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Two Get the Call - November 28, 2007
Bob McElligott - Broadcaster
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Defenseman Marc Methot and goaltender Tomas Popperle were recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets and will be available for Thursday's game in Vancouver.
Methot is there because Duvie Westcott suffered another concussion and has been placed on injured reserve. Methot's arrival means the Blue Jackets have seven defensemen, meaning he becomes an insurance policy. Methot has played solid defense for the Crunch this year and deserves to go to the NHL. He got a look from the parent club last year and performed well. He's in that group of players that are just looking to make a good impression and stay, once they get the chance.
Popperle has been called up because Pascal Leclaire suffered a slight hamstring injury earlier in the week. The team is saying that is doesn't look as though he will miss significant time. That was also the case in 2004-05 when he was hurt in Syracuse. That not so bad injury ended his season after just 14 games and he has had an injury of some kind every year he's played pro hockey. I'm not saying that he won't rebound quickly, but history isn't in his favor.
If he does remain out longer than expected, will the Jackets regret not finding a more experienced goaltender for the Crunch? An older goaltender in the AHL is usually the third man on the depth chart for the NHL club. Columbus opted to go with Popperle and Adam Munro here. Neither has been spectacular to this point. Even though the defense has had its share of problems, the two netminders haven't been consistent enough to overcome that.
Is Tomas Popperle ready to spend a lot of time in the NHL? Let's hope, for Leclaire's sake, that we don't have to find out.