Many years ago, Dobber coined the term Band-Aid Boy to refer to a player who seems to find a way to get injured most every year, wreaking havoc on countless fantasy teams in the process. The term grew in popularity, such that now there's a dedicated section of the site that lists the current crop of Band-Aid Boys, plus a Hall of Fame consisting of the worst offenders. 

How do Band-Aid Boys figure into this month's Roos Lets Loose poll? Beyond the fact that injuries cause frustration to poolies, they definitely stood in the way of at least some of these players' careers. And that's what you're voting on, which five of these 20 players' careers has been most hurt – pun intended – by their Band-Aid Boy status? In other words, which five players were unable to reach their full potential due to their frequent injuries – that is, which five would've been most improved had they not been hurt so often.

I didn't include anyone on the list who's under age 25, since for them we can't tell yet for sure if their development and/or potential was indeed harmed by their Band-Aid Boy status. Also, note that several of the players managed to have very good stats despite being a Band-Aid Boy; the key is it is still possible that they would've been even better had it not been for their ever so frequent injuries.

The 20 choices are listed below in alphabetical order. You should vote for the five players whose careers you believe were most negatively affected due to their being a Band-Aid Boy. The voting link is at the end of the column. I decided not to include Kris Letang as a choice since I know he'd get votes from nearly everyone. This way it's more interesting and less predictable.

Nick Bjugstad – It seems like a lot longer ago than 2014-15 when the former first-round selection posted, at age 22 and in 72 games, 43 points, 12 PPPts, 207 SOG, 148 Hits, and 38 PIM. Thus, it's not surprising poolies were doing what they could to snatch up Bjugstad in hopes of owning a multi-cat beast for years to come. What's happened since then? He did post 48 points in the one season he managed to play 82 games; but otherwise, it's been injury after injury, resulting in him being a fantasy afterthought to many. Perhaps he can rediscover his talent in Minnesota, as he's still only 28; but the question about how good he could've been were in not for all his injuries definitely looms.

Alexander Edler – In the last seven seasons Edler never once topped 70 games played, seemingly inhibiting him from fulfilling the potential that was seen by him posting 49 points in 2011-12 at age 25. He'll still have had a fine career when all is said and done, but one where poolies can't help but wonder how much better he'd have fared had he remained healthy for even a few of those many seasons.

Ryan Ellis – Yes, with Roman Josi in the fold chances are Ellis was never going to become a huge blueline scorer for Nashville. But by having missed a chunk of games in two of the last three seasons as he was right in the middle of his prime, it's likely his true ceiling might not have been reachable as a result.

Filip Forsberg – Not topping 67 games played in each of the past three seasons has certainly taken a toll on Forsberg, as during the first of such seasons he was nearly a point per game player. Had his health held up, perhaps more seasons like that would've ensued, rather than the step back he's instead taken.

Alex Galchenyuk – The former third overall pick hasn't missed huge portions of seasons, but like Forsberg, his best season came when he first missed a bunch of games. While since then his effort level and commitment have rightfully been questioned, we can never know how much his being injured that season cost him in terms of going forward momentum on which he could have built.

John Gibson – For sure being on Anaheim has not helped Gibson over the past few seasons, but his seemingly annual injury bouts haven't done him any favors either. Perhaps he's turned a corner though, as over the past three seasons his health has improved. But has the damage to his full potential already been done?

Taylor Hall – When Hall's career is over it will be difficult to label him a disappointment, what with a Hart trophy and some outstanding seasons. But his struggles during or after seasons in which he missed big portions of a campaign can't help but make poolies wonder if he could have done even more by now.

Patric Hornqvist – Selected with the very last pick in the 2005 draft, for a while it looked like Hornqvist could hum along just fine even after he missed half the 2012-13 season, as he posted a 65 point pace in 2014-15. But the ten or more games he has since missed in each season do appear that they hampered Hornqvist from being the prototypical power forward he seemed on the path to becoming in his 20s.

