World Junior hopefuls Vilardi, JAD, Villalta all hurt; Vilardi’s injury not major

Good news, everyone! /s

The updates:

Vilardi hasn’t played any games this season after undergoing off-season procedure on his back. He’d been skating with LA in practice, was making progress to being cleared for contact in practice but recently suffered minor setback in off-ice training session (not related to back)

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 5, 2018

LA prospect Jaret Anderson-Dolan (Spokane Chiefs) is currently in LA and is expected to have surgery there for a broken bone in his wrist. Likely to be out for six to eight weeks, which could negatively impact his availability for Team CAN at the WJC.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 5, 2018

#LAKings goalie prospect Matt Villalta was cut by a linesman's skate during warm-ups yesterday and did not play. It is not expected to sideline him longer than a couple weeks.

— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) November 5, 2018

The nuts and bolts:

–Gabe Vilardi’s injury is a right hip flexor and, per hockey ops, isn’t expected to keep him off the ice for more than a couple days. “He’s fine,” LAKI was informed. Still, there’s some concern there, given that he dealt with a tight hip in the aftermath of the 2017 Memorial Cup amidst the back issues that have delayed the start to his professional career.

–Matt Villalta’s injury was a freak occurrence that happened when he converged on the same spot as a linesmen during warm-ups of the Soo Greyhounds’ 3-2 shootout loss to Erie last night. That collision resulted in a nasty skate cut around Villalta’s ankle, but after getting stitched up it was learned that it’s not to the same degree of severity as, say, Jeff Carter’s skate cut last season. It’s not something that should sideline him for more than a few weeks, but like Vilardi and Anderson-Dolan, places his competition for a World Junior Championship position with Canada in question.

–Jaret Anderson-Dolan got into two games with WHL-Spokane after being assigned by the Kings, with his most recent outing a two-goal performance in a loss to Tri-City on October 27. We’d heard that he’d been dealing with something, but didn’t realize the severity until today’s news. This is particularly difficult for Anderson-Dolan, who doesn’t have much to prove at the junior level and was poised to earn a key role with Canada after a standout performance at the summer showcase camp in Kamloops. Canada’s world junior training camp will begin in mid-December, with the tournament running from December 26 through January 5, so the timeline doesn’t do Anderson-Dolan any favors.

–Lead photo via Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire