Tampa Bay Lightning D Slater Koekkoek ‘honored’ to be paired with Anton Stralman
As the Tampa Bay Lightning try to move forward after the injury to defenseman Victor Hedman, defenseman Slater Koekkoek has been paired with Anton Stralman on the top line.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been forced to be incredibly creative this season. The injury bug has crept into the locker room once again and started picking off players one by one. One of the most devastating injuries to the team’s blueline this season has been the Lower-Body Injury to defenseman Victor Hedman.
On January 11, Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was involved in a collision with Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway where there was a significant amount of knee-to-knee contact. Immediately, it was obvious there was something gravely wrong with Hedman’s left knee.
After further evaluation by the Tampa Bay Lightning’s medical staff, it was determined Hedman would be forced to miss three to six weeks as he recovered from his undisclosed knee injury. While this is definitely not good news for the Bolts, it did open the door for some of the Lightning’s younger talent.
One of those players who has seen an increase in responsibility since the injury to Hedman is Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek. Koekkoek has spent a lot of time on the Lightning’s roster this season; however, he has been handed the title of “healthy scratch” more times than the Bolts Nation would like.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Today, the Lightning practiced for the first time in quite some time and when the players took the ice there were quite a few changes to the lineup. One of which saw Koekkoek elevated to the top defensive line alongside veteran defenseman Anton Stralman.
As one could easily imagine, this is an outstanding opportunity for the 23-year-old defenseman to earn some more minutes moving forward. It’s not every day an opportunity like this comes along for a young defenseman like Koekkoek and the gravity of this is not lost on Koekkoek himself.
After practice this morning, Slater Koekkoek spoke with the media regarding his new role on the Lightning’s blueline and what the opportunity truly means to him.
“Obviously, it’s an honor to play with Strals,” Koekkoek said. “[He’s] such a sound defenseman, someone I’d like to model my game after someday. It’s an honor to play with him and hopefully, we do well.”
Slater Koekkoek has been stellar in his 22 games with the Lightning this season. In addition to his defensive performance, he has also brought a bit of an offensive game to the table. Koekkoek has scored four goals and three assists for a total of seven points to accompany his plus-5 rating.
Koekkoek also brings to the table a solid defenseman who can make the big hits and help the team knock their opponents off the puck and break up plays. The trade deadline is quickly approaching and if the Lightning happens to deal one of their defensemen, Slater Koekkoek could find himself with a more permanent role.
Next: Injuries Prevalent Through Halfway Point in the Season
It will definitely be interesting to see how Slater Koekkoek takes to his newfound responsibility on the top line. This will all come to fruition tomorrow night as the Tampa Bay Lightning takes on the Vegas Golden Knights in their second meeting of the season.