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Tyler Seguin out of World Cup, replaced by Ryan O'Reilly

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AP_165140390353

On the eve of Team Canada’s final exhibition game in the World Cup of Hockey, Nick Kypreos reported the squad would be without one of its dynamic young stars in Tyler Seguin.

There is some confusion about the actual injury to Seguin.

Kypreos said it’s a knee. Craig Custance of ESPN followed up with a tweet of his own stating the injury to Seguin isn’t related to his knee.

The ESPN broadcast later added the beloved ‘lower-body injury’ to Seguin’s status.

What we do know is that Seguin sustained the injury while participating with Team Canada and doesn’t appear – at least, for now – to be related to the Achilles injury Seguin sustained at the end of last season.

From the Dallas Stars:

“We are aware of the injury Tyler suffered while competing with Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “We recognize the constraints of the tournament and understand Team Canada’s decision given the circumstances. Tyler will be returning to Dallas in the coming days and we will evaluate him fully at that point.”

“I’m disappointed that I can’t represent Team Canada at the World Cup of Hockey,” forward Tyler Seguin said. “Any time your country calls, it’s a great honor and is something every kid from Canada dreams about getting the chance to do. While I’m upset that I don’t get the opportunity to play, I understand the situation Team Canada is in with a short tournament. I wish all the best for that team and the good news is that I’ll get to be with my Stars teammates from day one. We’re excited to get the season going and we can’t wait to get to Cedar Park and get to work.”

Seguin missed the second day of World Cup training camp with an undisclosed illness. He proceeded to play in both exhibition games against the United States, registering one point in an average of 12:30 TOI over the two games.

Pinpointing a moment where Seguin could have been injured is like finding a needle in the haystack. Some are bandying about a theory that Ryan Suter injured Seguin on check on an icing (or Seguin stepped on Suter’s stick) and he went to the locker room; not sure if it was the first or second exhibition game. We’ll probably find out at the Stars exit interviews in 2017.

So, who will replace Seguin in the lineup? If only Canada had a million hockey players to choose from.

Oh wait. They do.

Doug Armstrong, GM for Team Canada, opted for center Ryan O’Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres. Here’s Armstrong’s statement to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet on the whole ordeal:

(Somebody reinforce all the Tim Horton’s in Toronto!)

Team Canada’s final tuneup game is Wednesday night in Pittsburgh against Team Russia. Look for O’Reilly to be thrown directly to the lions.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter!