ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin suffered a broken cheekbone in Tuesday's game against Nashville, the team announced Wednesday. A timetable for his return has not yet been announced.
Brodin was hit in the face by a shot from Gabriel Bourque early in the first period of Minnesota's 2-0 win. The second-year defenseman remained on the ice for a moment before he was helped off the ice to the locker room. He did not return to the game and was taken to a local hospital for X-rays.
"Obviously, that was pretty gruesome to watch, taking a puck in the face like that," head coach Mike Yeo told the media on Wednesday. "It's disappointing."
The 20-year-old Brodin shined in his first NHL season last year, scoring two goals and adding nine assists while playing with Ryan Suter as Minnesota's top defensive pairing. In 10 games this year, Brodin already had three goals and three assists and was a plus-3.
Matt Benz, the Wild's assistant equipment manager, tweeted a picture Wednesday of the helmet Brodin will wear upon his return. The helmet was equipped with a full face mask.
For now, the Wild are only saying that Brodin is out "indefinitely."
"I anticipate that we'll be without him tomorrow, and then we'll have a better idea of a time frame tomorrow," Yeo said. "I'm not sitting here thinking, 'Oh, no, we lost Jonas and now we're in trouble.' I still have a lot of confidence going into every game that we have a team that's capable of winning every night against any team.
"Obviously he's a big loss for us and an important part of our team, but without question we have the guys that are capable."
Minnesota hosts Carolina on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.
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