BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Sabres forward Jack Quinn had surgery this week to repair an Achilles tendon injury and will miss the start of the coming season, the team confirmed Thursday.

Quinn’s injury, first reported by Eilliotte Friedman of TSN, occurred during offseason training. His recovery is expected to take up to six months. The Sabres open the season Oct. 12, fewer than four months from the date of Quinn’s surgery. A full six-month recovery would extend to the end of December, almost 40 games into the season.

“It was tough news obviously to get for Jack, first of all, and us. He’s a really important player in our lineup,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said in Nashville after the conclusion of the NHL Draft. “He’ll come back better and stronger than ever. It’s adversity. It’s a bump in the road for him. But with the type of mindset he has, I have no worries about how he’ll come out the other side of it.”

Buffalo’s first-round draft pick in 2020 (eighth overall), Quinn had 14 goals and 23 assists in 75 games in his rookie season at age 21. He averaged 13:51 minutes of ice time, often playing on one of the top two forward lines. Quinn helped Canada win a gold medal at the IIHF World Championships in May, tallying two goals and five assists in 10 games at the tournament.

Quinn’s injury could open a spot in the lineup for prospects like Juri Kulich or Matt Savoie to join the NHL roster sooner than originally planned. It also could influence the Sabres’ approach to free agency, which opens Saturday.

“I don’t know if it changes anything, but, for sure, it’s something we’ll be thinking about over the next 48 hours and evaluating,” Adams said.