Star defenseman Jaccob Slavin sheds his non-contact jersey, nearing a return after a season plagued by injury and finding strength beyond the rink.
The Carolina Hurricanes are once again approaching full health for their skater lineup and they got another positive sign Wednesday.
Star defenseman Jaccob Slavin skated with the team for the first time in a regular jersey since suffering an upper-body injury Dec. 19 in Florida.
"Feeling good," Slavin said. "It's nice to be back out there. Just chugging along, getting ready to play."
It's been a tough year for the veteran blueliner, who's appeared in only five games this season.
He missed the entire preseason due to a lower-body injury and then played just two games before missing another chunk of time after reaggrevating it.
Slavin returned for just three games before his newest injury, but he said the injuries haven't affected his mental health at all.
"My identity isn't founded in the game of hockey, so whether I'm playing well, or I'm playing bad, whether I'm in the press box, it doesn't change where my identity lies and that's in who God says I am," Slavin said. "Emotionally and mentally, it's been fine. Just happy to be here and have that joy every day that doesn't come from hockey. It's pretty easy to be mentally good right now."
Slavin could return any day now that he's out of the non-contact jersey, but there's no current timeline so it could be tomorrow or even a week from now.
"I don't know to be honest with you," Brind'Amour said when asked if Slavin could be available versus Anaheim. "It's kind of in his hands and in our medical staff's hands where that all goes. But obviously we're getting closer because he's out of that yellow jersey. Not sure."
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