The Ottawa Senators announced a crushing blow today, revealing that young forward Colin White suffered a broken wrist last night in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and will be out six to eight weeks. Just yesterday we profiled White as one of the players to watch for the Senators this season, as he made the transition from top prospect to NHL player. That plan will have to wait for now, as eight weeks would cause him to miss 16 games.
It’s extremely disappointing for White, who left Boston College this spring to sign with the Senators and start his professional career. He even made it into three games for Ottawa down the stretch, including one playoff matchup. As we examined in their 2017-18 Primer yesterday, the Senators could have trouble scoring enough goals this season but White was a wildcard in that department. If he continued the offensive dominance he showed at the college ranks, he was ready for a full-time role right away with the Senators. With Derick Brassard still working his way back from labrum surgery this summer, there was an opportunity for White to start the year in the top-six.
Now, with Brassard uncertain for the season opener, White guaranteed to miss it and question marks still surrounding Erik Karlsson’s recovery, the Senators will already be limping when the games get under way. They’ll need players like Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone to make even more of an impact this year, and hope Bobby Ryan can recapture some of his previous skill.