Stars' Valeri Nichushkin to miss four months after hip surgery

The development of second-year player Valeri Nichushkin was supposed to help make the Dallas Stars' top-six forward group one of the most dangerous in the NHL.

He's been unable to stay on the ice, however, and now faces a four-month absence because of hip surgery. Saturday's announcement from the Stars indicated he'd undergo the procedure this week.

Nichushkin, 19, has played in four of the Stars' 17 games this season as he has dealt with hip and groin injuries since the start of training camp. He has no points.

"We had it diagnosed and decided surgery is the best thing," general manager Jim Nill told the The Dallas Morning News. "It's very similar to what (John) Klingberg had, and we expect it to have similar results."

Klingberg is a 22-year-old defenseman who had double hip surgery during the offseason and has returned to average over 22 minutes in three games.

Nichushkin was pegged to flank either Tyler Seguin or Jason Spezza on the Stars' first or second line. He pairs size -- 6-4, 205 pounds -- with a high offensive skill set. After being selected 10th overall in the 2013 draft, Nichushkin recorded 34 points in his rookie season.

Dallas (6-7-4) ranks 14th in the league with 2.71 goals per game.