The St. Louis Blues won’t have Keean Washkurak for the rest of training camp, as the young forward will undergo surgery on his left wrist today. He will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.
Washkurak, 21, was a fifth-round pick of the Blues in 2019 who scored 13 goals and 23 points as a rookie last season for the Springfield Thunderbirds. The physical, in-your-face forward racked up 50 penalty minutes to go with it, continuing to play the style that made him a standout for the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL.
While making the Blues roster was likely out of the question at this point, Washkurak was ticketed for an important role in the minor leagues. Starting things out with a wrist injury certainly isn’t an ideal situation in an important development year. He’ll miss a good chunk to start the year, and will have to try and jump onto a moving train when he is finally cleared to return.
Washkurak will start the year on season-opening injured reserve.
Damn. That’s a loss here in Springfield. Good kid, hard worker.