Despite injury, Pheonix Copley remains positive for future

It was evident Pheonix Copley was in a world of pain when he went down in game four of the Atlantic Division finals. What was not known at the time of the injury was how painful it was for him.

During exit interview day on Friday, it was revealed that Copley pulled his groin pretty badly. The groin muscle runs parallel with the leg, attached to the bone in the pelvis. Copley pulled the muscle from the bone stretching for puck late in the second period of game four that Providence ended up scoring.

“It’s frustrating,” said Copley. “In the middle of the playoffs, you’re on a run there, to go down with an injury. There’s nothing you can do about it, just moving on and getting ready for next year.”

The severity of the injury was not known as of Friday, but Copley said it was a toss up if he would have been able to return. “We’re still waiting to hear exactly what the next step is here. I felt better and better every day. It would have probably been up in the air.” However, head coach Troy Mann would say Copley would have been out for the rest of the playoffs.

As frustrating as the injury was for the North Pole, Alaska native, the injury will not hold him back from being ready to go next season. “There will be some rehab for sure, but other than that no permanent damage.”

That’s a good sign for the 25-year-old netminder, as he becomes an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. “We’ll see how it goes. I gotta start thinking about that now that the season is over. I’ll just take it a day at a time now for my first time going through it all.

“It’s exciting to see what’s out there.”

If Copley re-signs with Washington, he could find himself as the team’s NHL back-up if former Bear Philipp Grubauer is picked by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. If not, the demand from other teams for him will be high.