Blue Jackets' Justin Danforth aims to return from shoulder surgery before season's end
Justin Danforth's shoulder is close to fully healed. Now it's a race to see if he can get to 100% before the Blue Jackets' season ends. Justin Danforth is aiming to return from shoulder surgery before the end of the season, but the window is narrowing. Danforth, a high-energy forward who turned 30 on March 15 and didn't get to the NHL until last season, is cleared for contact in practice but his shoulder isn't completely healed from surgery in early November. It has taken Kirill Marchenko most of the year to find a stick design he prefers, but it won't be resolved until a delivery truck shows up this week. Liam Foudy, a 23-year-old rookie, had four goals, three assists and seven points in 11 games before facing the Panthers Saturday night and 6-3-9 in 19 games.
Published : one year ago by Brian Hedger in Sports
Each day brings progress, but the final stages of recovery from a torn labrum are making Justin Danforth impatient.
His goal remains to rejoin the Blue Jackets for a game before the season ends, but the window is narrowing. Danforth is cleared for contact in practice, but his shoulder isn't completely healed from surgery in early November.
"We want to make sure it gets to 100% and then play, not 95% or 96%," Danforth said. "It’s just the final little area of trying to get mentally and physically there. Once I’m there, hopefully, the season’s not over and I can play some games.”
More:The race for last place: Where the Blue Jackets stand in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes
More:Columbus Blue Jackets' Billy Sweezey didn't take an easy road to the NHL
Returning too soon might be worth the risk if the Blue Jackets were battling for a playoff spot, but they’re not. Columbus is mired at the bottom of the league standings and playing for pride.
On top of which, Danforth is a high-energy forward who turned 30 on March 15 and didn’t get to the NHL until last season.
“I’ve worked hard to get to this point,” he said. “I want to be able to play at this level, so it’s a frustrating injury but it’s part of the game. Every day’s an improvement. It’s just a matter of when it all comes together and I can play.”
It’s taken Kirill Marchenko most of the season to find a stick design he prefers, but the Blue Jackets rookie has a looming issue that won’t be resolved until a delivery truck shows up this week.
He’s down to the last of his favorite sticks after breaking one on a one-timer at the Jackets’ morning skate Tuesday in New York, so the order he placed with Bauer can’t arrive soon enough.
“I have two more, but if I break two more, I don’t have a stick,” Marchenko said. “I would still use my sticks, but (different) ones. Or maybe I will just go to the store.”
That might work for Marchenko, whose preferred setup for his Bauer Vapor Hyperlite sticks is a standard lie. The lie is how the blade rests on the ice. He also likes a “store model” P92 curve and 82 flex, which is just slightly more flexible than most sold in stores.
“I like the standard (setup) and I like it because it’s easy,” Marchenko said. “If I break the stick, I can just go to the store, buy a new one and play.”
Marchenko’s chosen sticks are certainly working. Prior to a game Saturday against the Florida Panthers, he’d scored 20 goals in the first 51 games of his NHL career to tie the Blue Jackets’ record for rookie goals.
It took a while to get his offensive motor started, but Liam Foudy has it humming.
The 23-year-old rookie had four goals, three assists and seven points in 11 games before facing the Panthers Saturday night and 6-3-9 in 19 games since ending a 62-game regular-season goal drought to start his career. Foudy’s latest point was a high-skill assist in Boston using speed to create a 2-on-1 and a backhand pass for a goal.
“He’s looking really confident,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “It’s not just his legs now. You see him holding onto pucks. You see him making some plays. He’s generating from his speed and tenacity. He’s adding to his game a little bit. He’s really improved here this last month.”
Get more Columbus Blue Jackets talk on the Cannon Fodder podcast
Topics: NHL, Columbus Blue Jackets