Blues' Perunovich to miss at least 8 weeks after wrist surgery

The St. Louis Blues expect to be without defenseman Scott Perunovich for about two months, they announced Wednesday.

Perunovich will undergo left wrist surgery and is scheduled to be re-evaluated in eight weeks.

The 23-year-old has collected six points (all assists) while averaging 15:27 of ice time in 19 games with the Blues this season, his first NHL campaign. He's also posted three goals and 19 assists in 17 contests with St. Louis' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, in 2021-22.

Perunovich won the Hobey Baker Award - which the NCAA hands out annually to its top Division I men's hockey player - in 2020. The Minnesota-born rearguard racked up 40 points in 34 games during his junior and final season with the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2019-20. He helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back national titles before signing with the Blues in July 2020.

St. Louis drafted him 45th overall in 2018.