ST. PAUL, Minn. — Ryan Hartman dropped the gloves Oct. 30 like he has so many times in his hockey career.
He squared himself with Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi, then went in with a right hook that missed its target.
Soon after, Tinordi landed a punch when Hartman was in an awkward position. The Wild forward crumbled to the ice and got up favoring his right shoulder. He hasn’t played in a game since.
“He punched the top of my shoulder with my arm fully extended,” Hartman explained to reporters Saturday morning. “A very preventable injury, which is kind of why it was so frustrating.”
After missing more than six weeks of games with the injury, Hartman is set to return to the lineup Sunday afternoon when the Wild host the Ottawa Senators at Xcel Energy Center. He will skate alongside Freddy Gaudreau and opposite Matt Boldy, and admitted he won’t be dropping the gloves again any time soon.
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“I’ve never missed a long amount of time like that,” Hartman said. “Very frustrating, and look forward to getting that energy back and compete for something.”
Though surgery was thought to be an option in the early stages of Hartman’s recovery process, the Vikings ultimately decided to let his injury heal on its own. He started skating on his own a couple of weeks ago and finally got cleared to return to live action.
“We waited until I felt 100%,” Hartman said. “We finally got to that point, and I feel good and excited to be back with the guys.”
Now the next step for Hartman is rediscovering his scoring touch from last season when he recorded a career-high 34 goals for the Wild. He struggled the first few weeks of this season before suffering the injury.
“That was also a difficult part of it,” Hartman said. “I know personally I wasn’t too happy with how things started. I think the last few games before getting hurt I started to get that confidence back and feel good, I guess. Looking to pick up where I left off.”
Asked if he is concerned about reinjuring himself, Hartman brushed off the question. He has emphasized that he’s focused on moving forward and putting this whole thing behind him.
“I’m doing work every day with it trying to keep it strong,” Hartman said. “If you keep thinking about things like that, that’s how you end up hurting it.”
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