Ilya Mikheyev responds to criticism surrounding his injury.

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On Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks announced forward Ilya Mikheyev would be sidelined for the remainder of the 2022-23 National Hockey League regular season to repair his injured knee.

While injuries, even serious ones, are commonplace in a sport as physical as hockey, the news of Mikheyev’s injury drew a lot of criticism. This was partly due to two main factors, the first is the bad public sentiment that the Canucks organization has cultivated this season and the second was the revelation that Mikheyev had been playing while injured for 4 months.

However, to his credit, Mikheyev was quick to defend his team on Saturday when this criticism started to come in, making it very clear that every step of this process was under his control. Mikheyev took to social media and posted a series of short tweets that left no doubt about how his injury had been handled and dispelled any thoughts that the Canucks might have mishandled it.

By Mikheyev.

I understand that there is a lot of debate about my decision to play with an ACL injury. Here are the facts: when I was injured in pre-season, I went through several tests and realized that I could play without causing more damage. That’s what I wanted to do. Twice a week, we consulted the team doctors on how things were going. Never have I felt pressure, never have I felt worse. It was my decision. Eventually I reached a point where I wanted to be ready in time for next year. If I kept playing, I wouldn’t be ready for training camp. I appreciate everyone’s concern, but I have no complaints about how this was handled.

The schedule Mikheyev has set for himself will allow him to return, healthy, in time for next season and, given the position the Canucks are in, there is no doubt that it was the right choice to this stage of the season.

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