Rasmus Kupari took to the ice for the first time since injuring his shoulder.
The Winnipeg Jets have some reinforcements en route.
With forward Dominic Toninato once again called up for the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose alongside long-term call-up Axel Jonnson-Fjallby, the Jets welcomed a familiar face back to the fold on Tuesday.
Suiting up alongside 16 others at the team's optional practice was forward Rasmus Kupari, who has been out since November 14, following an injury suffered at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.
The first-year Jet stumbled into the side boards near his defensive zone blueline with roughly eight minutes to play in the first period of that mid-November contest. He staggered to the Jets' bench holding his shoulder, and had not been seen publicly since.
Kupari's initial prognosis was a four-to-six week timeline, putting him on schedule to return near the end of December.
Currently skating in yellow, non-contact sweater, Kupari is officially ready to return to light action, with no contact yet as he prepares to get his cardio and hands up to speed.
According to head coach Rick Bowness, Kupari may be able to get into game action shortly after the team returns from its Christmas break.
Once he sheds his non-contact yellow, Kupari should be expected to draw back into Winnipeg's bottom-six forwards, which will likely create somewhat of a logjam at the bottom of the team's offensive depth.
Incredibly, despite missing 15 games, Kupari still owns the league lead in terms of fastest top speed reached this season.
He sits just above Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon with a top speed of 23.95 miles per hour, as reached on a burst back on October 17 in the second period of the Jets' game vs. Kupari's former Los Angeles Kings.
Winnipeg next hosts the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday in the team's penultimate game before the Christmas break. It will be broadcast live on Sportsnet at 6:30 PM central.
