NHL prospect gets absolutely destroyed by violent hit.

This was a very violent impact and it has unfortunately left one National Hockey League hopeful with what looks like it might be a fairly significant injury.

On Sunday while many eyeballs were tuned in to the National Football League's annual championship game, otherwise known as Super Bowl Sunday, the Belleville Senators and the Hershey Bears were having it out in the American Hockey League. Now the game itself, a 3 - 2 victory for the Bears, was not particularly notable but there was one incident during the game that caught the eye of more than a few fans.

With just a little over 3 minutes left to go on the game clock Washington Capitals prospect Nathna Walker absolutely crushed Ottawa Senators' prospect Christian Wolanin with what appears to have been a very violent hip check. It's hard to tell exactly if the hit was a clean hip check as we have only seen one camera angle of the hit, but it does appear as if it was indeed a hip chick rather than a low bridge hit or even a knee on knee. That being said additional angles may tell a different but we do not have access to those at this time. 

What we do know for certain is that Wolanin, a former Senators 4th round pick (107th overall) in the 2015 National Hockey League Entry Draft, was in considerable pain on the ice after the blow, and he appeared to be entirely favoring his left leg on the ice. Initially Wolanin's reaction had me convinced that he had just been taken out by a knee on knee hit but even when looking frame by frame it never looks like Walker sticks his leg out, nor does it appear that the knee is a significant point of contact. Nonetheless the 23 year old Senators forward was in agony and it's tough to watch him writhe around on the ice the way that he did, knowing full well that a serious knee injury could derail his NHL hopes.

Unfortunately there have been no updates provided on Wolanin's status at this time so we're going to have to wait and see a bit before we know the full extent of the damage to his leg. Multiple reports indicate that he put no weight on it at all follow the hit. 

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