In a game against the San Jose Barracuda on February 15th, Alex Turcotte of the Ontario Reign got lit up by Barracuda right winger Ozzy Wiesblatt.
Ozzy Wiesblatt introduces himself to Alex Turcotte pic.twitter.com/zVOQY0QUuf
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) February 16, 2023
As a result of this hit, Turcotte did not return to the game and sustained a lower-body injury, according to LA Kings’ Insider contributor Jared Shafran.
Nate Thompson is back in tonight for Ontario, playing for the first time since he was injured on Jan. 8 in a game against CV.
— Jared Shafran (@ShafReign) February 18, 2023
But Alex Turcotte is out after suffering a lower body injury on a hit he took in SJ on Wednesday. His status is week to week.
The 22-year old Illinois native was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings with the 5th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. And on March 11, 2020, he signed his Entry Level Contract with the Kings for three-years, worth $7.425 million dollars.
Since then, he has debuted in a total of 12 NHL games, but has failed to record any statistics outside of seven penalty minutes. Drafted with such a high draft pick, the ceiling for Alex Turcotte seemed very high and still seems to be that way. We have yet to see him in a regular NHL rotation, which could be difficult for a young player to find his rhythm with inconsistent minutes.
But, the good news is that he is recovering well from his lower-body injury and could return to the ice very soon, according to Jared Shafran. In 24 games with the Ontario Reign this season, Turcotte has six goals and eight assists for 14 points. He does appear to need some more time developing in the AHL before joining the Kings’ regular rotation and being only 22 years old, it’s not too abnormal.
Although according to Jared Shafran, he could see the NHL ice sometime later this season or next season. Alex Turcotte is one of the many highly-touted prospects in the Kings’ system and one of my favorites with his ability to score goals and make plays. He also has an impressive hockey IQ and could be a gifted young player for Todd McLellan sooner rather than later.
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