Golden Knights rookie Cody Glass re-injured his right knee during a conditioning stint with the Wolves on Thursday.
Grand Rapids Griffins forward Michael Rasmussen checked Glass on open ice in the first period. After struggling to skate to the bench, Glass didn’t return to the game at Allstate Arena.
After the Wolves’ 3-2 loss, coach Rocky Thompson confirmed Glass hurt his knee, though he wasn’t sure to what extent.
“It’s tough on him,” Thompson said. “He works hard. ... It’s not easy to go through [this], but he’s got a great attitude.”
This is the latest setback for Glass, the Golden Knights’ first-ever draft pick. Glass missed eight games with a concussion in December and another 12 after suffering a knee injury last month. He also hurt his left knee last season with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.
“It kind of sucked,” Glass told the Sun-Times last week. “I was out with a concussion. Three games later, I’m playing really good hockey and I get injured again. You start to get a little bit down on yourself because it starts to happen too often.
“Last year, I had the exact same kind of injury and now I come back, kind of similar situation. But I think I handled it really well last year. I had the same mindset this year — just handle it with positivity and try and come back as strong as possible.”
Now, Glass will have to restart the healing process.
“I feel for him,” said forward Brandon Pirri, who scored the Wolves’ first goal 70 seconds into the game. “It’s unfortunate and he’s really a mature and talented kid, so it’s just a setback, but he’s got the right mindset and work ethic that he’s just gonna come back even better.”
At 20, Glass is the youngest player on the Golden Knights’ roster this season. Vegas expects him to be a future top-six forward, though the injury blows have delayed his development. In 39 NHL games, Glass has five goals and seven assists.
Thompson believes Glass has a bright future ahead if he can stay healthy. He compared him to Golden Knights center Mark Stone, who played two years in the AHL before making the jump to the NHL.
“I see that same type of progression with Cody — not somebody who just jumps in and turns things on fire, he might be able to do that, but he might be somebody who takes a little bit of time because physically he needs to get a little bit stronger in areas,” Thompson said. “But his mind is an NHL elite mind.”
With Glass sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Wolves look to move on from Thursday’s loss as they continue their pursuit of a playoff spot.
The Wolves are fourth in the Central Division with 55 points — just two points ahead of the Rockford Icehogs, who don’t play until Friday.
“Every loss, every point lost is painful and it hurts,” Thompson said. “You deal with that and we have to correct what we can and then [Friday] we’ll be ready for Milwaukee.”
