Oliver Kylington skates with Flames teammates, no timeline for return Categorical Instances

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The Calgary Flames had been thrilled Friday to see a well-recognized face.

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Oliver Kylington, who has been on private depart for the reason that begin of final season, skated with a handful of teammates at Max Bell Centre.

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“It was nice seeing him right here this morning,” beamed membership captain Mikael Backlund. “I used to be tremendous excited once I heard yesterday that he was coming in. I used to be actually blissful to see him, and he appeared like he was doing very well and he was actually blissful to be right here.”

Whereas there’s a void to fill on the blue line after Nikita Zadorov was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, the Flames burdened there is no such thing as a timetable for Kylington’s return to sport motion.

Actually, head coach Ryan Huska mentioned it was “too quickly to say” if the 26-year-old can be again across the crew frequently.

With a comedy present on the Saddledome, many of the Flames stayed off their skates Friday. Kylington was a part of a small group to bus over for a follow session at Max Bell Centre. He was smiling as he walked again into the common rink, chatting with ahead Kevin Rooney.

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“Nothing with reference to timeline. There may be nothing imminent there,” Huska mentioned. “But it surely was a great feeling for us to see him across the room at the moment. I imply, that’s actually what it’s about. We haven’t see a lot of him these days, so it’s good to see him again skating with a small group of men.

“At this level, it’s simply good to see him again once more. That’s crucial factor for him. We’re all hopeful that he continues to progress as we go right here. However there is no such thing as a timeline in any respect.”

Kylington, whose final NHL look got here in Could 2022, has been open about needing time away from the game to handle mental-health challenges. As he informed HockeyNews in Sweden over the summer season: “I simply wish to play hockey, however when one thing else in life eats you up from the within, I simply felt I couldn’t deal with the best issues and I wanted to return and prioritize what wanted to be fastened.”

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Kylington returned to Calgary in mid-September, with the hope initially that he’d be a full participant in coaching camp and a fixture on the back-end this season. It’s believed he has been within the metropolis since.

“He’s skated on his personal, at occasions, nevertheless it’s not something that has been an everyday prevalence,” Huska mentioned. “However this was actually the primary time we’ve seen him across the crew. It’s a optimistic factor simply having the ability to see him across the group once more.

“He’s doing what he has to do so as to get himself onto an awesome spot, and that’s what we care about is him as an individual, at the start.”

Added Backlund, who hosted Kylington for dinner earlier this fall: “It’s a course of. We’re blissful the place he’s now and hopefully he retains feeling effectively.”

Kylington stays on the Flames’ long-term injured checklist.

wgilbertson@postmedia.com

Wes Gilbertson and Danny Austin have been masking the Flames for years and know what makes the crew tick. Have questions? They’ve the solutions – or the contacts to trace them down. Ship your inquiries to calgaryflames@postmedia.com

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