Bruce Hamilton has seen the injury bug grab hold of 鈥� teams of the past.

But the sheer numbers and nature of the injuries in 2017-18 has been more disconcerting than usual for the Western Hockey League club鈥檚 president and GM.

鈥淵ou expect bumps and bruises but you don鈥檛 expect as many of the types of injuries as we鈥檙e getting,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a broken leg come into play, a broken hand, and other strange things happening, like with our goaltending.

鈥淚t鈥檚 getting frustrating, we haven鈥檛 really had a full lineup since early in the year,鈥� he added, 鈥渟o hopefully we can get through this stretch, get some guys back and get healthy before the playoffs.鈥�

With a handful of Rockets already sidelined, forward Kole Lind was the latest victim after taking an open-ice hit from Victoria Royals鈥� defenceman Ralph Jarratt during the second period of Wednesday鈥檚 game at Prospera Place.

After laying on the ice for several minutes, Lind, a 31-goal scorer this season, had to be helped off by a pair of Rockets鈥� teammates.

On Tuesday, Hamilton said he expected the Rockets to be without the Vancouver Canucks鈥� draft pick on a week-to-week basis.

鈥淚t was a dangerous hit,鈥� Hamilton said of the check from Jarratt. 鈥淲e鈥檒l wait to see what the league decides about it.鈥�

Also on Wednesday, rookie goaltender James Porter left the game in the third period after being landed on by Royals鈥� forward Igor Grishakov.

Porter had just returned to the lineup last Friday after being sidelined since Jan. 13 with an upper body injury.

Porter, Brodan Salmond and rookie Roman Basran have all served time on the injury list this season.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been bizarre,鈥� Hamilton said of the Rockets鈥� injury troubles in goal, 鈥渘othing like I鈥檝e seen.鈥�

On the upside, Hamilton said Liam Kindree (lower body) is close to returning, while defenceman James Hilsendager continues to make progress from an upper body injury suffered Jan. 30 against Medicine Hat.

If all goes as planned, Nolan Foote (hand, 4 to 5 weeks) will be pronounced ready to return before the post season.

But for now, with half of the busiest month of the season still to go, Hamilton said it鈥檚 all hands on deck.

鈥淭he guys that have been playing through this have got to keep it going,鈥� said Hamilton. 鈥淲hen we鈥檙e healthy, we鈥檝e got four guys sitting out, but right now we鈥檙e using pretty much everybody.

鈥淲e鈥檝e found ways to win,鈥� he said, 鈥渘ow going into a real stretch here,we鈥檙e going to have to find ways to keep doing that.鈥�

The Rockets (34-17-2-1) who edged Victoria 5-4 Wednesday in 91大黄鸭, lead the Royals by one point atop the BC Division.

RELATED: Rockets edge Royals to regain top spot in B.C. Division

On Wednesday night, the Rockets will host the Red Deer Rebels. Face off at Prospera Place is 7:05 p.m.

To report a typo, email: edit@kelownacapnews.com.

newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .