Alexei Cherepanov, the New York Rangers’ first pick in this year’s draft, was injured yesterday during the Russia vs Canada game in this year’s Super Series. Cherepanov came down the ice into his own zone, clipped Canada’s Brandon Sutter on the leg, knocking him to the ice. Cherepanov then received the puck and brought it into the Canadian zone, pulled up to look towards the net and was met with an elbow to the head by Sutter. Not only was the hit mainly with Sutter’s elbow, but he also left his feet when delivering the hit. Cherepanov sustained a mild concussion on the play, and is said to be out at least the next two games.

At what point does Glen Sather get on the phone and have his number one draft pick removed from the tournament? I understand the fact that Cherepanov is thrilled and honored to be representing his homeland Russia in this tournament, but the Rangers have an asset to protect. Cherepanov has been compared to Pavel Bure by several scouts recently. If that’s true, he would be a force in the NHL in the coming years. Pull him from the tournament, let him get healthy in time for training camp and watch him start to light the lamp in the Rangers’ system for right now. He has a whole career ahead of him in the NHL to look forward to, let’s not jeopardize it now before he even gets here.

The video can be seen on youtube via this link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=x7WTtWHOmf4