Fans hoping to catch Gabriel Vilardi in action at next week’s rookie games against Vegas will unfortunately have to wait longer to see the club’s top draft pick in action. The Kings announced Thursday that Vilardi, the Windsor Spitfires forward selected 11th overall at the 2017 NHL Draft, will miss all on-ice activity at Los Angeles’ upcoming rookie camp and training camp due to a back sprain.
“Gabe has already begun his rehabilitation and continues to work hard,” General Manager Rob Blake said in a team release. “The injury is something that flared up throughout the summer.”
(In correspondence with Spitfires GM Warren Rychel,
Jim Parker of the Windsor Star noted Vilardi has a hip injury and
in a separate story said the forward “has been in California all summer” as he rehabilitates it.)
Vilardi did not skate at the club’s development camp, held the final week of June at Toyota Sports Center. At the time, that was attributed largely to the conclusion of a long season that culminated in Vilardi hoisting the Memorial Cup on May 28. But he did not skate with Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase that bridged June and July, and recent correspondence across the OHL did not offer an indication that he had resumed skating.
Vilardi will continue to be evaluated throughout his rehabilitation, but at this point there’s no timetable on his return.
