Avalanche’s Artturi Lehkonen taken to hospital after collision with Kraken’s Jamie Oleksiak
Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen left Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken following a scary collision with Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak that sent Lehkonen crashing head-first into the boards.
The Avalanche‘s statement added that Lehkonen is responsive, alert and has full mobility, and his trip to the hospital is a precaution. There likely won’t be another update on Lehkonen’s status until Friday.
Artturi Lehkonen is being taken to a local hospital as a precaution for further evaluation. He is alert, responsive and has full movement.
Lehkonen went head-first into the boards after a collision with Jamie Oleksiak in the second period.
Lehkonen has registered three goals and four assists for seven points in 11 games so far throughout the 2023-24 campaign. Last season, the Fin notched a career-high 21 goals and 51 points in 64 games. Lehkonen missed 4-6 weeks with a broken finger last season and underwent surgery which cost him nearly 20 games of action.
The Montreal Canadiens originally selected Lehkonen in the second round (No. 55 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft. After spending the three years after his selection developing overseas, Lehkonen jumped directly into the Canadiens’ lineup in 2016-17 without playing a single game in the American Hockey League. Lehkonen spent parts of six seasons in Montreal to begin his NHL career, topping out with 31 points in 82 games with the club in 2018-19. He was instrumental in the Canadiens reaching the 2021 Stanley Cup Final in Cinderella fashion, scoring in overtime to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice.
Through 487 career games with the Canadiens and Avalanche, Lekhonen has collected 104 goals and 112 assists for 216 points. He’s added 17 goals and 32 points in 60 games spread over four playoff runs.
The Avalanche will play the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.