Tri-City Americans goaltender Eric Comrie, a top prospect for the 2013 NHL Draft, will miss the remainder of the season due to a hip injury.
Comrie told the Tri-City Herald that he will have surgery Feb. 5 in Colorado and will be out for 3-4 months.
"It [stinks] right now," Comrie told the newspaper. "It is better to do it [surgery] while it is minor. The doctors say I will be more flexible, have better range of motion and be pain-free.
"We [Comrie and his parents] sat down and talked about it and decided this would the best course of action. I have to move forward and next year I will be 100 percent. It's really hard to leave. We've really become a family. This is the closest team I have ever been on."
Comrie is No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American goalies for this year's draft. In 37 games this season, he is 20-14-3 with a 2.62 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and two shutouts.

One name that is sure to arouse the curiosity of scouts and general managers when the 2013 NHL Draft is staged at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., is Anthony Brodeur of Shattuck St. Mary's Prep in Minnesota.