Forward has not played since Dec. 27 when he sustained a high ankle sprain; Sundqvist, Holloway, Thomas all progressing
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Pius Suter practiced in full for the first time since sustaining a high ankle sprain on Dec. 27.
The St. Louis Blues center has missed the past 13 games since being injured in a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators.
“I’m getting there,” Suter said after practice. “Obviously it’s been a long time, annoying injury. We’ll see how we react, step by step and obviously it’s nice to get team practices in. Going to battles a little bit more and we’ll see. I’ve been skating on my own for a while. I skated in Dallas but didn’t do all the battle drills. I got the other stuff in. Today was more to see how it reacts.”
Suter has been on the ice for a couple weeks now but this was his first time skating and doing all the drills in practice. Skating, cutting and battle drills are his first since going down.
“Suter looked really good, made a lot of plays, good decisions, his pace looked good,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It was a great first step for a full practice for him.
“I would expect at some point in the next week if everything continues to progress, I don’t know if that means Thursday, if that means Saturday, if that means the road trip but should be a player soon.”
Suter, who has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 37 games this season who was named to Switzerland’s Olympic team for the first time in his career, is unlikely to play Tuesday against the Dallas Stars but anything beyond that is a possibility.
The Blues also face the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets on this homestand before ending the pre-Olympic schedule with games on the road against the Nashville Predators and Stars.
“I just want to get a couple skates in and see how it reacts,” Suter said. “It’s hard to tell how it’s going to react but definitely want to get some games in and we’ll see how it is tomorrow and go from there. I don’t really have a set date. I felt good today. I was a little bit nervous to see how it’s going to react.”
Dylan Holloway (high ankle sprain) and Oskar Sundqvist (skate cut laceration) each got on the ice prior to the full practice and Robert Thomas (lower-body injury) worked out off the ice.
“Laceration’s healing well,” Montgomery said of Sundqvist. “I think he’s going to be a morning skate guy potentially tomorrow. Thomas was doing some off-ice stuff and if everything goes well, he’ll take part in morning skate tomorrow, but again, when either of them are players is not certain yet.”
Holloway, who returned on Jan. 18 against the Edmonton Oilers following being out for 15 games but has since missed three more games, is considered day to day after an MRI showed no structural damage but could be shut down through the Olympic break.
“Potentially that’s an option,” Montgomery said. ‘It’s still day to day, there’s something wisdom teeth too that he’s getting looked at right now.”
Earlier Monday afternoon, the Blues assigned forward Otto Stenberg to Springfield of the American Hockey League to make him eligible to play during the Olympic break.
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