The player many believed was a lock for the Calder Trophy heading into 2015-16 is closing in on a return. Connor McDavid suffered a fractured left clavicle when he awkwardly crashed into the boards at the beginning of November and now he has been cleared to resume full contact in practice.
McDavid will practice with Bakersfield of the American Hockey League while the NHL is on break for the All-Star Game.
He spoke about the situation, as seen on NHL.com:
“Management and I came together and agreed to go to Bakersfield for a few days and skate and keep practicing. It’s a long break between now and then, just going to skate and get ready for what hopefully is a return on [Feb. 2].”
The rookie won’t be skating in any games while he’s down practicing in the AHL, but he should be able to test his shoulder and see if he’s still on track to return when the NHL resumes.
McDavid had 12 points through 13 games to begin his NHL career and it was extremely disappointing to see the young talent go down with such a serious injury so early in the season. The NHL is a better place with McDavid competing, so hopefully he’s able to get back into action following the break.
