Following an impressive run in the 2018 World Junior Championship, New York Rangers prospect Lias Andersson finds himself on the shelf following an injury.
Lias Andersson, selected seventh overall in the 2017 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, will be out for two weeks following a shoulder injury suffered in the 2018 World Junior Championship.
Lias Andersson (#NYR) is out for two weeks w/ a Grade 2 AC joint injury according to this report. He's still in New York. https://t.co/6WYQJvYvnJ
— Alex Nunn (@aj_ranger) January 10, 2018
Andersson, who is now most known for tossing his silver medal to the crowd following a loss in the gold medal game, played through the remainder of the tournament with the injury. The injury is a Grade two AC joint sprain that he suffered during the tournament but ultimately ended up playing through.
The injury itself isn’t a serious one for the 19-year-old center. He is expected to remain in New York with the Rangers for the next two weeks, where he will do his rehab. It’s a loss for his team over in the Swedish Hockey League, and it might cost him a chance to make is mark with the Rangers in 2017.
On the positive side, the injury may have been much worse once the tournament ended. Andersson is still young and his body heals much quicker than, say, a 30-year-old veteran.
As most hockey players do in big games, Andersson played through a tough injury something we have seen plenty of Rangers like Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, and Ryan McDonagh do over the last few playoff runs. This all goes back to the desire to win and Andersson continues to show that at such a young age.
This season, Andersson has developed the way the Rangers had hoped he would. He’s scored 20 points with Frolunda in Swedish Hockey league while finishing 13th in the World Junior Championship with seven points.
Despite taking some criticism for his actions following the gold medal game, there really isn’t anything you can say about Andersson that is negative. His hard work has been paying off and this injury just seems to be a small bump in the road.
