The 21-year-old is contracted to Otago and, with the departure of Kayne Hammington, would have found himself jostling with James Arscott for game time.
But his career has been put on hold for six months while he recovers from injury.
The combative No 9 injured his shoulder last season, but hoped the rehabilitation work he did during the summer would see him right.
He took another knock on the troublesome right shoulder during pre-season for the Hawks and eventually had to concede he was not going to be able to shake it off.
After consultation with the Highlanders medical team, he opted for corrective surgery and had the procedure in Christchurch last week.
He had cartilage damage and a bone chip which needed tidying up and now faces six months of rehabilitation.
Hastie was philosophical about the setback.
"I tried to manage it, but couldn’t really tackle any more," he said.
"I just kept getting knocks on it every week. It wasn’t getting better, so I got a scan on it and ended up having to get surgery on it."
Hastie will wear a sling for the next six weeks, then start graduated strength training. It will be a while before he sends a spiral pass off to his left again.
Hastie is viewed as a long-term project for the Highlanders.
"The team doctor is helping through the whole process and has been really helpful, actually.
"He was just trying to get me [into surgery] as soon as possible so I can get it sorted, get it out of the way and start playing footy again.
"I’d love to play for the Highlanders at some stage."