Erik Johnson – No one could be blamed if they forget Johnson was a former first overall draft pick. And in his first six seasons the instances when he managed to play 79+ games he did well, posting 39 points twice. After that though, injuries mounted and his best scoring pace in any subsequent season has been a mere 33 points.

Matt Murray – Backstopping the Pens to two Stanley Cups by his age 22 season, Murray seemed set to be the franchise goalie for the Pens, who consequently allowed Marc-Andre Fleury to be exposed in the Vegas expansion draft. But after three seasons of injuries and his play being a step-down, the Pens decided to part ways with Murray, leaving their fate instead in the hands of the barely tested Tristan Jarry.

Kyle Okposo – Even in his two most successful seasons Okposo missed a combined 33 games, and since then the missed games have continued, but his scoring has cratered. Now 32, he's an expensive afterthought with the Sabres.

Mattieu Perreault – Never a star by any stretch, Perreault was, however, a very solid NHLer, with a stretch of four seasons where in three of which his scoring pace was in the 50s and his PPPts in each 12+. But never playing in more than 71 games in any of his first nine seasons, the damage was apparently done such that when he finally appeared in all 82 contests in 2018-19 his point total was only 30.

Antti Raanta– After great stats in back-up roles in both Chicago and New York, Raanta showed he was a truly skilled goalie with 30 Quality Starts in 47 games in 2017-18 and a GAA of 2.24 and an SV% of .930. But injuries over the past two seasons have swung the pendulum back toward him being more of a back-up while Darcy Kuemper has grabbed the reins.

Rickard Rakell – Although Rakell never missed a huge portion of a season, he failed to log more than 72 games in any of his first four full campaigns. So what happened when he finally played 77 contests in 2017-18? He posted a career-best scoring rate of 73 points. But then in 2018-19 he was back to 13 missed games and saw his scoring rate plummet to 51 points. Here too one has to wonder if only he could've stayed healthy whether his star might have continued to rise.

James Reimer – At several stops in his now long career Reimer was poised to step into the role of being a true #1 netimnder. But always injuries stood in the way, such that now, at age 31, we can only look back and wonder how much better he'd have fared with perfect health.

Justin Schultz – After a couple of decent early seasons, Schultz got hurt in 2015-16 and saw his production drop. He rebounded in a major way in 2016-17, yet since then the number of games he's missed is easily greater than his total points scored.

Jaden Schwartz – Consider him the Ryan Ellis of forwards, as even despite his frequent trips to the IR, Schwartz has produced some excellent seasons. Yet with only 69 games or fewer games played in three of a stretch of four seasons from age 23 to 27, one can't help but think his full potential was likely put out of reach.

Andrew Shaw – Much like Bjugstad, Shaw had a superb multi-cat season at age 22, leading some to see him as a power forward of the future. But injuries derailed him for several years until he seemed to have a rebirth in 2018-19, where he scored at a 61 point full season pace. Alas, he appeared in only 26 contests in 2019-20, and we're left wondering if he can somehow find a way to produce a third act in his career.

Paul Stastny – With a great pedigree and scoring paces of 80 and 88 points in two seasons by the time he was 24, much was expected of Stastny. And although he has since scored at a 69 point pace on two separate occasions five seasons apart, he's also missed an average of more than a dozen games each season and likely derailed what could've been a far more productive career.

Mark Stone – Although Stone is now viewed as a consistent and productive player, one has to wonder if he could've been truly elite, as he was in 2017-18 when he produced at an 88 point pace despite missing 24 games. But since he's not tasted point per game scoring in the two subsequent seasons, we'll always be left wondering if, had he played a full 2017-18, he might be producing even better numbers.

************

So those are your 20 voting choices. Your task is to pick the five who you believe are the most glaring examples of those who failed to reach their full potential due to being a Band-Aid Boy. To cast your votes, click here.

Questions for Mailbag column

Next week's Roos Lets Loose column will be my monthly mailbag, which has room for perhaps one or two more questions. And remember it's never too early to send me a question for the following edition. To get your question to me, you can either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or, instead, send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.