Dallas Stars prospect and right winger Brett Ritchie injured his pinkie finger on Saturday during the 2014 Traverse City Tournament, and now GM Jim Nill confirms the broken finger will keep the forward out for the next two weeks.
Ritchie was a major piece of the Calder Cup Champions Texas Stars last season and was expected to possibly compete for an NHL spot out of camp as a goal-scoring right winger. Stars GM Jim Nill confirmed, however, that Ritchie’s broken finger will keep him out for at least a few weeks.
“It was his pinkie finger, he broke the tip of it,” Nill said on SiriusXM NHL Radio on Monday. “I would say he might miss a couple of weeks to let it heal, but he should be ready for the start of the season. He just got slashed on the end of the finger and it broke the tip; we’re going to get that taken care of, but he should be ready for the start of the season.”
Ritchie will now miss at least training camp this weekend in Fort Worth and the first week of the preseason; that leaves two games (plus a scrimmage in Cedar Park) for Ritchie to get ready for the coming season, whether that’s in Dallas or down in the AHL for Texas.
With Ritchie out, an opportunity exists for another young winger to perhaps step up and take advantage. Could Colton Sceviour prove he belongs in the top six with more minutes available in that slot with Ritchie out? How will this affect Ritchie’s chances at the NHL out of camp?
All will be answered in the coming weeks.