Kevin Shattenkirk feels fortunate, despite looking as though he was on the wrong end of a sparring session with Mike Tyson in his prime.
The Colorado Avalanche rookie, who took a puck in the face Monday, was sporting a pair of black eyes and over 20 stitches to the swollen bridge of his nose.
Shattenkirk, 21, was injured in the second period of the 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings when Kris Draper’s shot came up and caught him underneath the visor.
“They had to stitch it up inside and then outside, it was a pretty deep gash,” said Shattenkirk Thursday, prior to the game against the Edmonton Oilers. “The puck went right underneath my visor, because I kind of pulled up as the shot came. It hit off a stick and I think by me, moving my head up, it just gave it a little lane that hit right on the (eye)brow.
“I was pretty fortunate that it didn’t hit my eye or anything. I got pretty lucky.”
Despite leaving a bloody trail and needing stitches to close the gash, Shattenkirk returned to the game in the third period.
He missed the following day of practice but was in the Avalanche lineup against the Oilers.
“Two days ago, my eye was pretty much swollen shut,” Shattenkirk said. “But as I keep icing it and the day goes on, it opens up more and more.”
The Avalanche’s first pick — 14th overall — in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Shattenkirk hopes the injury won’t derail what has been an impressive season to this point.
The native of Greenwich, Connecticut went into the contest against the Oilers with 19 points in 25 games this year.
A former standout with the Boston University Terriers, Shattenkirk started the season with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate in Lake Erie. He was called up when the team suffered a number of key injuries on their blue line and has never looked back.
“He’s been a big part of our success on the power play,” said Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco. “His training camp wasn’t the greatest. It was his first one, and it felt as though training camp was a little bit of a surprise for him.
“But he went down to Lake Erie, found his game and has been very good for us since being called back up.”
Shattenkirk’s play has been a pleasant surprise for the Avalanche, who found room for the rookie on the roster when Kyle Quincey went down with a shoulder injury and Kyle Cumiskey suffered a concussion.
It may be tough for the Avalanche to send Shattenkirk back down, considering he’s now their second-leading scoring defenceman behind John-Michael Liles.
“Coming into it, I figured it would be a short stint,” Shattenkirk said. “I just was trying to enjoy it and make the most of it. I was trying to adjust my game to the pro level. I was getting a good taste and figured if I was sent back down, I would be sent back down. I just wanted to go out there and make a good impression so the next time they needed to make a call up, they would put me into consideration.
“Things kind of lengthened out for me and started rolling for me. I was on the fortunate side of it.”
Shattenkirk currently sits seventh in rookie scoring, seven points back of San Jose Sharks first-year standout Logan Couture.
However, heading into Thursday’s game, he was the league’s top offensive rookie defenceman, ahead of Anaheim Ducks blue liner Cam Fowler by a point, despite playing in nine fewer games.
“I never imagined that it would turn out this way,” Shattenkirk said. “I knew it was possible, but my main focus coming up here was just to prove that I could play here. Once things started getting rolling for me, my confidence started building and I was fortunate to get put on the ice with some good players on the power play. When you get that opportunity, you have to make the most of it.”
derek.vandiest@sunmedia.ca
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