Northeastern sophomore defenseman A.J. Toews, who has been out since sustaining an injury against New Hampshire on Jan. 30, has been diagnosed with a congenital spinal condition which has ended his collegiate career.
The condition — which is not related to the injury — was discovered during treatment, at which point Toews was advised to avoid all contact sports.
“It’s a tremendous loss for our program,” said Northeastern head coach Bruce Crowder, who was nonetheless thankful, alluding to the possibility of a severe injury had the condition gone unnoticed. “We’re very lucky that we were able to find this out when we did, instead of finding it out under very different circumstances.”
Toews, the son of former Pittsburgh Steeler Loren Toews, had 3-6-9 in 26 games. He will reportedly remain with the team in some capacity.
