Calder Trophy hopeful suffers catastrophic injury during offseason training

Earlier today, Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving confirmed that 20 year old defenseman Juuso Valimaki has sustained a knee injury that will prevent him from attending the team’s training camp in September.

Officially Valimaki is out indefinitely with a torn ACL muscle.

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It’s terrible news,” Treliving said on the Flames’ official website. “It’s terrible news for Juuso, and certainly, unfortunate news for our club.

“He’s a really good young player who we expected to take a big step and move forward this year. It’s tough. I feel horrible for him. He’s had a terrific summer in terms of preparing. He was really taking some big steps forward and was excited about making an impact on our team this year.”

The Flames first round pick (16th overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft was expected to not only make the Flames’ main roster this upcoming season, but to play a big role, as well. Valimaki played 24 games with the Flames last season, one shy of losing his Calder Trophy eligibility for 2019-20 and put up a goal and three points.

“You’re upset. You’re upset for the player, first and foremost - and obviously, where we saw him fitting in with us. You absorb it and move forward. That’s all you can do,” said Treliving.

“You want to be there for the player, because right now he’s devastated.”