Kraken center Yanni Gourde, forward Riley Sheahan and assistant coach Jay Leach on Saturday became the team’s latest personnel to be placed in COVID-19 protocol, joining forward Colin Blackwell from earlier this week.
Gourde and Sheahan will miss Saturday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Climate Pledge Arena. Alexander True has been called up from the team’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. True wasn’t at the team’s morning skate Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena but is expected to arrive in time and be in the team’s lineup for the Columbus game.
“It’s not ideal to have these types of changes on the morning of a game,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “But it’s not new for anybody in the sports world right now. So really, we just want to get all the information and then we’ll take a step back for a few minutes and then make some decisions on what we feel is the best for our lineup and how we put our roster together for tonight.
“Obviously, we have to be flexible and look for our best solutions.”
Kraken backup goalie Chris Dreidger was also taken off injured reserve ahead of Saturday’s game, which Philipp Grubauer will start.
The Kraken have already seen forwards Calle Jarnkrok, Jared McCann and defenseman Mark Giordano miss significant time this season after being placed in protocol. Giordano missed 10 days and was only re-activated for Thursday’s 3-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
“It is what it is, right now this is the world we’re living in,” Kraken forward Alex Wennberg said Saturday. “And with all of this news going on, it’s really serious. You’ve just got to take it and make the best out of it.”
Wennberg added there isn’t much players can do other than take care of their own personal business when off the ice. “For me it’s just try to be careful and do the things you can to prevent it.”
The Kraken enter play Saturday with a record of 9-15-2, having lost two straight while scoring just one goal in those games.
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