Hounds to move forward minus Pangretitsch
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
It’s the last thing a player and a team want to deal with.
Soo Greyhounds defenceman Harris Pangretitsch, coming off of an impressive rookie season, is preparing for surgery on his injured shoulder.
He could miss four-to-five months of action.
“Four months might be very optimistic. But I’m hoping I can come back a little before playoffs and be a fresh guy,” Pangretitsch told Independent Media on Thursday night. “It’s not great, obviously. This isn’t easy. But I have to look at the bright side of things. Everybody’s hurt at the end at the end of the season and I’m hoping I can come in fresh and give the team a boost. For me, it’ll be the start of the season.”
Known as a strong and reliable defender, the six-foot-five, 220-pounder felt serious pain in his shoulder after a hit in the Sept. 5 preseason game against Windsor at GFL Memorial Gardens.
Taken by the Ottawa Senators in the fifth round (No. 151 overall) of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, Pangretitsch explained how he was “coming down the wall in the offensive zone and leading with my shoulder. I hit a guy and I automatically felt pain in my shoulder.”
The 18-year-old (2008 birth year) said he tried to get up and “my brain was just kind of shutting down. I don’t really remember things too well, but I kind of knew something wasn’t right.”
The Hounds refuse to be more specific about the exact injury their player is dealing with.
Meantime, Pangretitsch, who posted a 2-12-14 stat line and a plus-minus of plus-20 in 67 games a season ago, went on to attend the Senators rookie and main training camps, though he didn’t go on the ice at either.
Instead, he had an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging test), saw two team doctors and spoke of how the club’s medical personnel was “all over the injury.”
Surgery will take place in Ottawa “sooner rather than later,” said Hounds general manager Kyle Raftis. “It’s tough, obviously, considering the strong way he finished last season. We expected him to come in here, take a step forward and be a big part of our blue-line.”
Head coach Drew Bannister, whose club is preparing to face Brampton on Friday (7:07 p.m.) at the Gardens, called it a big loss for the Greyhounds.
“No question about that,” he said. “But it does give other guys an opportunity.”
Pangretitsch is hoping he can resume skating six weeks post-surgery. He plans to return to his Toronto home once surgery has been completed and spoke of coming back to the Sault once he’s cleared to skate.
“It’s not ideal, but I’m just taking things as they are,” he said of the injury and pending surgery. “Hopefully, I can come back stronger.”
