Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Dim the spotlight on Anthony Mantha for the next two months: The young Detroit Red Wings prospect suffered an injury that will sideline him through training camp and into the start of hockey season.

General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press this morning that Mantha has a fractured right tibia that will need 6-8 weeks to heal.

"It's disappointing news," Holland said. "It's an opportunity for some other people. But it's disappointing. We were going to give him every opportunity to make our team. This is, for him -- it's a big setback. From our team standpoint, we didn't know where he was at until he played games.

"But he is a tremendous young prospect."

Mantha was hurt over the weekend, in the first period of the third rookie tournament game. His skate got caught in a rut, and "he got hit, and wasn't able to protect himself," Holland said.

Mantha, who just turned 20, is entering his first year of pro hockey after tearing through the QMJHL the last two seasons. The Wings picked him 20th overall in the 2013 draft, and, while they generally like to have their young players get their feet wet in Grand Rapids, were prepared to give Mantha a legitimate shot at skipping straight to the NHL, thanks to his 6-4 frame and instinctive scorer's touch.

Now, instead of joining the Wings when they hit the ice Friday in Traverse City for the first day of camp, Mantha will have to bide his time -- as will the Wings.

Note: Other than Mantha, Holland said that every player passed his physical and will be on the ice for the first practice Friday.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.