Kuchin joins Wolves' walking wounded

The Sudbury Wolves have lost another forward to injury in Russian forward Andrey Kuchin, who suffered an injury in the Soo on Feb. 8 and is expected to be out of The Wolves' lineup for a minimum of seven to 10 days.

The 20-year-old is having a break-out season for the Wolves and currently sits in second place in team scoring with 57 points in 50 games, according to a new release from the organization. He also is among the top 25 in scorers in the entire OHL and is considered one of the best play-makers in the league.

Kuchin has recently signed a pro contract to play in the KHL next season.

"Kuch" as he is affectionately known by his teammates and Wolves' fans, continues to lead the Wolves offensively with 20 regular-strength goals. The highly-skilled Moscow native has played in harmony with Wolves' leading scorer Michael Sgarbossa. The two highly-skilled veteran forwards are very good teammates and have become good friends off the ice as well, according to the news release.

The Wolves will face the prospects of playing tonight's encounter with the Barrie Colts without the services of nine regular players. The remaining players that are expected to miss tonight's game at this point include:

Mathew Campagna, out indefinitely; Alex Racino, out indefinitely; Frank Corrado, out indefinitely; Michael MacDonald, week-to-week; Jeff Corbett, week-to-week; Brody Silk, returns next week from suspension; Michael Kantor, returns Feb. 11 from suspension; Justin Sefton, day-to-day.

The Wolves presently lead the Barrie Colts by one point for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and tonight's game will be pivotal in the Wolves' aspirations to finish above the Colts. The Wolves are also only three points back of the Brampton Battalion and the Wolves still have two games in hand on Brampton.

There are only a few seats remaining for Vale Sudbury Saturday Night on Feb. 11 at 7:05 p.m. when the Wolves host the star-studded lineup of the Sarnia Sting.

Posted by Arron Pickard