Patrick Sharp making progress, preparing for comeback with Chicago Blackhawks -NHL News Update
Eyeing an early comeback from his emergency appendectomy earlier in September, Chicago Blackhawks forward, Patrick Sharp, is nearly ready to return on the ice with his team for the new 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season.
Seeing him participate on the ice with his team during their official practice of the new season on Friday at the United Center in Chicago, it looks like he is ready, but just to be sure, the clubs medical staff has advised him to take it a little slow.
"It felt good", Sharp said of practicing. "It's always nice to kind of rejoin the team. I've done my best to hang around the guys and watch practice and all the inter-squad games and all that, but it's not quite the same when you're not participating in
the drills".
Chicago Blackhawks head coach, Joel Quenneville, knows that Patrick Sharp is still in the recovering process but observing his practise session, the coach likes what he sees.
"He looked good", Quenneville said. "He was skating well and he said he felt well and it was really the first time he's gotten into (a practice) with us. The way we're going to look at it with him, you get him into practices all next week … we're hopefully
he'll be able to start (in Dallas)".
Since Sharp still has to let the area heal where there are still stitches, the 29-year-old veteran is shooting and skating at a good pace.
Last season, the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada native, put up career high numbers by scoring 71 points (34 goals, 37 assists) in 74 games played, making him one of Chicago’s highest performing players.
It is mostly likely that with those types of numbers, Patrick Sharp will remain on Chicago’s top attacking line for the new season. His practice sessions with the team will eventually be the deciding factor if Blackhawks continue to keep him in front, which
ultimately depends on what the situation calls for.
Knowing that his team is on their way to making another Stanley Cup run, Sharp hopes that he plays all 82-games and is confident of putting up even bigger numbers.
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