Pat Maroon made a significant step toward his return on Monday, practicing alongside his new teammates for the first time.
“It felt good,” Maroon stated following his first Bruins practice. “It felt a little lonely skating by myself, but it’s fantastic to be back with the boys. …performing war drills and catching up with those men. So I’m very pleased to be a part of it and to be back. I feel like I’m getting close, which is a good sign when you’re training with the squad.
“I just think I need to keep going. I’ve been gone for over 12 weeks, so I believe it’s just a matter of regaining your conditioning, catching up with the group, getting some line rushes, and getting some touches. Because it’s a very different game when you’re just skating alone, versus going into battles and doing other things. So I just have to keep up with it and catch up with them, and hopefully I’ll be back soon.”
Maroon added that watching his new teammates from afar, particularly during the hard and emotional games against the Florida Panthers (March 27) and his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning (March 28), has him eager to get back into some games before the playoffs.
“Trust me, I’m really excited,” Maroon remarked. “I cannot wait. I especially enjoy watching the Florida and Tampa games. It makes you want to go out there and battle with the boys, so I’m looking forward to it.”
After practice, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was asked if he could give a target date for Maroon’s comeback.
When he first arrived, we stated week to week. We thought it would be a few weeks,” Montgomery told the media before traveling south to Nashville to face the Predators on Tuesday night.
“Now it truly is week to week. As he progresses through the processes and milestones, it will become more routine.”
