Injury and illness 'setback' put Senyshyn behind other Bruins' rookies

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BRIGHTON, Mass. – Bruins prospect Zach Senyshyn has experienced a merciless summer of illness and now finds himself falling behind the rest of his prospect peers readying for rookie training camp this weekend in Buffalo.

 

The 19-year-old Senyshyn missed B’s development camp in July with a bout of mononucleosis after a monster junior season with 45 goals and 65 points in 66 games for the Soo Greyhounds, and will now sit out the entirety of rookie camp after undergoing an appendectomy at the beginning of the month. While the 25 other rookie players were undergoing fitness testing at the Warrior Ice Arena facility on Thursday, Senyshyn is back home in Ontario regaining his strength post-surgery. 

The Bruins harbor hopes that the talented teenage forward will be back up to full speed at some point at main camp, so they can make an evaluation on how close his game might be to NHL readiness.

But it might take him a little while for the 15th overall pick in the 2015 draft to be back at the level that saw him dominate the OHL this season.

“He had a tough summer,” Bruins GM Don Sweeney said.  “I don’t hide the fact that I’d like all of these guys to go through [rookie camp]. It’s a setback. He got dealt a double-blow with missing time this summer with the mono, and now the appendectomy. He’ll come in on Sept. 19 to be evaluated. He’s been on the ice.

“It’s up to our doctors and medical staff to make the right determination on how much he’s able to transition into a ‘full go.’ But those are our hopes. We’ll bring him in, find out where’s at and if that means working him out for a period of time, we’d like to see him integrate [with the team] at some point in time. But that’s a medical decision.”

Senyshyn might have been a dark horse candidate for one of the wing spots open in camp, but it would now appear that fellow skill forwards Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk are the leading contenders to emerge from the young, talented crew that departs for the rookie tourney in Buffalo this weekend.

Instead, Senyshyn will likely head back to the Soo for another season of junior hockey before potentially activating his already-signed entry level contract with the Bruins at the end of this season. 

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