Anthony Stolarz, the Philadelphia Flyers' top goaltending prospect, had surgery on his hip in May and is not taking part in any of the on-ice activities during development camp this week.
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall told reporters Thursday that Stolarz, a second-round pick (No. 45) in the 2012 NHL Draft, needed some extra time to recover from the procedure but is expected to be cleared for on-ice activities in about a month.
"It happened over time; typical goalie and he had a clean-up," Hextall told CSN Philadelphia. "To my knowledge that is pretty much it. There is no red flag. ...
"This is [not] long-term and no issues, no recurrence. He's no worse off than … there's no red flag that goes up because a goaltender has surgery when he is a young guy. I wish I had it done at [age] 24, and I had it a few years ago. I had these issues when I was young."
Stolarz went 25-5-2 with a 2.52 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and four shutouts in 35 games with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League last season. He missed nearly two months after surgery to repair a cut on his leg from a skate but returned to help London into the OHL playoffs. During Game 3 of the first round against the Windsor Spitfires, he slashed Windsor forward Joshua Ho-Sang in the head and received an eight-game suspension, which was reduced to six games.
Stolarz started all three games for London during the Memorial Cup but was pulled during the final two; for the tournament, he allowed seven goals on 75 shots.
Stolarz, 20, is expected to be the starter this season for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate.