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Devils Top Forward Prospect Suffers Brutal-Looking Injury

Originally posted on New Jersey Hockey Now
By James Nichols | Last updated Jan 28, 2025 11:33 AM ET

For good reason, the New Jersey Devils have been elated with the development of their top forward prospect, Arseni Gritsyuk. The Devils’ Russian forward prospect has emerged as one of the KHLs offensive threats, and the hope is he can translate that talent to the NHL level. Said development is likely to hit pause, however, as Gritsyuk suffered a brutal-looking injury on Monday that is seemingly going to take him out of action for a little while.

In SKA St. Petersburg’s tilt with Salavat on Monday, Arseni Gritsyuk absorbed a hit along the boards by forward Denis Yan.

Gritsyuk injured here on hit along the boards. https://t.co/TdRYRyoBLk pic.twitter.com/g8O97nDIc1

— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) January 28, 2025

The hit appeared innocent, however, Gritsyuk struggled to get to his feet following the collision, and further, had difficulty skating to the bench.

Even more concerning was how brutal the scene was, watching the Devils’ top forward prospect trying to walk down the tunnel to SKAs locker room. Even with the support of a St. Petersburg trainer, Gritsyuk had a hard time moving.

According to Hockey News Hub, Gritsyuk could miss about three weeks due to a knee injury. An official announcement has yet to be made.

Gritsyuk joins teammates Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alexander Nikishin, and Sergei Tolchinsky on St. Petersburg injured reserve.

For SKA St. Petersburg, they lost one of their top point producers. Gritsyuk is second on the team with 16 goals and 37 points, tied with Montreal Canadiens top prospect Ivan Demidov.

The plan for Gritsyuk is to make his way to North America following the conclusion of his KHL contract that expires at the end of the current season. We learned recently that the KHL adjusted their contracts, therefore, his arrival on the roster is more likely for the 2025-26 season.

Fortunately, Gritsyuk should be fully healed and good to go by then.

This article first appeared on New Jersey Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission.

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