Carolina Hurricanes’ Ondrej Kase being evaluated for concussion
Carolina Hurricanes right winger Ondrej Kase is returning to Raleigh to be evaluated for a possible concussion, according to Walt Ruff, editorial content producer and team reporter for the Hurricanes.
Any news of a possible brain injury is particularly alarming in regards to Kase, 26, who has a history of concussions. The first documented one came in an AHL game in 2015-16. He had multiple stints on the IR as a member of the Anaheim Ducks and, after being traded to the Boston Bruins in 2019-20, only played nine regular season games for them over two seasons, primarily due to concussion-related absences. He missed approximately four months of action after suffering a concussion on a hit from the New Jersey Devils’ Miles Wood in the second game of the 2020-21 regular season. Doing the math on this July 2021 story and factoring in Kase’s concussion in 2021-22, he has six documented concussions, not including the injury for which he’s currently being evaluated. Depending on whether we weigh the designated “upper-body injury” absences the same as the officially diagnosed concussions, it’s possible Kase’s career concussion total is in the double digits.
Last season, as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he sustained a concussion in March and missed multiple weeks. He returned during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs and ended up earning a Masterton Trophy nomination for his perseverance.
The Leafs did not tender Kase a qualifying offer after last season, and he hit the market as a UFA. Kase signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Hurricanes on July 13, opening day of free agency. Kase played 11:02 in his first regular season game with the team earlier this week, holding an impressive 68 percent shot attempt share.
Kase, a Czechia native, was selected by the Ducks in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL Draft, 205th overall.