The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that winger Andrei Svechnikov has been activated off of injured reserve and will make his season debut tonight as the Hurricanes take on the San Jose Sharks at PNC Arena.
Svechnikov, 23, tore his ACL last season against the Vegas Golden Knights on March 11 after throwing a hit. Svechnikov would finish that game, but it was announced that he would undergo season-ending surgery just a few days later on March 14.
Carolina would miss Svechnikov's offense in the postseason as they were swept by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final in four straight, one-goal games.
Svechnikov has missed the first eight games of the current season, but that's all because Carolina has made sure to play it safe with their dynamic star.
The forward had multiple medical benchmarks that he had to clear before being ready and even once he cleared all of those, the Canes still had him take a couple of days to make sure he was truly ready.
The infusion of Svechnikov into the lineup should also boost what's already been a pretty potent offense.
The Russian winger has 112 goals and 264 points in 347 games and the 6’3”, 199-pound forward also has 682 career hits. He brings a unique style to Carolina's lineup that very few can replicate.
While it may take some time for him to get up to speed, it has been 228 days since his surgery after all, once that ball gets rolling, watch out.
Rod Brind'Amour:
On where Svechnikov will be slotted: "We'll just see how he's going. He obviously hasn't played in forever, but I know he'll be amped up. We'll just kind of monitor how he's doing."
On if he'd throw him all the way back in if he looks good: "Yep. I mean, he's in shape and he's ready to go. He's not in game shape though so the more I can get him those minutes it will be beneficial, but I also know that he's going to be rusty so we just have to monitor him."
On if he thinks he'll be nervous: "I'm sure he'll be nervous. Anytime you come off an injury like that, there's a little apprehension. He's been skating forever, but I'm sure he's got a little apprehension which is why you have to get him out there."
On his impact: "It'll help just having him around. He's a huge part of our team. You know when he's on the ice and that's something we've been missing for sure. How busy is he going to be? I don't know. We have to give him some time but it's great to see that he's in the lineup."
On his efforts to get back: "That's never been in question. Ever. Since day one of him showing up, he's been a tremendous hard worker and that's one of the reasons why I've kind of loved him from the start. His willingness to do that plus to try to get better on the other stuff Like his willingness to learn the game and you can see that his game has grown immensely."
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