After missing 18 games with a draining illness, the 19-year-old’s return to the Soo lineup started with an unexpected jolt

The first thing that happened to Brodie McConnell-Barker in his long-awaited season debut? Article content

He got flattened. Article content Article content

Midway through the first period of Wednesday’s game against the Flint Firebirds, the Soo Greyhounds defenceman was met squarely by a Firebirds forward who knocked his marbles.

“What a way to start a game after being out for 18 games,” Greyhounds head coach John Dean said. “It throws him for a loop at the start — very difficult on the young man. But once he started getting his feet going, you could see him get excited again.”

It was McConnell-Barker’s first game action in more than two months, his first rea

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