Minnesota Wild's James Sheppard copes with loss of playing time

When I saw this article I couldn't resist, however, my celebration was short lived because reality set in really fast. Unfortunately for the Minnesota Wild, the waste of a first round pick James Sheppard is going to be playing more because of the untimely injury to Chuck Kobasew who is out for at least a month with a leg injury after running into Keith Tkachuck in the third period of Saturday night’s game. The hit was a knee on knee hit but I didn’t think it was dirty or pre-meditated, Tkachuck is not known to be a dirty player.

According to Wild beat writer Michael Russo, the Wild will be without right wing Chuck Kobasew for four to six weeks with a sprained MCL. There's also some damage to the ACL, but the swelling needs to decrease before the extent is determined. This is a tough loss for the Wild because Kobasew can play defense and chip in offensively and is a nice third line player.

Forward James Sheppard, one of only two players to appear in every game for the Wild last season, has missed five games this season but returned to the lineup after a one-game absence when Minnesota played host to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

Asked if being in and out of the lineup is frustrating or simply something he has to shake off and demonstrate in practice he's worthy of playing, he said, "It's both."

A 21-year-old forward who was grabbed ninth overall in the first round of the 2006 NHL draft, Sheppard went into Saturday's game with only two goals and three assists in 32 games and occasionally has become the odd man out up front in coach Todd Richards' offense.

All Sheppard can do, he said, is work to change that.

"I don't get the final say who's in," he added, "so I have to give them no choice but to put me in there." [Twin Cities.com]