Just weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken clavicle, the Edmonton Oilers could see rookie phenom Connor McDavid back in the lineup much sooner than originally expected.
“He’s ahead of schedule,” Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said. “He’s been in the pool, been lifting weights… There are no soft-tissue injuries, which is important. When you get a break like that, oftentimes there is accompanying soft-tissue injuries. That slows down the recovery.”
McDavid, who was drafted first overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Oilers, originally suffered the injury on Nov. 3 in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 18-year-old was originally expected to return to the lineup in March.
“He’s feeling really good. He’s getting treatment, working on different things,”said McDavid’s agent Jeff Jackson. “He’s one of those athletes, if he’s told to do something he’ll do it to the Nth degree. There are no shortcuts with this kid. He wants to get back as soon as he can. He hates watching, and he wants to be on the ice with his teammates as soon as he can.”
With five goals and 12 points in 13 games this season, McDavid was one of Edmonton’s best players before the injury, but the Oilers say they won’t rush him to come back quicker than necessary.
“I can tell you that when it comes time, he is going to want to come back a lot earlier than what we forecast internally,” Chiarelli said. “It’ll be interesting. We’ll make the best decision for the organization and Connor.”
