LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Flyers captain Claude Giroux continues to progress from his offseason right hand injury, and could be ready to see game action as soon as next Tuesday’s preseason game against the New Jersey Devils.
“I’d love to, that’s for sure,” Giroux said. “As long as my hand lets me be 100 percent Tuesday, I’d love to play. We’ll see how I feel then.”
Giroux again participated in the Flyers’ full practice, which on Thursday consisted of three 30-40 minute on-ice sessions alternating between two rinks at the Lake Placid Olympic Center.
He’s pleased with how his rehab is going.
“If there was pain I don’t think I’d be shooting,” he said. “I’d be more cautious, but it feels good.”
Coach Peter Laviolette refrained from saying Giroux is “on schedule” to return, stating instead that the decision is GM Paul Holmgren’s territory. He did, however, say Giroux looked solid yet again during practice.
“He looks good on the ice,” Laviolette said. “He's skating well, he's competing well. He's shooting well. There doesn't seem to be anything holding him back at this point.”
NHL
The group gets smaller
The Flyers on Thursday waived Kris Newbury, Yann Danis, Ben Holmstrom and Marc-Andre Bourdon with the purpose of sending all four to the Phantoms.
Bourdon, while skating, is still a long way from returning to game action. He has yet to be medically cleared.
The Flyers now have 27 players participating in camp. Their final roster is due in to the league on Sept. 30.
Only three
While the history of the 1980 Olympic rink -- and its importance to hockey as a whole -- isn’t lost on any of the Flyers participating in this portion of training camp, there are only three players who actually hail from the U.S.
Hal Gill, with the team on a professional tryout, is a Massachusetts native. Adam Hall, whom the Flyers picked up off the waiver wire earlier this year, is from Michigan and Chris VandeVelde is from Minnesota.
Friday schedule
While the Flyers have hours worth of ice time blocked out on two rinks at the Olympic Center, Laviolette expects they will return to the ice on Friday at 11 a.m.
On Thursday, the Flyers hit the ice at 1:45 p.m., and spent just under two and a half hours practicing.