confident that they can bring me in and I can step in and do a pretty good job.”
