STUETZLE EAGER TO RETURN TO LINEUP
Senators' prized rookie could be good to go on Saturday against Jets in Winnipeg
Tim Stuetzle was the first player on the ice Friday at Canadian Tire Centre.
And the good news is, the 19-year-old winger was with the group of 29 players that boarded the plane Friday afternoon for the Ottawa Senators' two-hour flight to Winnipeg.
After missing Ottawa's last two games with an undisclosed ailment he suffered while playing for Team Germany at the world junior championship, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft looks as if he's ready to return Saturday night against the Jets at Bell MTS Place to close out a three-game series.
Stuetzle skated on a line with veteran centre Chris Tierney and winger Connor Brown during practice Friday. With coach D.J. Smith not having the last change on the road, that's the way the Senators could start when the puck is dropped at 10 p.m. ET on Hockey Night in Canada.
“We're going to have to talk to the trainers,” said Smith in a Zoom call with reporters Friday. “We want to make sure he's 100 per cent before we put them in a (game) situation. He looked like he was skating good, but we'll talk to the trainers and get an evaluation after the practice or before we get on the plane.
“Just the trainers would have to clear him. He looked good out there but, like I said, with him being a young guy ... We want to make sure he's 100 per cent so that'll be on the trainers to decide where he's at.”
Stuetzle said this issue had been bugging him for a while and felt it was best to take a break.
“It was great being back on the ice,” said Stuetzle. “I felt good today and it was much better than the days before so we'll see what's going to happen (Saturday).
“It was really bad at the beginning but I think it's getting better day by day. It's a typical day today so we'll what happens (Saturday) and maybe I'm good to go.”
For Stuetzle to play, he has to get medical clearance. He was on the ice early Friday doing work with assistant Davis Payne before the rest of the group arrived.
“It's up to the trainers and the physiotherapists and everybody else. It's their opinion if I'm ready to go,” said Stuetzle. “I felt good (Friday). We don't want to risk anything. That's the first point. We'll see what happens (Saturday), it's up to the coach and everybody else to decide what we're going to do.”
Of course, this isn't the first injury Stuetzle has had to deal with this in the last couple of months. He broke his wrist in camp while with his club team in Mannheim and missed a couple of months. He returned to the ice just in time to attend Germany's training camp before they travelled to Edmonton in December for the world juniors.
“It was an injury that happened at the world juniors and is kind of nagging me right now,” Stuetzle said.
“I can deal with injuries. That's something that's going to happen
in your career and you can't change it. I just want to get back on the ice and play. That's my goal right now.”
The good news is even if Stuetzle doesn't play Saturday — although all signs point in that direction — he will return on this trip. The Senators will be on the road for 14 days with stops in Vancouver for three games, Edmonton for two and a short trip to Montreal before returning home Feb. 5.
Given the fact Stuetzle only joined the Senators two weeks ago after spending seven days in quarantine following the junior tourney, this will be a good opportunity for him to spend
time with his teammates. Given the fact the NHL's protocol rules are in place, they'll be spending a lot of time together at the hotel.
“Road trips are always a lot of fun so everybody's looking forward to that,” said Stuetzle. “We'll have a lot of fun with the team. There's a lot of rules we need to follow so we can't do anything except staying in the hotel. It's going to be fun to be around the boys. We have two weeks on the road, so we can enjoy that and hope we can win a lot of games and get the most out of it.
“I've been here for like two weeks now; I've gotten a chance to get know everybody really well now. All of them are great guys
and I'm looking forward to the season, and we have a good team. We have to work hard for everything. We have a team who needs to battle have every game and if we do that, I think we can win a lot of games this season.”
The recovery from the injury may not have been the worstcase scenario for Stuetzle because it did allow him to get a bit of a break after a busy month in Edmonton.
He will be refreshed and ready when he does return, plus he scored his first career NHL goal last Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs so that pressure has been removed from the equation.