Kent Huskins Resumes Skating, Recovery Progressing

Kent Huskins skated on Friday, January 6th for the first time since suffering an injury to his left ankle, as reported by StlToday.com. The injury occurred back on October 28th against Calgary. Originally, Huskins was believed to have a fracture only to have that diagnosis reversed. Eventually, a crack in the bone was found and Huskins needed a screw inserted. Now that he is back on the ice and out of his walking boot, Huskins’ recovery can hit full stride.

Huskins was quoted as saying that returning to the ice is a bit of a struggle and it’s unclear just how long it will take until he is ready to return to NHL action.

Huskins has only appeared in nine games for the Blues this season, scoring two goals and two assists for a total of four points. He is a +6 to date.

As you may recall, Huskins was originally signed by the Blues to give the team’s defense a bit of added experience and improved overall depth. While he has been sidelined we’ve seen some impressive performances from Kris Russell (acquired from Columbus) and Ian Cole (called up from Peoria). With Russell on the IR with a groin strain and Cole serving a controversial 3-game suspension, the Blues have received a positive effort from Cade Fairchild.

The question that will eventually have to be addressed is how the team will handle their roster once Huskins and Russell are both healthy. Cole will likely be sent back to Peoria but the Blues will be forced into a tough spot deciding how to use Roman Polak, Barret Jackman, Carlo Colaiacovo, Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, Kent Huskins and Kris Russell on a regular basis.

If the Blues defensive unit is all at 100% health it would appear that the Blues have a difficult, yet positive decision to make. That’s a big “knock on wood” that everyone is healthy, of course, but I wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for deciding which player plays and which doesn’t. I’m not sure I could bench a healthy Kris Russell even with Huskins healthy.

Would a trade be the answer? I guess we will have to wait and see how everyone mends and then see what the team ultimately decides to do with what might be a plethora of healthy defenseman.