One defenseman was noticeably absent from Saturday’s Flyers practice.
Shayne Gostisbehere, the defenseman, did not participate in the final practice of the Flyers training camp on Saturday. The team did not provide a reason publicly on why he was absent, and it doesn’t seem like they can either.
Per an agreement with the NHLPA and the NHL, hockey clubs can not disclose to the public reasons on why players are absent from camp and games. This does not mean it is COVID-related, and there is no indication so far that it is related to the coronavirus and we could only hope that it is not.
Re: Gostisbehere absence from practice -- based on what the NHL/NHLPA agreed to, the Flyers can't publicly reveal the reason for his absence from practice today. It does NOT necessarily mean it's COVID-related, so please do not jump to that immediately.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) January 9, 2021
Per multiple reports, Ghost will not participate in Sunday night’s scrimmage that is being broadcasted on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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It’s not like he missed the entire training camp, it’s just at least one day. If it’s due to an injury, then that obviously is a different story.
When the news broke of Ghost missing camp, some fans began to assume that his absence was directly related to COVID-19. There is no current evidence to support this, so it would be unfair to assume such.
More information on Ghost missing practice today should become available in the upcoming days if it’s an injury.
This season, Ghost will have to prove himself more than ever if he wants to maintain a spot on the roster.
The 27-year-old defenseman has had a couple rough past seasons, and it hopefully should only look upward from here.