Flyers Announce Shayne Gostisbehere Out Indefinitely with Torn ACL

Don't expect any midseason call-ups for defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

At this point, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms will be lucky to have him.

The 21-year-old blueliner and Flyers top prospect went into the boards awkwardly in the third period of the Phantoms' 3-2 win over the Manchester Monarchs Friday night and tore his ACL. He'll have surgery Nov. 13, but his season may not be over.

"I don't believe so, no," Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said.

"It's not gonna be weeks. It's gonna be months, but there's a different timetable for anybody."

Gostisbehere had five assists in five games with the Phantoms, including two Friday night before his injury. He played in two games as a call-up with the Flyers before being sent back down. Hextall didn't want to call up his top prospect, instead wishing he could have matured in the American Hockey League.

"We wanted him to play in the minors and this doesn't help the cause," Hextall said. "It's the hand he's dealt and he'll deal with it. He's a good kid. He works hard. He'll get back as quick as possible and build on what he's done so far. Every experience you go through makes you stronger and Shayne's gonna have to take this positive, work hard and get himself back to where he was."

Perhaps with some seasoning in the minors this year, Gostisbehere would have been NHL ready next season. Apparently, Hextall said, that's not out of the question even with the injury.