Tyler Benson will miss at least the rest of the 麻豆传媒映画Giants pre-season, but the WHL club said the left-handed winger will not be away for long.
On Sept. 9, the 17-year-old Edmontonian had surgery for an undisclosed 鈥渓ower-body ailment.鈥� The hockey club would not give further specifics or confirm Benson was treated for a cyst near his tailbone, as reported by News 1130.
"We're really pleased that Tyler's surgery went really well," Giants general manager Scott Bonner said in a prepared statement. "We feel that we have a strong team going into this season and we will look forward to Tyler's return in the coming weeks.
鈥淭he health and wellbeing of our players is our highest priority as an organization. While it's disappointing to see that Tyler may miss some time, we want to make sure he is back at 100 per cent before he returns to the lineup.鈥�
Benson was on a very short-list of prospective Giants鈥� captains and is a potential first-round NHL draft pick. The Giants selected him first overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, and in 62 games during his rookie season last year, he scored 14 goals and 31 assists. He played for Canada twice this summer, winning bronze in the U-18 World Championships and gold at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
The Giants host the Kelowna Rockets 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at Pacific Coliseum. The 2015/16 season begins Sept. 25 when the Giants welcome the Seattle Thunderbirds.
