Jackets prospect Murray has surgery, out 6 months

Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Ryan Murray had successful surgery Thursday to repair his injured left shoulder, general manager Scott Howson announced on the team's website.

Murray "will be sidelined for approximately six months but is expected to make a full recovery," the announcement said.

The defenseman was the second pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He was injured on Nov. 16 while playing for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League.

In a game with the Victoria Royals, he collided with Logan Nelson, and as Murray put his left arm behind him to break his fall, he said he felt his shoulder pop out of the joint.

"I kind of hit him awkwardly, I guess, and fell down to the ice," Murray told the Blue Jackets' website in late November. "As soon as my arm hit the ice, I could feel that my shoulder had popped out. It was really quick, I fell down, put my arm down and knew right away. It was kind of a freak accident."

Murray had been feeling discomfort with the shoulder and had an MRI exam scheduled for Nov. 20, four days after his injury.

"I've seen doctors throughout the year, and they thought maybe I had a torn labrum already," Murray said then. "It was strong and I had range of motion, but they told me if I got hit I had a chance of dislocating it. I had good strength. It was just as strong as the other one, so the thought was that I could play through. It just got beat up worse and worse I guess."

As captain, the 19-year-old had two goals and 15 assists in 23 games this season. In 191 career WHL games, he has 22 goals and 99 assists with 121 penalty minutes and is a plus-51.

"You've got to do what you've got to do, and I'm just going to rehab it, do the best job I can in the process and get it back to 100 percent as quickly as possible," Murray said.