Around noon today, as the Flyers started their Wednesday practice, we were graced with the following tweet from Dave Isaac:
Nolan Patrick joins the #Flyers for practice today.
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) February 5, 2020
That news in itself is huge for the Flyers, who have not had Patrick available for the entirety of the 2019-20 NHL season. Even better, Isaac clarified the news further:
Considering there’s other players in a white jersey, looks like he may have been cleared for contact.
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) February 5, 2020
Patrick wore the white jersey, along with Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Michael Raffl, and Connor Bunnaman. As Isaac said, if indeed Patrick was cleared for contact, that would be a massive step in Patrick’s recovery process. We do not know if Patrick will be close to making a return in the line-up, but regardless, his full participation in practice is an obvious positive.
Additionally, Isaac reported that Carter Hart and Alex Lyon have been splitting a cage during this practice, indicating Hart’s imminent return.
As always the voice of reason, Charlie O’Connor from The Athletic says to pump the brakes on our excitement.
I would, however, remind excited fans that he didn’t have a training camp, hasn’t played in a game since last April, and hasn’t practiced in full with the team once this year.
This is an awesome sign. Don’t go penciling him back into the lineup just yet though.
— Charlie O’Connor (@charlieo_conn) February 5, 2020
The return of Patrick would help bolster the Flyers’ depth at center, and would give the Flyers a true 3C for the first time this season while allowing Claude Giroux to return to the wing.
