Lund not returning to Herd

Concussions appear to have ended the once-promising hockey career of Halifax teenager Stephen Lund.

The Halifax Mooseheads defenceman recently informed club management he will not report to training camp, which opens on Thursday at Cole Harbour Place. Post-concussion syndrome limited him to just 26 games last season.

“It’s a disappointment,” Mooseheads general manager Marcel Patenaude said. “I thought if there was one year Stephen Lund would have a breakout year, it would be this year. High draft picks, defenceman, usually blossom at 19, 20.”

Lund could not be reached for comment at press time, but Patenaude said hockey isn’t in his plans.

Lund, who turns 19 years old on Sept. 9, was selected fifth overall in the 2005 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft. In September 2006, Red Line Report ranked him as a top-10 pick for the 2007 NHL draft. He went unselected.

The former Dartmouth Subways star never fully realized his potential in the Q, first struggling with the P.E.I. Rocket in 2005-06 and 2006-07. He was subsequently traded to the Mooseheads in December 2006 in a deal for Luciano Lomanno and called playing for the Mooseheads “a dream come true.”

Lund suffered the concussion last summer in an off-season pickup game. He returned for 26 games, but post-concussion symptoms reappeared and he didn’t play from Feb. 2 onward.

“In our meetings at the end of last year, I told him, ‘It could be a very good year for you (in 2008-09),’” Patenaude said. “I thought he could come back and be a big part of our team.”

The Mooseheads are left with four defencemen coming to camp with significant QMJHL experience: Ben MacAskill, Gabriel O’Connor, Justin Pender and Graham Bona.

“It’s a hole to fill,” Patenaude said. “We expected to have an experienced 19-year-old on defence. Now, we’re hoping we have someone younger to fill that spot.”

The Mooseheads will retain Lund’s rights for the foreseeable future by keeping him on their protected list.