Appleton’s long wait finally over

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This article was published 09/02/2023 (986 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been a long road back for Mason Appleton, but the wait is finally over.

After being sidelined for three months with a broken wrist, the Winnipeg Jets forward joined his teammates for practice Thursday. It was his first full workout since injuring himself midway through a 3-2 overtime road win over the Seattle Kraken back on Nov. 13.

Appleton had been donning a non-contact jersey for weeks, as he worked to get his conditioning back up to NHL speed. If all goes to plan, he’ll play his first game in 90 days, when the Jets return action after an 11-day break to play the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night.

“Being out three months, it’s the longest injury I’ve ever had. I guess I’m fortunate to be able to say that’s been the longest one for me, but that’s a lot of time away from the rink, away from the guys,” Appleton said. “But super thrilled to be back now and just going to kind of look forward to the last 30 (games) and playing my best hockey and hopefully have fresh legs to really make a good push here.”

As is the case with every injury that takes a while to heal, Appleton went through the gauntlet of emotions. He had been playing well before he got hurt, scoring six points (1G, 5A) in 14 games, while averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time playing mainly on the club’s top line alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor after Nikolaj Ehlers (sports hernia) went down in the third game of the season.

Appleton said he leaned heavily on his support group at home, including his wife Sydney and their two dogs. The Jets also let him return home to Wisconsin a couple times, including an extended visit over the Christmas holidays.

“It wears on you probably mentally the most. It’s when the guys are on the road and you’re kind of just hanging out at home, you’re coming in skating or working out by yourself, it’s not the best,” Appleton said. “I don’t wish it upon anyone. But injuries are part of the game and they do happen. I’m just fortunate to have a full recovery and be back playing these last 30 games.”

Asked to relive the injury, Appleton called it a “freak accident” and “fluky.” He was skating along the boards near the penalty box when his stick got lodged in the hole in the glass used by the officials to communicate to the league’s scorekeepers, just as he was on the receiving end of a hit by Kraken defenceman Carson Soucy.

At first, Appleton thought we was OK and was getting ready to return for the third period when the team’s medical staff suggested they take an X-ray just to be sure. The results told another story.

“As I sat there and let the break kind of set in, and the adrenaline was wearing off, yeah, then I realized it was broken. But you’re in the heat of the battle like that and sometimes when you get injured you don’t really feel it right away,” Appleton said. “They took a picture and it was broken in half. So, yeah, it wasn’t alright.”

As a direct result of the injury, the NHL has since gotten rid of the holes in the glass, removing them from all 32 arenas. That’s a small silver lining, but Appleton does take solace in the fact no one else will suffer the same fate.

While Appleton is certainly excited to be back, so, too, are his teammates after watching him push through an extended rehab. He was one of seven skaters to be out and among the last to return.

“Everyone puts a lot of effort into it when you’re injured. I was out for a while and I kind of know what he went through,” said Ehlers, who missed 36 games with a sports hernia. “Obviously a player we want on our team, a great player and a great person in this locker room.”

“It’s always exciting when guys come back from injury,” added centre Adam Lowry. “But someone out that long, it’s going to take him a little bit to get him up to full speed and back to where he’s going to be really happy with his play. He brings a lot to the lineup; he’s got a lot of speed and I’m real familiar playing with him. We’ve had some good success in the past.”

Appleton is expected to return to the right wing on the team’s third line, alongside Lowry and Morgan Barron. Since he’s been off so long, Jets head coach Rick Bowness has him currently with the fourth trio, playing on a line with centre Kevin Stenlund and Sam Gagner.

“He hasn’t played in three months, so we’re going to slowly work him into the lineup and watch his minutes very closely. Give him a chance to get a feel of the pace of the game again,” Bowness said. “When we went into training camp, we had him with Adam and Morgan as kind of like our checking line, a penalty killer, strong on the boards. Big and strong and can skate. We’ve missed him, no question, and we’re happy to get him back.”

While Appleton’s return is good news, the Jets are still waiting on some positive progress from two other players currently battling injury. Forward David Gustafsson (upper-body) and defenceman Dylan DeMelo (lower-body) skated together before practice and will do so again Friday.

“They’re not quite ready to participate in a full team practice,” Bowness said. “They will skate again tomorrow, and we’ll go from there.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton