Carolina Hurricanes team captain Jordan Staal shared his reaction after returning to his team’s lineup against the Seattle Kraken.
Staal missed the previous 14 games due to a calf injury, but on Saturday, he got back into the team’s lineup as the Hurricanes took on the Kraken in the NHL Global Series game in Helsinki, Finland.
Jordan Staal Comments on Return to Lineup
Per NHL.com, Staal shared his excited reaction to returning to Carolina’s lineup after missing 14 games.
“Obviously excited to get back into it and get back with the fellas and get back to the grind. Obviously it was a long month, month-and-a-bit. Just excited about being here and excited about getting in the game,” Staal said.
“There’s boxes you got to check off as you’re getting back and I had a good week kind of on my own skating and I felt really good. Jumped into some practices and felt good with the team too so there’s a point where you just kind of got to rip the Band-Aid off and go see how it feels on the ice and hopefully it feels good.”
Teammate, Coach Reacts to Captain’s Return
Fellow Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis called it “huge” for the team’s captain to suit back up again.
“It’s huge. (Staal is) a real calming presence, both in our locker room and on the ice, and someone that our team relies heavily on in a lot of situations. So, it’s huge to have him back, and a big boost for our group,” Jarvis said.
As well, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour is thrilled that his team captain is finally ready to play again, though he admitted that he won’t kill him with ice time as the team looks to understandably slow his return to the lineup given he missed 14 games, as the team continues to win games even without their team captain in the lineup.
“Obviously, we’re a much better team when he’s going at full speed. I don’t expect a ton out of him tonight. We’ll see how it goes, but (we’ve) got to get him going,” Brind’Amour said.
Jordan Staal Reacts After Returning to Hurricanes Lineup