Teddy Blueger is recovering from a lower-body injury that required surgery this offseason.

As the Vancouver Canucks start their 2024 preseason, one player to keep an eye on is Teddy Blueger. The Latvian center is still recovering from offseason surgery, which limited his participation in this year's Training Camp. While the exact injury is unknown, GM Patrik Allvin did label it as a lower-body injury when speaking to the media before the start of Training Camp. 

On Tuesday, Blueger participated fully in practice and was part of the group that will not play in Vancouver's first preseason game against the Seattle Kraken. According to Head Coach Rick Tocchet, the plan for Blueger is to have him practice over the next couple of days and then hopefully get him into some games before the start of the regular season. While odds are he won't get into games until later in the preseason, Blueger felt good after Tuesday's skate and was happy with where his conditioning currently is. 

"It was great, said Blueger. Great to be around the guys. Skating by yourself can get a bit boring and tedious. You get injuries throughout your career, so you know what to expect. But yeah, it's great to be with the guys. Pick up the pace a little bit, test yourself against some contact, protecting the puck, pushing on guys, different stuff like that. It was good physically. I thought my conditioning was really good. I didn't feel like I was really out of shape or anything like that, or way behind or gasping for air. I think everything else is coming along nicely. Getting some improvements day by day, so it's been good."

While Blueger doesn't want to guarantee anything, he is confident he will be ready for the start of the regular season. His ability to start the season is important as Bluger is projected to play a significant role in the bottom six and on the penalty kill. While Blueger acknowledged that it may be a cliche, he classified himself as day-to-day and is doing everything he can to be ready for the home opener on October 9. 

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"I think that's definitely the goal, and hopefully even a little before that. I mean, there's no guarantees. Nothing's for sure. There can be things that happen and setbacks, so you don't want to get too ahead of yourself. I think we've done a really good job with the staff here, taking it day by day, coming in every morning, reevaluating, doing we can to recover and supplement things that I'm not able to do to make sure I'm in good shape, and the rest of my game is where it needs to be."

Blueger experienced a similar situation last year, as he missed the start of the season with a foot injury. The injury kept him out until November 12, with Blueger missing the first 14 games of the 2023-24 season. As Blueger explains, he has learned from that situation and understands where his game needs to be once he is ready to rejoin the lineup.

"Getting hurt in the preseason, that was tough. Being on a new team, and then jumping in 15 games in, and trying to prove yourself on a new team. I think all these experiences if anything, it kind of calms the anxiety. I know that stressing about it or trying to push too hard isn't necessarily going to help me. You just take the process as it is, show up every day, do everything you can, and that's about it."

Due to his rehab, Blueger was unable to be with Team Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympics qualifier. In the end, Latvia was able to sweep their group and book their spot at the next Olympics. While the tournament is still over two years away, Blueger is looking forward to representing his country which should boast a strong lineup, including fellow Canucks teammate Artūrs Šilovs.

"Last Olympics, I was able to play in the qualifiers and then we didn't get to go to the Olympics. You don't know how many chances you get, so hopefully, this will be a big opportunity for us. If it all goes well, we should be able to put a decent team together and try and compete out there."

While Blueger may not light up the scoresheet, he plays a very important role in the lineup. He also brings plenty of experience and is the only player on the roster who has won a Stanley Cup. Signed to a two-year extension this offseason, the hope is Blueger will not only be ready for the start of the season but can build off what was a successful first season in Vancouver.