TJ Oshie broke his collarbone early in the 2019 playoffs. After winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, the Capitals were unable to repeat with both Oshie and Michal Kempny sidelined with major injuries, suffering elimination in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.
Four months after the Caps’ season ended, both glue players appear to be on the mend for training camp. Kempny, who has been seen running the stairs of his old Czech arena, returned to Washington DC on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Oshie declared himself fully healthy on Monday after hosting a Skate & Skills hockey clinic for teenage hockey players at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
“I was cleared kind of (in) June, but definitely cleared in July,” Oshie said to NHL.com. “So we were right on pace, I think, to being close (to playing) if we would have made it to the [Stanley Cup] Final. But I’m good. Now it’s just all getting those muscles built back up as best as I can before the season and I’m ready to roll. I can’t wait for it to get here.
“I find that you miss it a little bit more when you’re like this,” Oshie added. “Like right now, I feel like it’s time to get going, time for the season to get going.”
Oshie was originally injured in Game Four after being checked from behind by Carolina’s Warren Foegele and underwent surgery three days later. Oshie tweeted his thanks for support from the team and fans, stating that he was in good hands with training staff and doctors and “especially mama bear at home with her [two] little helpers.”
At the American Century Championship, a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Oshie said he was “pretty close to being 100 percent now” and nailed a long jump shot on the 17th hole to prove it.
“I’m good to go,” Oshie added in late July. “If there’s anything, I get a little sore in the morning. But I’m good. I’ve been doing full workouts now for a couple of weeks. I’ll be ready to go.”
Oshie, a tenacious forechecker and gifted goal scorer, is part of the Capitals’ powerful one-two punch on the right side in the top six.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong
