Chicago Blackhawks First Round Pick Henri Jokiharju Injured

Bad news from the World Junior Summer Showcase.

Chicago Blackhawks first-round pick Henri Jokiharju suffered a knee injury this past Sunday while playing with the Finish Junior team at the WJSS.

You can catch a replay of the injury in a tweet from Brandon Rivers.

After throwing the puck along the boards from behind his own net, Jokiharju was hit with his left leg awkwardly positioned. Jokiharju skated tenderluy on the leg while heading towards the bench.

Jokiharju was diagnosed with a lower body injury and he will not play in the rest of the tournament.

While the news is disappointing in the short-term for Jokiharju, who is trying to make the World Championships roster for Finland, the 18 year-old defenseman was not expected to be competing for a roster spot on the Blackhawks this season.

Still, this is not the news you want to hear for the development of a Blackhawks prospect that the team spent a first-round pick on. Brain Hedger from NHL.com tweeted yesterday afternoon that the defenseman will “miss ‘some time’ & may miss #Blackhawks rookie tournament in Traverse City. Will rehab & be reassessed in a few weeks.”

Jokiharju was the 29th overall pick in last month’s draft. Last year he played for the Portland Winterhawks and had 48 points in 71 games. He was ranked as the nineteenth best prospect coming into this year’s draft by NHL.com.

Hedger also had some news earlier this week on another Blackhawks 2017 draft pick, Tim Soderlund. This was a little more encouraging.

While the news on Soderlund is good to hear, we will have to wait and see the extent of the Jokiharju injury and if he will be able to attend the Blackhawks rookie tournament.