By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It’s still nearly another three weeks until the Flyers take the ice for the start of training camp and already they have an injury to deal with. It comes to one of the newest members of the roster.
Tyler Pitlick, a forward acquired in the offseason in a trade with the Dallas Stars, suffered a tear in his left wrist during an offseason workout and had surgery last week. He will begin rehab on Monday, Sept. 2 and be out for approximately four weeks.
Pitlick, 27, is coming off a season where he scored eight goals and 12 points in 47 games.
It’s no secret that Pitlick has had injury woes in the past. He injured the same wrist last season and had surgery on Feb. 5, missing seven weeks and playing in the team’s final four games of the season. Injuries also kept him from sticking with the Edmonton Oilers organization, where he spent the first six seasons of his career and played a total of 58 NHL games with the Oilers over three seasons.
Pitlick was acquired by the Flyers on June 24 in a trade that sent Ryan Hartman, then a restricted free agent, to Dallas. Hartman eventually signed with the Minnesota Wild after Dallas did not qualify an offer during his RFA status.
There was talk that Pitlick would have an opportunity to take over in the third-line winger spot that was left open in the offseason, but that seems more unlikely now that he will be recovering from his second wrist surgery in the last six months. This further opens up the competition for the third-line vacancy, with the expectation that some prospects could be in play to potentially earn the spot out of camp.
The Flyers will open rookie camp on Sept. 7 and training camp will follow the following week after the conclusion of rookie camp with the Rookie Game against the New York Islanders prospects on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The Flyers open the preseason on Monday, Sept. 16 at home against the Islanders.
