Penguins president of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas revealed today the 19-year-old forward Ben Kindel suffered a vasovagal episode on the Penguins team flight out of Utah on Tuesday, but he is out of the hospital and returned to Pittsburgh last night.
A vasovagal episode occurs when a person temporarily loses consciousness caused by a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure, leading to reduced blood flow to the brain. The condition is usually not harmful and the effects of it is not limiting in most circumstances.
Kindel has no history of vasovagal incidents and is undergoing testing to determine if a cause can be identified. He was place don injured reserve today.
Dubas outlines the plan for Kindel moving forward.
If all goes well, Kindel could return to playing very soon.
Dubas says episodes such as this one serve to remind everyone of how quickly a situation can go from worrying about hockey to worrying about life issues.
The Penguins also today placed forward Bryan Rust on injured reserve for the second time this season, due to an undisclosed injury suffered Monday against Utah.
Forward Rutger McGroarty and defenseman Chase Pietila have been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
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