Babcock: Seguin tried to play through ankle injury

Mike Babcock has shed some light on an ankle injury that forced Tyler Seguin out of the World Cup, saying the Canadian forward may have left the coaching staff somewhat in the dark.

"(Seguin) said to us, 'You know I haven't been very truthful'," Babcock told reporters, per Scott Burnside of ESPN.

Babcock added Seguin tried to play through the injury - initially reported to be a knee issue - but it was not improving, hence the decision to pull out of the tournament and focus on being ready for the start of the NHL regular season.

"It's the same; the guys don't tell you," Babcock said to gathered media members. "Why would they tell you? They want to go. They think they're going to get better and they're going to push through it, and he tried to push through it. But he said even yesterday, when he started pushing through it, it started heating up right away. Now I don't know what that means in medical terms but I know in coaching terms you're not doing very good."

Seguin said Tuesday he was upset that about not being able to play, but that he understands the situation Team Canada is in with a short tournament, thereby calling upon Ryan O'Reilly to replace him.

The Dallas Stars center is expected to be off skates for 7-to-10 days.