Jakob Chychrun might miss the start of the season after knee surgery Aug. 3, but coach Rick Tocchet said he's certain the 19-year-old defenseman will play in 2017-18.

"He's just a beast," Tocchet told SiriusXM NHL Network Radio on Friday. "If this happened to somebody else, you might have a guy who's out for the year. I don't know the time frame (for his recovery), but it's not for the year. It's something that he's going to bounce back [from]. He's an animal. It's almost like we've got to crank this kid down a little bit."