A fourth NHLer has suffered a significant injury while playing at the 2014 World Hockey Championships.
Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov broke his arm while playing for Russia against the U.S. on Monday, per NHL.com. The injury will keep him out of the remainder of the tournament and Orlov is set to return to America soon to have the injury examined by medical staff.
“My arm is broken and I can’t turn it, so there is no point in suffering and trying to play. I’d only be a burden to my team,” Orlov said. “I have contacted the Washington Capitals and will be going to America, where I will see a doctor in Washington or New York.”
In March, Orlov signed a two-year, $4 million extension with the Caps, just a few months after expressing frustration with his role in Washington and requesting a trade through his agent, Mark Gandler. Following the request, Orlov worked his way back into the Caps’ regular rotation and finished the year strong, scoring 11 points in 54 games while averaging over 19 minutes per night.
As mentioned above, Orlov isn’t the only player to get hurt in Belarus. Calgary’s Sven Baertschi fractured a rib while playing for Switzerland while Carolia’s Andrei Loktionov and St. Louis’ Roman Polak have been sidelined with shoulder injuries.