The hits keep coming for the Columbus Blue Jackets, as the club announced that star rookie Adam Fantilli is likely to miss the next 8 weeks of action due to a calf laceration suffered in the 2nd period of his team’s loss to the Seattle Kraken.
The 3rd overall pick from last year’s draft, Fantilli was 4th among all rookies with 27 points (12G, 15A) across 49 contests before being struck by the skate blade of Kraken forward Jared McCann. The 19 year old was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game after hobbling down the tunnel toward the locker room.
While head coach Pascal Vincent stopped short of providing any concrete details on the injury after the game, the Blue Jackets worst fears were confirmed via additional testing after the game. Fantilli will now be sidelined for the next two months of action, effectively ending his candidacy for the Calder Trophy in 2023-24.
The 6’2″ centre is the 2nd top 6 forward the club has lost long term in the last week after Patrik Laine announced that he would be entering the NHLPA’s player assistance program on the weekend as well. With the All-Star break officially in full effect, Columbus will have some time regroup before hitting the ice again on February 10th against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.