ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals winger Sonny Milano likes to look at the bright side.

That's why he wasn't fazed by the adversity he faced last season, when an upper-body injury held him out for all but three games.

"I didn't think (my career was over)," Milano said matter-of-factly. "No one really thought it was. It really didn't enter my mind. Stay positive."

The 29-year-old last played in an NHL regular season game on Nov. 6, 2024, before his injury held him out for nearly four months. Then, as he neared a comeback in February, he suffered a setback, effectively ending his lost season.

"Disappointing, but it is what it is," he brushed it off.

Ultimately, it takes a good amount of mental resilience to be able to come back from that, as coach Spencer Carbery pointed out.

"He's a positive guy, optimistic guy, gonna see the best in every situation and so I'm sure he was able to handle it the best possible way he could," Carbery noted.

That being said, he never really stopped being in game shape, and remained around the team and did what he could to stay in the swing of his usual routine. He got back on the ice earlier this offseason, and is feeling confident about where he's at now.

"I knew I was going to eventually come back, so I just had to stay with it," Milano said.

Going into this season, Milano is fully healthy and is eager to prove to the coaching staff and front office that he can still be an X-Factor player in the lineup — and so far, he's off to the right start.

After standing out and being one of the stronger skaters in the first few days of camp, Milano dominated in Sunday's preseason opener against the Boston Bruins with two goals and two assists for a four-point outing, and added two more goals in Thursday's win in Hershey that has the front office on watch

"For him to step back in there, beginning of camp, early in camp, gaining some momentum for himself and some confidence his confidence, and it's a good first step for him to earning a spot back on our roster," Carbery said, adding, "Kudos to him and credit to him for staying with it, staying with it... it's a really positive step for him to not sort of, 'I'll ease my way into this camp and exhibition games' to come out like that and have a game like that puts himself in good standing with the coaching staff and management as well."

Milano started skating earlier this offseason in preparation to make his return to play this fall, and now, he finds himself in the thick of a heavy competition for a roster spot with Hendrix Lapierre, Ethen Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko and Andrew Cristall, among others.

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As he makes his case, Carbery and the Capitals are watching closely, and hoping that he can return to the form he was in that earned him a three-year contract extension in 2023.

"I don't see a huge difference in him; I do see the same player, which is good right?" Carbery said. "Because when you miss that much time, you're wondering if he can get up to the level that he's capable of playing at back when he was playing really, really well and firing on all cylinders. It looks like he's playing at the top level of Sonny right now and that's good for him."