Much to the chagrin of fantasy owners, the Columbus Blue Jackets sent 2008 No. 6 overall draft pick Nikita Filatov to go hone his skills with the Syracuse Crunch.

As a result, the young phenom will miss the Jacket’s debut performance against the Dallas Stars on Friday night.

Nursing a sore leg after a decent pre-season, the 18-year-old Russian will have to wait to make his debut in NHL. Throughout pre-season, Filatov netted one goal and added a pair of assists.

With the news, Filatov becomes the highest draft pick to not start his season with his professional club. All five players chosen prior to Filatov have snuck their way on to opening night rosters including Alex Pietrangelo and Luke Schenn (fourth and fifth respectively) of the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs.