Winnipeg Jets Winger Blake Wheeler Played Through The One Of The Gnarliest Injuries Imaginable

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Hockey teams are notoriously shy about sharing more information than necessary when it comes to discussing the status of an injured player. One of my favorite annual traditions is knowing someone spent the Stanley Cup Playoffs nursing a vague “upper-body injury” that turned out to be a partially collapsed lung or some other serious ailment that would keep the typical person on the couch for at least a week

However, guys who’ve made it to the NHL tend to have an almost superhuman ability to ignore pain and overcome some major setbacks. For example, Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang didn’t even need two weeks to return to practice after suffering a stroke earlier this season, and Jake DeBrusk managed to lead the Bruins to victory over the Penguins in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park by scoring two goals after he broke his fibula during the contest.

Now, a new challenger has emerged as a top contender for Ultimate Hockey Guy honors in the form of Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler.

The winger is slated to make his return to the ice on Friday after recovering from what was a previously unspecified injury he suffered during his squad’s 2-1 win over the Predators on December 15th.

However, we got some new details on exactly what forced Wheeler to miss more than three weeks of action courtesy of The Athletic, which reports the University of Minnesota product gutted things out to finish the showdown with Nashville while nursing a ruptured testicle (the gnarly injury was apparently the result of Wheeler getting hit with a shot that was fired by Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey at some point during the tilt).

On December 17th, Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele praised Wheeler for his toughness by saying it “took some serious balls” to stay on the ice.

It sounds like “ball” may be a bit more accurate in this particular instance.