UPDATE – It was a bittersweet NHL debut for Kamloops native John Ludvig.
The 23-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman left last night’s game with an injury in the second period after a collision with Dallas Stars forward Radek Faska.
It was a hard, clean hit at centre ice, but Ludvig got the worst of it and lay motionless while trainers from both teams attended to him. He had to be helped to his feet and was able to slowly skate off the ice with the help of some of his teammates.
“He’s continuing to be evaluated at this point,” Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said after the game. “That’s all I can really give you from a status standpoint. It’s a scary moment. It appeared that he almost got knocked out on the hit. Those are scary to watch. We are hopeful that he’s going to be okay.”
Sending well wishes to Pens defenseman John Ludvig, who had to be helped off the ice following a big collision 🙏 pic.twitter.com/adUuBVFtWX
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 25, 2023
Wednesday morning, Sullivan confirmed that Ludvig had been diagnosed with a concussion, but told Pittsburgh media that he was not able to give any more of a status update beyond the concussion.
“That’s a tough circumstance,” Sullivan said. “We’ll work with him here and our medical staff will do their very best to get him back in a timely fashion.”
Prior to his injury, Ludvig was able to record one shot on goal and two hits in 5:29 of ice time, but the Penguins were beaten 4-1.
Welcome to the NHL, John Ludvig! 🏒 pic.twitter.com/VUQ6OyGBrZ
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 24, 2023
Ludvig spent one season with the KIJHL’s Kamloops Storm as a 16-year-old, before a three season stint with the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League.
“In hockey you go out there. you put your best foot forward, and you try to impress especially when you’re a young guy,” dad Jan Ludvig, a former NHLer and current Kamloops Storm head coach, told NL Sports.
“You want to impress, you want to stick around and things can go really good, and they can go really bad.”
Since turning pro in 2020, the younger Ludvig has played parts of three seasons in the American Hockey League with the Charlotte Checkers and the Syracuse Crunch.
The Penguins claimed him off of waivers from the Florida Panthers earlier this month.