Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies says he’ll play Thursday against the New York Islanders after a “scary situation” at practice on Wednesday.
Knies left practice early on Wednesday with an apparent lower-body injury and was helped off the ice.
After practice, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said it did not appear to be a serious injury.
“Just was in a lot of discomfort there and just didn’t feel right to me,” Knies told reporters Thursday. “It kind of felt a little more serious than it was when I was exiting the ice, but I kind of just had to let it settle down and kind of ease it up then it started to feel good by the end of the day.”
“That’s a scary injury to have around that area,” he added. “Obviously, it takes you out for a long time, so I was happy that it was just nothing serious, and I could play today. Just really fortunate that it was nothing serious and I could move on from it.”
The six-foot-three rookie has eight goals and seven assists in 36 games this season.
Picked in the second round (57th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft by Toronto, Knies joined the Leafs late last season after leading Minnesota to the NCAA final.
Knies was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA player of the year.
Knies also played for the United States at the 2022 Olympics and World Junior Championship.