Ekblad leaves World Cup, to be evaluated in Florida

Aaron Ekblad's World Cup is over.

After a full day of speculation, North America general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed the star blue-liner has left the team and won't return.

While rumors swirl about the defender's health after he took a hard hit from Leo Komarov on Sunday, the Florida Panthers are taking no chances with the 20-year-old and summoned him home for evaluation.

Earlier Tuesday, North America head coach Todd McLellan said Ekblad was day to day with an upper-body injury. A Monday report had the D-man suffering from concussion-like symptoms, while TSN's Bob McKenzie said Tuesday a concussion had yet to be diagnosed, and that Ekblad was receiving treatment for a stiff neck.

Nobody knows, in other words, the extent of Ekblad's injury, save for the Panthers.

Ekblad played 23:23 against Finland in North America's tournament opener. He sat out Monday's loss to Russia with the injury.

It's a big loss for the Under-23 squad, as Ekblad is the team's best defenseman, and was serving as an alternate captain. He's experienced previous concussion issues in his young career.

Another defender, Ryan Murray, didn't practice Tuesday, but it was ruled a maintenance day for the Columbus Blue Jacket.

Jacob Trouba stepped into the lineup Monday and played 16:48, finishing minus-2 with one shot, two hits, and a blocked shot. He'll play again Wednesday.