Connor McDavid, the No. 1 prospect in the next NHL draft, in June, will be out indefinitely after injuring his hand in a fight during a game Tuesday night with his junior team, the Erie Otters.

McDavid, a 17-year-old forward, has long been considered the next Sidney Crosby. He is the runaway scoring leader in the Ontario Hockey League, with 16 goals and 35 assists in 18 games.

McDavid was expected to lead Canada at the World Junior Championships in Toronto and Montreal in six weeks. But his presence at the tournament, which was supposed to include a highly anticipated showdown with American star Jack Eichel, who plays NCAA hockey for Boston University, is now in question.

The injury renewed focus on the role of fighting in hockey and, in particular, in junior hockey.

During the fight against Mississauga Steelheads center Bryson Cianfrone, McDavid appeared to punch the boards or the glass. After the linesmen intervened to stop the fight, McDavid skated to the penalty box cradling his right hand, then headed to the trainer’s room. He missed the rest of the game, which Erie won, 4-0.

The Otters said Wednesday that McDavid fractured a bone and will miss 5-6 weeks.

“Sometimes he’s competitive, and that happens in hockey,” Erie coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters after the game. “You can’t hold him back and take the bite out of him. He’s very competitive and gets angry sometimes.”

McDavid received a fighting major, a game misconduct and an extra two-minute minor for pulling off Cianfrone’s helmet during the fight.

The extra penalties McDavid received are an example of the incremental steps junior hockey has taken in recent years to reduce fighting. But the OHL and other junior leagues in Canada and the United States have stopped short of automatic ejections for all fights, despite mounting public pressure. Fights in the OHL have decreased steadily from roughly 1.3 per game in 1999-2000 to about half that figure this season.

In a September interview with TSN, recorded before he had fought for the first time, McDavid was asked what it would take to get him to fight.

“Maybe fighting’s not my thing,” McDavid said, after mentioning his teammate Joel Wigle, who broke a hand during a fight, an injury that was expected to sideline Wigle for three months.

But, McDavid added, “Maybe if someone took a good run at one of the younger guys or was taking a good run at me, well, maybe I’d have to take exception.”

In Wednesday’s games:

Ducks 6, Kings 5: ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ryan Kesler netted two third-period goals, including the game-tying goal with 1:39 remaining and scored again in the shootout for Anaheim.

Maple Leafs 6, Bruins 1: TORONTO — Phil Kessel scored twice, and Toronto tallied four goals during a nine-minute stretch.