RALEIGH, NC โ Welcome back, Zach.
Oilers winger Zach Hyman skated on the top line next to Connor McDavid & Matt Savoie at this morning’s pre-game skate ahead of making his long-awaited season debut tonight at Lenovo Center against the Carolina Hurricanes, where the Blue & Orange continue their seven-game road trip on Saturday night.
“It’s great,” Hyman said. “Exciting and a long time, so it’s good to be back.”
Hyman missed the first 19 games of the regular season, continuing his rehabilitation and recovery from surgery for a fractured wrist that he sustained on a hit from Mason Marchment back on May 27 during Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars.
Five and a half months later, the 33-year-old is ready to be unleashed back in his top-line role and net-front power play duties after taking an additional two weeks from the first possible date he could be activated off LTIR on Nov. 1 to build more strength in his wrist while he continued to skate with his teammates.
“It was a long process,” Hyman said. “It was hard, but I had great help. The staff here has been incredible, and I’m very fortunate to be with the Oilers because you get the best treatment and recovery advice, so it’s been good.”
“You’ve just got to be patient and have a positive outlook,” he added. “This is the second time I’ve gone through something similar to this versus the ACL, so fortunately, I’ve had experience with a long layover. This was harder, obviously, watching the Stanley Cup Final and the surgery was more complicated, but a similar process.”
