Walking wounded ready to return
MOOSE JAW — In the second round of the WHL playoffs, Morgan Rielly, Jordan Wyton and Torrin White didn’t even make the road trip to Medicine Hat for games 3 and 4.
When the Moose Jaw Warriors head to Edmonton for their Eastern Conference final opener, not only will those three players be on the bus, but they could all be in the lineup.
While the team announced Thursday that Rielly would be back on the ice for Game 1 on April 20, there is a chance that White and Wyton could also be ready to return from their injuries.
“Hopefully I’ll be back in,” said Wyton, who broke a hand in a freak accident at practice on March 13.
“It’s feeling a lot better. I have a lot more movement in it now.”
White injured his right knee after a knee-on-knee hit from Medicine Hat Tigers star Emerson Etem early in Game 1 of the series. White took one abbreviated shift after the hit and said his knee didn’t feel good at all at the time.
Tests revealed there were no tears, so he’s hoping the long layoff between rounds will help it get better.
“It’s definitely getting better. I think the nine days off is a real good opportunity for it to heal and hopefully it will be 100 per cent for next Friday,” said White, who skated Friday for the first time since the injury.
White had 10 goals and 17 points in 62 regular-season games in his rookie campaign.
He also had a playoff goal to his credit.
White said he’s going to take it easy to start, but that “by the middle of next week, hopefully I’ll be going 100 per cent.”
Wyton probably won’t be 100 per cent in a week, but if he’s close he wants to contribute.
“It’s very tough, I wish I could be in the lineup and I wish I could help out the guys,” said Wyton, who noted he has learned a little by watching his teammates for the past month.
“I’ve learned some new stuff on faceoffs and things like that,” said Wyton.
“The offensive side of my game hasn’t always been the best, but I’ve been trying to watch that a little bit more and maybe get into spots like (Brayden Point) does so maybe I can get a couple of those goals.”
Whether or not he can chip in offensively, Wyton would be a welcome addition to the Warriors’ penalty kill and his high-energy, physical style is well-suited to playoff hockey.
Wyton had a playing cast put on the hand four days ago.
He never stopped practising even with his broken hand. He couldn’t participate in all of the drills, but would skate in all of them. He even became adept at a one-handed wrist shot by using his knee as leverage.
“After about the first week I could start to swing (my hand) again to skate, so after that it was a quite a bit better,” said Wyton, who felt it was important as a veteran to be around the team and on the ice every day.
“For how much I skated, I hope (my conditioning) is good. Game shape is always different than practice shape,” said Wyton, who had four goals and 15 points in 66 regular-season games this season.
“I want to try to give energy to the guys and play my role the way I did before I got injured.”
That role likely won’t include fighting — Wyton had 18 fights over the last two seasons — but he said he won’t have any apprehension once he’s back on the ice.
“There’s no way I’ll sit back. As soon as I’m told I’m going, I’m going to be ready,” said Wyton.