Philadelphia Flyers prospect Samuel Morin is expected to be sidelined until at least early 2019 due to a right knee injury.

Morin tore his ACL while playing for the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the playoffs in May 9. 

The 2013 first-round pick is expected to undergo surgery this week and Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Morin is “probably out until February.”

The 22-year-old was limited to just 17 games in the regular season between the Flyers and Phantoms and three playoffs contests due to a recurring lower-body injury. He was pointless in two games with the Flyers this season and had one goal and seven points in 15 games with the Phantoms.

Despite the missed time, Hextall said it would be unfair to label Morin as an injury-prone player.

“People tend to forget that Sam’s been a healthy player for the most part in his career prior to that,” Hextall told the Philadelphia Courier-Post. “We’re writing this off as — he had a tough year, there’s no doubt about it in terms of the injuries. We don’t think any less of Sam than we did in September of last year. We still have high hopes for Sam and we know he’s gonna turn into a good player for us.”

Morin, who made the Flyers out of training camp this season but was sent down before playing in a game, is a restricted free agent this summer.

“I need to get re-signed. There’s a lot of stuff going on, but I’m a really confident guy and I think I can play in the NHL when I’m healthy,” Morin said. “I just need to get a little bit of luck on my side and I think I will. It’s been a long process for me, a long road, but I’m gonna make it.”