Nolan Patrick recovering from sports hernia surgery

Center Nolan Patrick of Brandon of the Western Hockey League, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, is recovering from recent sports hernia surgery that will keep him from participating in Canada National Junior Development Camp later this month. He is expected to be ready for the start of Brandon's training camp at the end of August.
Patrick will attend the Canada camp in Toronto from July 30 to Aug. 1. Canada then will join the United States, Finland and Sweden at the 2016 National Junior Evaluation Camp in Plymouth, Mich., from Aug. 2-6.

The summer evaluation camps are the first steps in picking the team that will play for Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.
Patrick, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of Winnipeg, had 41 goals and was fifth in the WHL 102 points in 72 games last season, and he led the WHL playoffs with 30 points in 21 games to win the playoff most valuable player award and help Brandon win the WHL championship.
"He reminds me of guys like Sam Reinhart (Buffalo Sabres) or Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) because he's not flashy but so good and smart," NHL Central Scouting's Peter Sullivan said. "He reads the ice as well as any forward I saw in the WHL [in 2015-16].
"You want him on the ice in critical situations at the end of a game."
Patrick is the son of retired NHL forward Steve Patrick and nephew of retired NHL defenseman James Patrick.