After the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ most recent road trip came to a close in Utah, second-year forward Ben Kindel had a medical episode on the plane upon departing on Tuesday.
General Manager Kyle Dubas addressed the media today before tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers. Dubas said Kindel collapsed 10 minutes into the Pittsburgh Penguins’ flight back home and had to turn around.
He suffered a vasovagal episode and was immediately attended to by the team doctor, Dharmesh Vyas, and other medical staff on the plane.
“The plane was then met by paramedics, and Ben was transported to the University of Utah Medical Center for further treatment,” Dubas said to reporters.
“Ben was cleared [Wednesday] to travel back to Pittsburgh with Nick Bonino, Jason Spezza, Richard Rotenberg and Dr. Vyas. He is back in the building for further treatment and testing today.”
Now that the situation has settled and Kindel is being seen by doctors, the Penguins placed him on injured reserve to give the forward time to rest and recover.
Captain Sidney Crosby also commented on Kindel’s medical episode and echoed that he’s happy to know the center is okay.
“Having him here today, I think, was a bit of a lift for us. Was one of those things you don’t really see happen that often. So, everyone handled it great, and we’re happy to be here today, getting ready for another game,” Crosby said.
Plan for Kindel to get back on the ice
There will not be a rush to get Kindel back into a game. Dubas made it clear that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be following strict guidelines to make sure the 19-year-old is okay and able to play.
Kyle Dubas and the Penguins are committed to letting fans and media members know what Kindel’s status is as he progresses.
The Penguins GM said he’s hopeful that Kindel will be able to return to skating in practice as soon as next week.
“So tough to put the timeframe on it… Our hope is to get everything done, tested, and back into training here in the next four days or so and see if he can return to practice on Sunday or Monday. I’d put an asterisk on that by saying we’ll see how everything goes before then,” Dubas said.
Dubas added that there didn’t appear to be any medical history that would result in an episode like this for Kindel. He did get to see Kindel at the Penguins facility before addressing the media and got a sense for how his young forward is doing.
“Very clearly shaken and sorting through it. We just have to continue to help him with our resources,” Dubas said.
Penguins also to be without Bryan Rust
Following the time Dubas was addressing reporters, then it was head coach Dan Muse’s turn after practice.
Muse stated that forward Bryan Rust will also be out with a lower-body injury for the next six weeks. He will be re-evaluated at that point, and the Penguins will go from there.
So far, Rust has five points in seven games for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As a result of Rust and Kindel going on IR, the Penguins have recalled forward Rutger McGroarty and defenseman Chase Pietila for the time being.
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Update to Ben Kindel After Collapsing on Team Plane