The Calgary Flames have lost their 2019 first-round pick before the puck drops on the 2023-24 season, after Jakob Pelletier suffered a shoulder injury in the team's preseason tilt against the Seattle Kraken on Monday night.

Pelletier was injured in the home half of a split-squad exhibition game at the Saddledome in Calgary, after he crashed awkwardly into the boards after being hit by Kraken backchecker Marian Studenic.

“Jakob Pelletier sustained an injury to his left shoulder in the pre-season that will require surgery next week and will be out indefinitely,” the team's official account announced on X on Wednesday.

It's a brutal blow for the 22-year-old, who was coming off an excellent campaign with the American Hockey League's Calgary Wranglers in 2022-23. He scored at a point-per-game clip in both the regular season and playoffs, and seemed poised to earn a spot with the big league club ahead of opening night.

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“You're always hoping for the best, but he had the MRI [on Tuesday] and obviously it didn't go the way we'd like,” general manager Craig Conroy said on Flames Talk on Sportsnet 960 The Fan earlier this week. “He's going to get surgery next week and he'll be out indefinitely. The one thing we want to make sure, with the surgery, is when he comes back, he's at 100 percent.

“It's disappointing because I know how disappointed he is, because he was so excited to be here and he just felt like it was a whole different training camp for him. He just felt at ease and comfortable and being himself, and he felt great. I told him, ‘Hey, your legs still work. We're going to keep going, we're going to get you back and when you're ready to go, we'll start up again.'”

Pelletier got into 24 games for the Flames last season, scoring three goals and seven points in his cup of coffee in the NHL. He was expected to be a full-time player this year, and the hope is that that will still be the case after he recovers from the shoulder ailment.

Jakob Pelletier was selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.