Devils Defenseman Injury Revealed, Has Successful Surgery

 The left side of the New Jersey Devils’ blue line has been decimated by injuries before the puck even dropped for Game One of the regular season. Defenseman Santeri Hatakka suffered an undisclosed injury in the preseason, and the Devils finally revealed what the former sixth-round draft pick was dealing with.

Hatakka left the second period of a preseason tilt against the Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 24th, in which the Devils lost 3-0. The Finnish defenseman remained out of the lineup for the rest of the game.

For a while, Hatakka’s status remained undetermined. However, when he didn’t leave with the Devils to play in Prague, and he hasn’t skated since, it could be deduced that he was dealing with a serious injury.

On Thursday, the Devils announced Hatakka underwent successful shoulder surgery. No timeline was provided for Hatakka’s recovery, however, the Devils will be provided updates when available.

Hatakka’s injury was certainly an untimely one.

First, he explained to New Jersey Hockey Now this summer that he believed he was going to be a full-time NHL defenseman this season. That prediction became a little more realistic once it was announced that the Devils would be without Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce to begin 2024-25 for their respective injuries.

READ: Santeri Hatakka Wants Full-Time NHL Role With Devils

Now, Seamus Casey has forced New Jersey to roster him with his positive play, despite the deployment on his off side as a right-handed defenseman.

Fortunately for New Jersey, Casey has been up to snuff.

The Devils signed Hatakka to a one-year, two-way contract this summer. After a small, yet encouraging sample of his work in the NHL last season, there was certainly hope within the organization that Hatakka would be able to fill the void with Hughes and Pesce injured.

Hatakka’s lust for a full-time role in the NHL is on hold for now while he recovers.