St. Denis Eyes Return:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

St. Denis eyes return

By Warren Henderson/Black Press Sports

Kyle St. Denis has called on every last iota of patience he has in his 5-foot-7, 170 pound frame. Two serious injuries have forced the speedy Kelowna Rockets forward out of 57 games and have threatened to sabotage his entire season.
Now, if only his teammates can go on a lengthy playoff run, just maybe St. Denis can salvage something from what has mostly been a painful and frustrating campaign.
“In the playoffs your top players are the guys who need to step up and I still want to be one of those guys,” said St. Denis who had 22 points in 22 regular-season games. “Hopefully the guys can keep it going for a while and I can get back and contribute. It’s been a tough year. There’d be nothing better than getting back on the ice and taking a run at the cup.”
If all goes as planned with his rehabilitation the Trail native could be back in the lineup sometime during the third or fourth rounds of the WHL playoffs, which simply means the Rockets will need to keep winning to prolong his season.
St. Denis, a former Vernon Viper, hasn’t played in a game since Feb. 18 when he suffered a concussion against the Chilliwack Bruins and his recovery has been slow.
The first blow to his season came on Oct. 24 when St. Denis sat out the next 37 straight games with a broken bone (scaphoid) in his right wrist. It clearly wasn’t what St. Denis or the Rockets had planned for his second full season in the WHL.
“It’s been devestating not only for him, but it hasn’t helped our team either to see him miss so much time,” said Rockets assistant GM Lorne Frey. “He got off to a great start, he was one of our better players early on, but then the injuries hit him. He’s certainly had a tough go of it.”
Still, Frey doesn’t foresee the lengthy layoff having any adverse effects on St. Denis’ game over the long-term.
“Really, the kind of player he is, I wouldn’t expect this season will be detrimental to him at all,” said Frey. “He’s a dynamic forward, a smaller guy that plays with speed and skill and he’s not going to lose that over the course of a year. He was ready to have a breakout year this year, and when he comes back next season he’ll be relied upon as one of our most dominant players. If he can come back healthy next year, we think he’ll make a big impact.”
But next year is the last thing St. Denis wants to ponder as time winds down on his 2008-09 campaign.
In what has been the most trying season of his career, the 19-year-old still holds out hope there will be a positive conclusion.
“It hasn’t been easy because you’re around the team, but you can’t go on the ice and you can’t go on road trips, you just stay at home alone,” said St. Denis. “It’s been a long wait, but hopefully I’ll be feeling up to par soon and be back playing again.”
Rockets Shots…Game 6 of the WHL Western Conference semifinal series between the Rockets and Tri-City Americans goes tonight at 7 at Prospera Place…Rookie forward Shane McColgan has joined the Rockets for the remainder of the playoffs. Kelowna’s top pick, 13th overall, in the 2008 WHL bantam draft recently finished up his season with the Los Angeles junior Kings midget team.