The Dallas Stars’ 22-year-old forward Brett Ritchie will miss 3-4 months of following successful wrist surgery, the team announced on Tuesday.
In a short release at the team site, general manager Jim Nill revealed that the procedure was “to repair a ligament in his wrist.”
Ritchie got his first taste of NHL action last season, playing 31 games with the club, over which he scored six goals and three assists. He also played 33 games with the Texas Stars in the AHL, scoring 12 goals and 21 points.
The 2011 2nd round draft pick has succeeded at the AHL level previously, posting 22 goals and 48 points for AHL Texas in the 2013-14 season.
Brett Ritchie undergoes successful wrist surgery, expected to return in 3-4 months. READ:http://t.co/dDmNg3v173 pic.twitter.com/xKR3Q8GJRo
— Dallas Stars at NHL All-Star (@DallasStars) September 8, 2015
With a nice scoring touch, the 6-foot-4 forward will be missed. He was expected to take a step forward this season and earn more time with the big club. It will mark the second season in a row that a promising forward prospect for the Stars was knocked out of the lineup near the start of the season, missing significant time in an important developmental year.
Last season it was Valeri Nichushkin, who was hurt just a couple games into the season and didn’t re-enter the lineup until there were just five games left in the season.
RELATED: Rich Peverley Announces Retirement
