Jakub Zboril looked like he was on his way to reaching his potential this season.
Now, any growth will have to wait until next season.
The Boston Bruins defenseman is now done for the year after getting surgery on an ACL tear sustained Dec. 2, the team announced Tuesday. It was a brutal break for a developing player.
Zboril had been beginning to carve out a regular role for himself after beginning the season as the spare defenseman. And while he should be back and ready with little risk of re-injury next season, that does little to soften the blow.
"I went through that injury twice," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said Tuesday over Zoom. "With today's modern medicine he should have an easier rehab and be fine coming out of it. But for his sake, he was playing good hockey for us, earned a spot in the lineup on a regular basis and you'd hope that because of that he was playing with more confidence and more certainty in his game every night and that it would have only gotten better. So, unfortunately for him, and the team, obviously, he's going to be done for the year. Hopefully there's no complications in his rehabilitation and can help us again next year."
The 24-year-old will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this offseason. He had three assists in 10 games this season, while showing major improvement in all three zones.
For the Bruins, it now ups the urgency on their need to bolster their defensive depth.
