Kasperi Kapanen injures Ethan Bear at World Championship.

Canadian hockey fans aren't going to be too happy with St. Louis Blues forward Kasperi Kapanen, especially not those in located in the Vancouver area.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ethan Bear is currently representing his home country of Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship of hockey, and earlier in the week Bear and the Canadians would face off against Kapanen who is representing his home country of Finland at the tournament. In the final moments of that game Kapanen would deliver a slash to what appeared to be Bear's hand, wrist, or arm, causing the Canadian defenseman to leave the ice hunched over in pain.

You can see that sequence in the short clip below:

On Saturday, TSN's Gord Miller confirmed an injury to Bear when he announced that Bear was sidelined for today's game between Canada and Latvia as a result of the slash he received earlier in the week.

There's no way to tell just how serious the injury to Bear is at this time, but any serious injury could prove to be less than ideal for the Vancouver Canucks. While Bear is not under contract for next season, the Canucks control his rights with the defenseman a restricted free agent this summer.  They no doubt were expecting him to be healthy and ready to go come training camp and that includes staying in shape throughout the summer months, something that may be more challenging as a result of this entirely unnecessary injury.